A/HRC/37/79 concrete examples in numerous areas, for example regarding efforts to enact or amend legislation in line with international human rights standards; regarding the challenges to civic space and the work of human rights defenders; on the efforts to combat violence against women and in particular gender-based violence, just to mention a few. The Board certainly considers it so in its own planning. It encourages others contributing directly or indirectly to technical cooperation in the field of human rights to take into account the OHCHR programme plans in determining their own strategies, priorities and programmes. The Board also encourages the Office to continue its programme planning through evidence-based analysis and broad consultation to ensure that its programmatic priorities and work match human rights realities. Following its visits to the field and its findings, it also considers that there is a great opportunity to enhance communication of the important results being achieved on the ground, including sharing experiences across regions. The Board has observed over the last five years how the Office has increased its investments in this critical area. The new programing cycle offers an important opportunity to continue strengthening both advice in the area of communications from headquarters and the expert communications capacity in the field presences, in particular in the regional offices. 34. The Board has been closely following, analysing and participating in various ways in the current OHCHR programming process, which will design its future direction for the period 2018–2021. The Board has particularly appreciated the renewed efforts made by the Office to reach out and obtain the maximum possible contributions from the most varied possible constituencies, including States, national, regional and international institutions and bodies, civil society organizations and experts. The members of the Board have provided their views on the achievements made over the last four years; the human rights challenges ahead, the comparative and collaborative advantages of the Office and the critical areas requiring particular attention and investment. B. Synergy and partnerships with other United Nations entities 35. During its visits to OHCHR field presences during the period under review, the Board continued to pay attention to the synergy and partnerships among United Nations agencies and programmes in the area of technical cooperation in the field of human rights. Through discussions with agencies and programmes present at regional and national levels and Resident Coordinators, the Board has had the opportunity to understand how the United Nations system-wide commitment to human rights has been evolving and how it has been prioritizing support for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. 36. The Board is of the view that the third cycle of the universal periodic review, which began in May 2017, has created a new momentum for constructive and cooperative engagement on the implementation of recommendations by human rights mechanisms, including those emanating from the universal periodic review, and in the light of renewed efforts at the national and regional levels to advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. As emphasized by the Secretary-General in his reports to the General Assembly (see A/72/1, para. 98, and A/72/351), that engagement is based on increased support to Member States, stronger collaboration with United Nations country teams, better alignment of human rights and development efforts at the national level and the involvement of key stakeholders, such as civil society, national human rights institutions, parliaments, United Nations agencies at the national level, the donor community and regional human rights organizations. In 2017, that focus was strengthened through the activities of the Voluntary Fund for Financial and Technical Assistance in the Implementation of the Universal Periodic Review. The Fund provided financial and technical assistance for activities in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Iraq, Lesotho, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. 37. The Board has been particularly pleased with the recent developments in the Americas Region, where the OHCHR regional office for South America has worked closely with the United Nations country teams in a number of countries in the region through the current programming cycle, enhancing the national capacity on human rights. That was 11