A/HRC/34/74 implementation in the 2014‒2017 programming cycle. The Board looks forward to making its expertise and experience available to OHCHR in the development of the 2018-2021 programming cycle, which will be undertaken in 2017. 47. Technical cooperation in the field of human rights has substantially advanced in recent years. What is now needed is an improved understanding of the types of technical cooperation that OHCHR can and is best placed to provide, taking into account not only its mandate and expertise but also its 25 years of experience in field operations. The Board very much hopes that its views regarding the components of effective technical cooperation and the outcomes of its sessions can help to strengthen this understanding. This is particularly important in view of the critical support that the Office can provide, as described in the present report, in the review of national development objectives in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other important international initiatives, such as the Human Rights Up Front initiative. The Board was pleased to learn from national partners about the key contributions that OHCHR has been able to make when it has a presence in the field, and when the presence is properly staffed and financed, and has a framework of operations that adequately represents the High Commissioner’s mandate. 48. The Board encourages States to continue to work with OHCHR in implementing innovative approaches and replicating and sharing good practices and lessons learned across countries and regions. This is critical if the strengthening of the human rights programme is to be continued. The Board notes that an increasing number of States openly acknowledge the role and support of OHCHR field presences during thematic panel discussions on technical cooperation at the sessions of the Human Rights Council. Such positive recognition should be translated into more substantial and sustained funding of OHCHR, through both the United Nations regular budget and additional contributions by States, so that it is able to provide adequate support to States in the promotion and protection of human rights. 49. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, with their robust and explicit human rights-based approach, requires a new understanding of what constitutes official development assistance (ODA). The Board is persuaded that all contributions to OHCHR should now be treated as ODA in view of the critical importance that all its work has for sustainable development and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. IV. Status of funding and donors 50. At its meeting in Guatemala in October 2016, the Board was updated on the overall financial status of OHCHR and the financial status of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. The Board also discussed and analysed the status of implementation of the workplan for the Voluntary Fund for 2016. Despite the continuing reduction in expenditures under the Fund in accordance with the initiatives taken by the Office to reduce its funding gap, support for technical cooperation continues to exceed the voluntary contributions received by the Fund. An analysis of funding trends between 2008 and 2016 (see annex I) shows the continuing decrease in voluntary contributions to the Fund, particularly in the past three years, which is having a negative impact on the capacity to respond positively to current needs and demands on the ground. 51. In 2016, the total expenditure as at 31 December 2016 was $14,301,000, substantially less than the projections in the workplan owing to a number of reductions in various programmes. The reductions largely corresponded to the deficit between contributions received throughout 2016 and assessed needs. By 31 December 2016, the 14