UNCRD, which was established in 1971 based on an agreement between the Government of Japan and the United Nations, strives to promote sustainable regional development in developing countries with a focus on development planning and management in the context of globalization and decentralization trends, and the growing concern towards global environmental issues and their impacts.

UNCRD:

• Serves as a training and research centre in regional development and planning and related fields for developing countries;
• Provides advisory services in regional development and planning and related fields;
• Assists developing countries by promoting the exchange of information and practical experience, and providing instruction on relevant subjects in local and regional development; and
• Assists and cooperates with other organizations, national and international, involved in regional development and planning and related fields.

In order to fulfill its given mandate, UNCRD is carrying out the above activities by:

1. Conducting effective action research, assessments, and data collection for the dissemination of findings to facilitate progress towards sustainable regional development.
2. Providing substantive support for capacity development of developing countries by organizing training courses, workshops, seminars, including in-country and sub-regional activities, and training of trainers (TOT) on relevant subjects to achieve sustainable development at the local/regional level. Major UN development commitments such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) are incorporated into training as well as research activities.
3. Motivating government authorities to take the initiative, independently and/or with the support of the central government, in formulating policies for sustainable development at the regional level. Forums for the purpose of sharing information and best practices will be organized whenever deemed necessary to serve as channels through which countries can be equipped with the relevant knowledge needed to promote policy formulation and implementation. It is expected that the concept of sustainable development can thus be widely disseminated, and the targeted local/regional authorities and communities can be effectively guided to adopt this concept and put it into practice.
4. Raising awareness of the need for strategies and effective approaches for dealing with emerging issues and, together with other collaborating partners, providing advisory and technical support for their development and implementation in order to attain human security and sustainability within the institutional and social capacity of the recipient country.
5. Formulating a new approach for regional administration by bringing together the various stakeholders to work as a group in resolving common issues and realizing a shared vision for the future. This type of regional networking enables the stakeholders to jointly formulate and implement a sustainable regional agenda, which can be more effective than if attempted to do so individually. Their institutional capacity for collaborative management is strengthened through capacity-building programmes and activities, and consideration is given to the social, economic, cultural, and political conditions of all countries involved in the agenda.
6. Promoting further interagency coordination and collaboration with the Governments, and DESA and other UN system organizations, and forging increased partnerships with bilateral, multilateral, and international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, universities, the private sector, and other major groups, including ICLEI and CITYNET, to advance the implementation of the sustainable regional development agenda.
7. Promoting South-South/horizontal cooperation, within and beyond regions, to exchange endogenous know-how and best practices in sustainable regional development.
8. Issuing the Centre's representative journals (RDD and RDS) and other publications for dissemination of research outputs and current information on sustainable regional development.
9. Encouraging local communities in Japan to support developing countries in implementing their sustainable regional development initiatives, and enhancing the visibility of UNCRD as a centre of excellence as well as in the regions where its respective Offices are located.