- Evaluation Plan:
- 2009-2013, Independent Evaluation Office
- Evaluation Type:
- Thematic
- Planned End Date:
- 01/2013
- Completion Date:
- 01/2013
- Status:
- Completed
- Management Response:
- Yes
- Evaluation Budget(US $):
- 250,000
Evaluation of UNDP Support to Conflict-Affected Countries i the Context of UN Peace Operations
| Document | Type | Language | Size | Status | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Evaluation of UNDP support to conflict affected countries.pdf |
report | English | 1465.29 KB | Posted | 3862 |
| Executive-Summary- Evaluation of UNDP support to conflict affected countries_2013.pdf |
summary | English | 536.40 KB | Posted | 2318 |
| Title | Evaluation of UNDP Support to Conflict-Affected Countries i the Context of UN Peace Operations | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Atlas Project Number: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Evaluation Plan: | 2009-2013, Independent Evaluation Office | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Evaluation Type: | Thematic | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status: | Completed | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Completion Date: | 01/2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Planned End Date: | 01/2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Management Response: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Corporate Outcome and Output (UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Evaluation Budget(US $): | 250,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Source of Funding: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joint Programme: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Joint Evaluation: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Evaluation Team members: |
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| GEF Evaluation: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Key Stakeholders: |
| Lessons | |
|---|---|
| Findings | |
| 1. | Chapter 3 ASSESSMENT OF THE UNDP CONTRIBUTION IN CONFLICT SETTINGS This chapter sets out a series of findings on the work of UNDP in conflict-affected countries, emphasizing examples from the country case studies. It assesses a number of key sectors and cross-cutting themes in which UNDP is engaged, but the scope of enquiry is limited to activities that have a direct bearing on ameliorating a situation in which violent conflict dominates the operational landscape. The question is not whether the activity has an inherent development advantage, but whether at a particular time and place the activity is relevant and effective in preventing conflict or mitigating its effects. Key finding 1: UNDP’s comparative advantages are perceived to be its on-the-ground presence; close partnership with government; role as a bridge between humanitarian, peacebuilding and development efforts; and role in governance and institutional change in the management of conflict. There are risks to having a wide remit and long-term presence, including a tendency towards ad hoc and overly ambitious programming, which consequently has impeded UNDP performance. Tag: Effectiveness Efficiency Relevance Multi Donor Trust Funds Election Justice system Local Governance Public administration reform Rule of law Country Support Platform Human and Financial resources Joint UN Programme Partnership Strategic Positioning Bilateral partners Country Government Conflict Crisis prevention Humanitarian development nexus Peace Building Post Conflict Security |
| 2. | 3.1 ANALYSING THE CONTEXT FOR CONFLICT Key finding 2: Despite recognition of the importance of conflict analysis and the development of its own conflict analysis tools, UNDP has no standard operating procedure for when and how to conduct conflict analysis. As a result, the conduct of conflict analysis in both substantive and procedural terms remains varied across UNDP. Likewise, a ‘theory of change’ is underused by UNDP. Tag: Effectiveness Integration Knowledge management Policies & Procedures Programme Synergy Results-Based Management Theory of Change Conflict |
| 3. | 3.2 EXPANDING POST-CRISIS CAPACITY Key finding 3: UNDP often works in conflict settings through project support units, which are generally embedded in the public sector and operating parallel to it. While this method can enhance the pace and quality of service delivery, it also runs the risk of weakening institutions that countries must rely on over the long term. Tag: Sustainability Local Governance Public administration reform Human and Financial resources Service delivery Bilateral partners Country Government Conflict Peace Building Capacity Building |
| 4. | 3.3 PROGRAMMING AND POLICIES IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED COUNTRIES Key finding 4: ‘Before, during and after’ is the common UNDP refrain in regard to its work in conflict-affected settings. On account of its global deployment and broad technical and administrative mandates, UNDP is engaged in virtually all facets of the work of United Nations country teams in conflict settings. Concerns have been raised that the UNDP role may be overly broad, sometimes encroaching on the relief and recovery work of specialized agencies. Tag: Effectiveness Relevance Strategic Positioning UN Country Team Conflict Humanitarian development nexus Technical Support |
| 5. | 3.3.1 PREVENTING CONFLICT Key finding 5: Development activities alone cannot stop or prevent conflict, but the work of UNDP and other agencies can support and encourage national conflict prevention capacities. Evidence suggests that UNDP has been able to contribute to conflict prevention especially by expanding national capacities that help mitigate and manage the underlying structural causes of violence. Tag: Human rights Local Governance Public administration reform Rule of law Human and Financial resources Joint UN Programme Partnership Policies & Procedures Theory of Change Country Government UN Agencies Crisis prevention Peace Building Promotion of dialogue Social cohesion Capacity Building Inclusive economic growth Jobs and Livelihoods |
| 6. | 3.3.2 CRISIS GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW Key finding 6: UNDP has been effective in providing timely technical and financial assistance to national rule-of-law projects. This includes supporting reconstruction and rehabilitation of essential legal infrastructure and expanded access to legal aid. Especially noteworthy are UNDP efforts to address the challenge of bridging traditional dispute resolution and formal justice systems and furthering transitional justice in post-conflict contexts. Tag: Effectiveness Gender Equality Gender-Based Violence Women's Empowerment Human rights Justice system Local Governance Rule of law Partnership Conflict Conflict resolution Peace Building Promotion of dialogue Reconstruction Security Social cohesion Capacity Building |
| 7. | 3.3.3 REFORMING ELECTORAL SYSTEMS Key finding 7: UNDP is widely perceived as an experienced and impartial provider of electoral support, with notable examples of effective assistance in several conflict-affected countries. UNDP has moved away from supporting elections as events and towards aiding the electoral cycle as a whole. Technical inputs remain overemphasized, and there have been cases where the political concerns of an operation, particularly those pertaining to keeping a peace agreement ‘on track’, have clashed with the more immediate concerns of UNDP over political plurality in elections. Tag: Effectiveness Election Public administration reform Conflict Technical Support |
| 8. | 3.3.4 EMPOWERING WOMEN IN CONFLICT SETTINGS Key finding 8: UNDP has made progress in supporting opportunities for women to participate more fully in the emerging political and legal landscape of post-conflict countries. Notable successes include the expansion of female access to justice, especially for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Tag: Disaster Risk Reduction Gender Equality Gender Mainstreaming Gender-Based Violence Women's Empowerment Civic Engagement Human rights Justice system Human and Financial resources Knowledge management Partnership Policies & Procedures Civil Societies and NGOs Country Government UN Agencies Conflict Conflict resolution |
| 9. | 3.3.5 DISARMING, DEMOBILIZING, REINTEGRATING Key finding 9: UNDP has had varied success in its DDR efforts, reflecting diverse context-specific factors in conflict settings. In a number of cases, UNDP has succeeded in fostering innovative approaches. There has been a tendency to concentrate on immediate outputs rather than longer term impacts. Tag: Effectiveness Impact Gender Equality Gender-Based Violence Women's Empowerment Rule of law Human and Financial resources Innovation Partnership UN Agencies Peace Building Security Coordination |
| 10. | 3.3.6 SUPPORTING SECURITY SECTOR REFORM Key finding 10: Security is central to stabilization in conflict-affected countries, and UNDP is frequently called on to assist with security sector reform. Security issues rarely fall under donor aid programmes, so bilateral assistance is usually drawn from limited alternative funds and is often insufficient. Success is largely determined by the willingness of recipient countries to initiate reforms. UNDP’s efforts to bolster civilian oversight are noteworthy. Better sequencing and coordination between reform in the security sector and other sectors is encouraged. Tag: Effectiveness Civic Engagement Human rights Justice system Rule of law Oversight Programme Synergy Bilateral partners UN Agencies Security Stabilization Coordination Technical Support |
| 11. | 3.3.7 LIVELIHOODS AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY Key finding 11: UNDP interventions in livelihoods and economic revitalization are an important and often innovative component of the broader United Nations approach to conflict-affected settings. Within integrated missions, there has been some tension between the time-bound and technical nature of the approach taken by peacekeepers towards DDR and UNDP’s longer term developmental objectives, which focus on building local capacities for economic generation. Similarly, donor time frames in conflict-affected settings are relatively short, limiting the scope and scale of UNDP interventions. Tag: Recovery Effectiveness Efficiency Gender Equality Women's Empowerment Donor relations Innovation Integration Conflict Social cohesion Capacity Building Inclusive economic growth Jobs and Livelihoods |
| 12. | 3.4 COORDINATING HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT IN UNITED NATIONS PEACE OPERATIONS Key finding 12: UNDP takes on the pivotal role of coordinating the RC/HC in integrated missions, straddling the political, humanitarian and development dimensions. Management effectiveness in these missions is highly specific to the context. A critical unresolved issue for the United Nations is the extent to which humanitarian and development activities should be decoupled from the political process. Tag: Coherence Effectiveness Integration UN Agencies UN Country Team Humanitarian development nexus Peace Building Coordination |
| 13. | 3.4.1 UNITED NATIONS CLUSTER MANAGEMENT Key finding 13: The ‘cluster’ approach is chaired by the HC with the primary support of OCHA, while UNDP leads the Early Recovery Cluster. UNDP management of the cluster has received mixed reviews, with criticism directed especially at a lack of clarity in purpose, insufficient funding and a lack of monitoring and evaluation tools. Tag: Recovery Coherence Effectiveness Efficiency Monitoring and Evaluation Theory of Change UN Agencies Humanitarian development nexus Peace Building Coordination Technical Support |
| 14. | 3.4.2 PROMOTING DIALOGUE WITH CIVIL SOCIETY Key finding 14: UNDP has effectively promoted dialogue between government and civil society at national and local levels, broadening the constituency for peacebuilding. It has also supported improvements in programme design in priority areas through the engagement of a wider range of stakeholders. Tag: Effectiveness Civic Engagement Programme/Project Design Civil Societies and NGOs Country Government Conflict Conflict resolution Peace Building Promotion of dialogue Youth |
| 15. | 3.5 UNDP RESPONSE MECHANISMS The second line of enquiry in the evaluation concerns how UNDP response mechanisms function at headquarters and operational levels during periods of transition in conflict-affected countries. Here, we look at the administrative function with respect to multi-donor trust funds, how UNDP support scales up during transition periods and the responsiveness of UNDP human resources to these processes. Finally, we ask whether UNDP’s measurement of results in these situations responds to the evolving circumstances. 3.5.1 MANAGING MULTI-DONOR TRUST FUNDS Key finding 15: UNDP’s management of multidonor trust funds in conflict settings has encountered some criticism with respect to high overhead charges, slow disbursement and the perception of pre ferential treatment for UNDP’s own development support programmes. Greater attention should be given to capturing lessons to inform country offices and partners. Tag: Disaster Recovery Efficiency Multi Donor Trust Funds Donor relations Joint UN Programme Country Government International Financial Institutions UN Agencies Conflict |
| 16. | 3.5.2 RESPONDING QUICKLY TO CRISES Key finding 16: UNDP has made important refinements and improvements in human resources and procurement in recent years, providing clear evidence that the organization can now respond quicker and more effectively to requests for assistance in the wake of conflicts and disasters. Continuing improvements are needed, however, as the logistical, recruitment and procurement procedures UNDP uses often remain insufficient to the demands of a highly fluid conflict environment. Tag: Crisis Response Disaster Risk Reduction Effectiveness Efficiency Human and Financial resources Policies & Procedures Procurement UN Agencies Conflict Conflict resolution |
| 17. | 3.5.3 SCALING UP UNDP ACTIVITY DURING TRANSITIONS Key finding 17: UNDP plays a prominent role in the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. Its effectiveness is contingent on realistic planning, rapid response, quality personnel, effective coordination with partners and sufficient funding. Tag: Effectiveness Efficiency Human and Financial resources Partnership Policies & Procedures Procurement International Financial Institutions UN Agencies Peace Building Coordination |
| 18. | 3.5.4 THE FUNDING CHALLENGE Key finding 18: UNDP relies heavily on non-core donor contributions to fund its programme activities. In 2010, 70 percent of UNDP’s global country programme expenditure was funded through ‘other donor resources’. Democratic governance activities, particularly those aimed at extending government legitimacy and enhancing capacities for conflict management and service delivery, have generally been the main areas for UNDP support in conflictaffected settings. Tag: Efficiency Rule of law Donor relations Conflict |
| 19. | 3.5.5 LEARNING FROM RESULTS Key finding 19: UNDP lacks a coherent and systematic assessment of progress towards CPR objectives within its country support programmes. Specific indicators or benchmarks have not been established for UNDP work in crisis environments and there is no consistent practice for setting baselines at the outset in order to track progress and improvement. Tag: Effectiveness Relevance Human rights Justice system Country Support Platform Donor relations Knowledge management Monitoring and Evaluation Partnership Policies & Procedures Results-Based Management Theory of Change UN Agencies Poverty Reduction South-South Cooperation Technical Support |
| Recommendations | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Recommendation 1. UNDP should significantly enhance the quality and use of conflict analysis at the country level, including guidance and standard operating procedures detailing when and how analyses should be developed and periodically updated. Effective analyses of needs and risks should, crucially, lead to a theory of change for the planned UNDP support, and then directly to a sequence of activities and a means of measuring progress against objectives. There is at present no UNDP-based standard operating procedure for when and how to conduct conflict analysis. As a result, the way in which these analyses are conducted, in both substantive and procedural terms, varies across UNDP. Nevertheless, there are country-level experiences that demonstrate the value of conducting and regularly updating conflict analyses. The UNDP experience in Nepal is illustrative – on the basis of its ongoing conflict analysis the UNDP country office was able to provide vital strategic oversight throughout the country’s civil war and subsequent peacebuilding process. |
| 2 | Recommendation 2. UNDP should make greater efforts to translate corporate management cooperation between UNDP, DPKO and DPA to the specifics of country priorities and the sequencing of interventions. This would imply a more central role for UNDP in the planning stages at the beginning of integrated missions and then through the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding and in the drawdown of an integrated mission. Clear corporate guidelines and criteria need to be developed in this regard. The IMPP has proved a useful and structured mechanism for ensuring UNDP involvement at the inception of a mission. Yet our case studies indicate that UNDP’s influence in the process remains relatively small compared to the influence of actors focussed on security and political concerns. |
| 3 | Recommendation 3. UNDP should be unambiguous in establishing what recovery projects are eligible for inclusion in a Consolidated Appeal Process or its equivalent. UNDP should make better use of situation teams that convene quickly during the outbreak of conflicts. Experience with the Early Recovery Cluster in recent crises has highlighted confusion over the kinds of recovery projects that are deemed eligible for inclusion in a Consolidated Appeal Process or its equivalent. In some cases critics contend that too much attention has been paid to crisis security, law-and-order measures and transitional justice, and not enough to longer term planning and capacity building efforts. |
| 4 | Recommendation 4. Greater attention should be given to institutional arrangements in order to more effectively manage and disseminate knowledge on pooled multi-donor trust funds at the corporate level, and how this can serve country offices requested to manage such funds. Until recently, UNDP’s global experience in managing multi-partner trust funds was not systematically captured. Such knowledge is useful when a UNDP country office needs to explain to its partners the various trust funds options and how to set up a trust fund. A 2012 independent evaluation noted the effective operation of the firewall in the management of the MPTF. Yet given the continued need for support when UNDP is expected to manage or administer trust funds in the context of post-conflict recovery as well as post-disaster recovery, more attention is needed on conveying the institutional arrangements to partners. |
| 5 | Recommendation 5. To reinforce the importance of delivering as one in post-conflict settings, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board should raise with the United Nations Secretariat and Security Council, for their consideration, the importance of establishing clear guidance on the division of labour and resources during the drawdown of integrated missions. This would help to ensure that individual organizations such as UNDP are adequately prepared for their enhanced role during transition and post-transition. In 2011, the Secretary-General endorsed the report of the Review of Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of Conflict, which recommended enhancing the United Nations’ use of standing civilian capacities. The recommendations underscored UNDP’s pivotal role in resource mobilization and development support in post-conflict settings. They also called for UNDP to take the lead in clusters relating to core national governance functions, justice and capacity development. For UNDP, the period of transition from peacekeeping operations is complex and sensitive. This is the point at which UNDP support activities often take on greater significance in consolidating a country’s progress away from conflict. The effective management of these transitions is of particular interest at present, as several peacekeeping operations are soon to wind down, with support continuing through integrated peacebuilding offices, country teams and special political missions. New United Nations transition guidelines should provide an opportunity for more effective, actionable inter-agency planning and budgeting. |
| 6 | Recommendation 6. Cooperation with international financial institutions, including the World Bank, should be further developed in the areas of joint approaches to post-crisis needs assessments and crisis prevention planning. UNDP has been expanding its partnerships with IFIs in post-conflict situations. For instance, post-crisis needs assessments are being developed through a collaborative scoping exercise undertaken by the United Nations Development Group and the World Bank. These assessments help to identify the infrastructure and government support activities needed to support countries as they move towards recovery. The IMPP has been designed to help achieve a common understanding of strategic objectives in a particular country, by engaging all relevant parts of the United Nations system, and to provide an inclusive framework for action that can also engage external partners, such as the IFIs, regional organizations and bilateral donors. |
| 7 | Recommendation 7. UNDP should establish an internal human resources programme designed to prepare and place female staff in conflict settings and should set tighter benchmarks for offices to meet gender targets. UNDP has a mixed record of accomplishment in terms of the gender balance of its work force in some conflict-affected countries. In Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2010, only 23 percent of the staff was female. In post-crisis Côte d’Ivoire in 2011, only two women were employed, neither in key posts. This poor gender ratio is replicated in the integrated United Nations mission in Côte D’Ivoire. The reasons given relate to difficulties in finding qualified French-speaking women willing to work in unstable environments. |
| 8 | Recommendation 8. All programming for conflict-affected countries should articulate a clear exit strategy. Direct implementation projects should be required to justify why they cannot be nationally executed and should include capacity development measures and a time frame for transitioning to national implementation modalities. It is clear that building national and subnational capacity takes time and depends on many factors, including a robust education system. But UNDP has yet to strike an optimal balance between direct programme implementation and national implementation in many conflict countries. Direct service delivery can escalate the achievement of specific outcomes, and it may be initially necessary to safeguard against corruption. However, it also runs the risk of weakening institutions that countries must rely on over the long term. The capacity for governing that gets built through UNDP support can be quickly eroded by a ‘brain drain’ that takes trained national counterparts to new jobs either in the private sector or, perversely, in international aid organizations such as the United Nations. |
| 9 | Recommendation 9. UNDP should expand its staff training programmes for countries identified as at risk for conflict, revise hiring procedures for staff to stress experience in conflict settings and provide additional incentives for experienced staff to continue working in conflict-affected hardship posts. UNDP’s surge initiative and fast-tracking procedures have gone some way to addressing the shortage of skilled staff on hand at the outbreak of conflict; however, the effectiveness of UNDP in conflict situations will remain contingent on the quality and capabilities of in-country management and staff. Selecting skilled staff to fill appointments in countries at risk for conflict, and carrying out robust training programmes for staff in these countries, constitute the two most important actions to ensure UNDP effectiveness. |
| 10 | Recommendation 10. UNDP should establish new guidance for project development in crisisaffected countries, including generic sets of benchmarks and indicators. This should also include monitoring, evaluation and reporting on progress in conflict settings. These tools should build from programme indicators developed in non-conflict contexts and then be revised to reflect changed circumstances brought on by conflict. New guidance is needed, as UNDP lacks a coherent and systematic assessment of progress towards CPR objectives within country support programmes. Specific indicators or benchmarks have not been established for UNDP work in crisis environments, and there is no consistent practice for setting baselines at the outset of country-based projects in order to track progress. |
1. Recommendation:
Recommendation 1. UNDP should significantly enhance the quality and use of conflict analysis at the country level, including guidance and standard operating procedures detailing when and how analyses should be developed and periodically updated. Effective analyses of needs and risks should, crucially, lead to a theory of change for the planned UNDP support, and then directly to a sequence of activities and a means of measuring progress against objectives.
There is at present no UNDP-based standard operating procedure for when and how to conduct conflict analysis. As a result, the way in which these analyses are conducted, in both substantive and procedural terms, varies across UNDP. Nevertheless, there are country-level experiences that demonstrate the value of conducting and regularly updating conflict analyses. The UNDP experience in Nepal is illustrative – on the basis of its ongoing conflict analysis the UNDP country office was able to provide vital strategic oversight throughout the country’s civil war and subsequent peacebuilding process.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
UNDP country offices and regions have over the last decade developed various tailor-made approaches (such as the Political Analysis and Prospective Scenarios Project in Latin America (PAPEP)), to endow UNDP with a stronger capacity for conflict analysis and conflict mitigation strategies/initiatives. In order to further strengthen these capacities, UNDP has over the past few years supported country offices by deploying Peace and Development Advisers (PDAs) within UNDP offices and/or United Nations country teams to provide analytical expertise and advice to the offices of the United Nations Resident Coordinator. However, UNDP recognizes that this has not been sufficient to address the challenge raised in the recommendation. As such, UNDP has already initiated a review of the Conflict-related Development Analysis (CDA) tool and methodology, which is designed to support improved contextual and conflict analyses by UNDP country offices. The exercise will also include revisiting the standard terms of reference and profile for PDAs to strengthen analytical capacity for prevention. The exercise is led by the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) and is to be finalized by December 2012. Starting in January 2013, a comprehensive rollout plan to train UNDP programme staff in the use of the CDA tool will be initiated, beginning in UNDP priority countries. UNDP is also committed to reviewing the various approaches that have been developed by its various units to better inform a corporate strategy in this regard and to strengthen the relevance and the quality of the CDA tool. Importantly, UNDP has also begun to work on the development and establishment of an Early Warning and Early Action corporate system, which should be operational by March 2013. The aim of the system is to ensure that UNDP better detects possible crises before they erupt and has an effective mechanism to respond adequately and coherently in a preventive manner to safeguard development gains and avoid possible strife.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 Finalize the update of CDA tool, including
review of other approaches that exist in UNDP
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) | 2013/07 | Completed | The revision of the new CDA tool was finalized in June 2013. The CDA roll-out was launched in July 2013, with training-of-trainers workshop for 30 UNDP practitioners. | |
| 1.2 Conduct formal training on conflict analysis
across UNDP programme staff, starting with
staff in CPR priority countries
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR | 2013/12 | Completed | The CDA trainers have delivered training for the priority country offices in Africa (Sept. 2013), and Asia (Oct 2013) regions. | |
| 1.3 Review additional support to ensure the
effective implementation of the CDA tool
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, BDP | 2013/12 | Completed | ||
| 1.4 Identify two countries per region to undertake
a systematic conflict analysis and put in
place the capacities to periodically update the
analysis. Monitor the usage of the analysis for
UNDP programming
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux (in consultation with the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat [DPA]) | 2013/12 | Completed | The new CDA tool was applied in selected priority countries (Myanmar, Yemen, Afghanistan). The BCPR and RBs? country focal points ensure use of the analyses? findings in programmes? design. | |
| 1.5 Develop and establish an Early Warning/Early Action system
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux | 2013/12 | Completed |
2. Recommendation:
Recommendation 2. UNDP should make greater efforts to translate corporate management cooperation between UNDP, DPKO and DPA to the specifics of country priorities and the sequencing of interventions. This would imply a more central role for UNDP in the planning stages at the beginning of integrated missions and then through the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding and in the drawdown of an integrated mission. Clear corporate guidelines and criteria need to be developed in this regard.
The IMPP has proved a useful and structured mechanism for ensuring UNDP involvement at the inception of a mission. Yet our case studies indicate that UNDP’s influence in the process remains relatively small compared to the influence of actors focussed on security and political concerns.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
In February 2011, UNDP established the Executive Team (chaired by the Associate Administrator)to better address protracted crises and complex emergencies. The Executive Team is a forum for UNDP Senior Management to provide clearer guidance to Bureaux and country offices in all mission planning stages and promotes a common position for senior-level coordination with other United Nations partners. The new United Nations system-wide policy on transitions, currently being developed for mission contexts, and the revision of the IMPP guidelines, which involves the participation of UNDP, will further reinforce institutional relations between UNDP, DPKO and DPA. In parallel and to complement this exercise, UNDP is also drafting a lessons learned paper on its involvement in mission start-up and planning processes. Both reviews will help to strengthen collaboration between UNDP, DPKO and DPA around all aspects of United Nations interventions in mission settings. While the engagement with the development agencies of Member States has always been substantial, UNDP has recently increased its engagement with the political departments related to the Security Council. Beginning with the Syrian Arab Republic, UNDP is co-chairing with DPA integrated task forces to develop the United Nations response in situations characterized by violent conflict or post-conflict recovery, but without a peacekeeping mission. At least two additional task forces of this nature will be co-chaired by the end of 2013. In the process of development of the internal lessons learned paper, UNDP Senior Management will also assess how it will measure engagement in the planning and sequencing of missions, and identify at which point or what triggers will prompt additional management action to ensure effective participation in the planning of these integrated missions.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 Revise the IMPP guidelines jointly with
DPKO, DPA and other United Nations Development
Group (UNDG) members
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, BDP (engaging DPA and DPKO) | 2013/12 | Completed | The revision of the IMPP guidelines completed in April 2013. | |
| 2.2 Draft a common United Nations policy on
transitions jointly with DPKO, DPA and other
UNDG members
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, BDP (engaging DPA and DPKO) | 2013/06 | Completed | Common UN policy on transitions was approved in February 2013 | |
| 2.3 Engage systematically with Member States
at key moments in the life of a United Nations
mission (including mission planning; the drafting
of resolutions of United Nations bodies
related to peacekeeping operations and special
political missions; and mission drawdown),
to highlight a development perspective, the
comparative advantages of development actors,
in particular UNDP, as well as challenges
and opportunities
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/22] |
Regional Bureaux, BCPR | 2014/12 | Completed | Consultations are being held with Members States at key stages of mission planning processes in accordance with the provisions of the Policy on Integrated Assessment and Planning, approved in April 2013. | |
| 2.4 UNDP needs to provide appropriate support
to the new arrangements adopted by
the Secretary-General's Policy Committee in
September 2012 for the rule of law in crisis and
post-crisis situations whereby UNDP and DPKO
are appointed Global Focal Points and are
expected to make sure that the whole United
Nations acts together in peacekeeping, special
political missions and other crisis situations
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR, BDP | 2013/03 | Completed | UNDP jointly with DPKO are responsible and accountable for responding to country-level requests, channeled through United Nations entities on the ground, with timely and quality police, justice and corrections assistance including facilitating access to global knowledge and people, and providing advice on assessments, planning, funding and partnerships. The Global Focal Point arrangement is drawing upon expertise from UN entities, Member States, NGOs, think tanks, and make them available to colleagues in the field. | |
| 2.5 A corporate UNDP Peacebuilding Strategy
has been reviewed and approved by UNDP
Senior Management as part of the formulation
of the new strategic plan
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR | 2013/10 | No Longer Applicable | The draft of the corporate UNDP Peacebuilding Strategy was developed and presented to the UNDP's OPG in 2013. In view of the structural change, further development of the strategy was no longer required. |
3. Recommendation:
Recommendation 3. UNDP should be unambiguous in establishing what recovery projects are eligible for inclusion in a Consolidated Appeal Process or its equivalent. UNDP should make better use of situation teams that convene quickly during the outbreak of conflicts.
Experience with the Early Recovery Cluster in recent crises has highlighted confusion over the kinds of recovery projects that are deemed eligible for inclusion in a Consolidated Appeal Process or its equivalent. In some cases critics contend that too much attention has been paid to crisis security, law-and-order measures and transitional justice, and not enough to longer term planning and capacity building efforts.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
Early recovery remains a key part of UNDP work at the global and country levels. Interventions range from restoring core governance functions, providing support to livelihoods and income-generation activities, mine action and the reintegration of demobilized soldiers. The ability of UNDP to link the humanitarian phase with longterm development efforts has led to increased CPR budgets over the past three years. However, based on the findings of the BCPR Portfolio Review, UNDP recognized the need to reassess its early recovery approach to better respond to the changing patterns of development aid in post-conflict and fragile environments. The review and update of the Guidance Note of the Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery (CWGER) and the UNDP policy on early recovery were launched in May 2012. The conclusions of the review will help UNDP to better identify initiatives that can be included in CAP processes and that provide a more effective link between recovery and development. Importantly, UNDP places great emphasis on working closely with the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations Secretariat and the Inter- Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in particular on both reviews to ensure that the roles and responsibilities undertaken by UNDP under early recovery are recognized, differentiated from and complementary to the work of humanitarian organizations. A better understanding between UNDP and other humanitarian actors on respective roles, a clearer common definition of early recovery, along with a common set of guiding principles on the scope and funding mechanism for early recovery will prove an important way to facilitate the inclusion of commonly agreed early recovery projects in CAPs and other early recovery funding mechanisms. This closer partnership between UNDP and humanitarian partners could prove central in improving the mobilization of early recovery resources and more effectively bridging the relief-todevelopment continuum.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 Revise CWGER Guidance Note and the
UNDP policy on early recovery, in close cooperation
with OCHA, IASC, and the Executive
Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA),
and start a global initiative for early recovery
resource mobilization, focusing on the specific
challenges of immediate post-conflict situations
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2018/01/12] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, BDP (engaging DPA and DPKO) | 2015/12 | Completed | BCPR has established a working group to review the policy and consult with relevant stakeholders whilst consultations started within the CWGER and other clusters for the revision of the IASC guidance note on early recovery. (ongoing with expected completion by end-2015). Rather than revising its policy on Early Recovery, UNDP decided to include early recovery in the new Recovery Policy. The revision of the guidance note [Guidance Note on Inter-Cluster Early Recovery] (enclosed link below) was completed in December 2015 (circulated in January 2016). http://earlyrecovery.global/sites/default/files/guidance_note_-010816_0.pdf History | |
| 3.2 Provide training and technical support to
country office staff for understanding CAPs,
project eligibility requirements, humanitarian
funding, and the humanitarian system generally
to capitalize on the presence of humanitarian
actors (that often operate parallel to
peacekeeping missions and conflict-related
approaches)
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
OCHA/UNDP/(BCPR) | 2014/12 | Completed | Support is provided systematically by the UNDP experts on a case-by-case basis in countries where humanitarian cluster system has been rolled out. | |
| 3.3 Develop UNDP signature products for early
recovery and provide training to country offices
on the use of these products to allow for
a level of predictability and uniformity in terms
of its responses in early recovery and its possible
inclusion in the Flash Appeals and CAPs
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, UNDP country offices | 2013/12 | Completed | Signature products have been developed and launched on January 30th, 2013 |
4. Recommendation:
Recommendation 4. Greater attention should be given to institutional arrangements in order to more effectively manage and disseminate knowledge on pooled multi-donor trust funds at the corporate level, and how this can serve country offices requested to manage such funds.
Until recently, UNDP’s global experience in managing multi-partner trust funds was not systematically captured. Such knowledge is useful when a UNDP country office needs to explain to its partners the various trust funds options and how to set up a trust fund. A 2012 independent evaluation noted the effective operation of the firewall in the management of the MPTF. Yet given the continued need for support when UNDP is expected to manage or administer trust funds in the context of post-conflict recovery as well as post-disaster recovery, more attention is needed on conveying the institutional arrangements to partners.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
Various sources of information are already available regarding institutional arrangements and knowledge on UNDG multi-donor trust funds and UNDP-specific trust funds, such as the Joint Funding approaches section on the UNDG website and the MPTF Office GATEWAY, and the CPR Thematic Trust Fund information on the UNDP/BCPR website. However, UNDP has taken note of the recommendation and the need to make information more readily available to partners on the various modalities that can be used to fund programmes both directly through UNDP, as well as through UNDG arrangements with the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office as the administrative agent.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 Additional guidance and information
packages on different options for management
of pooled trust funds in which UNDP is
involved will be finalized and approved by the
UNDP Senior Management. This guidance will
elaborate specificities of a spectrum of CPR
pooled funds (making a distinction between
UNDP trust funds and MPTFs administered
by the MPTF Office on behalf of UNDG,
including Common Humanitarian Funds
(CHFs) and outline options that the country
offices will take into account in proposing
specific funding modalities for use in CPR
environments
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR, MPTF Office/ Bureau of Management (BoM), Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) | 2013/05 | Completed | The Bureau of Management and BCPR have collaborated on shaping a new model for the UNDP managing agent role in new CHFs; (2) BCPR is taking the lead in improving UNDP wide advocacy and knowledge sharing around UNDP's managing agent function in existing CHFs; (3) MPTF Office has published paper on "Pooled financing mechanisms for the New Deal"; and (4) Taking into account the results of a UN-wide mapping exercise of interagency pooled Funds, the MPTF Office has prepared a draft paper on "Financing Resilience" (to be finalised in March). |
5. Recommendation:
Recommendation 5. To reinforce the importance of delivering as one in post-conflict settings, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board should raise with the United Nations Secretariat and Security Council, for their consideration, the importance of establishing clear guidance on the division of labour and resources during the drawdown of integrated missions. This would help to ensure that individual organizations such as UNDP are adequately prepared for their enhanced role during transition and post-transition.
In 2011, the Secretary-General endorsed the report of the Review of Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of Conflict, which recommended enhancing the United Nations’ use of standing civilian capacities. The recommendations underscored UNDP’s pivotal role in resource mobilization and development support in post-conflict settings. They also called for UNDP to take the lead in clusters relating to core national governance functions, justice and capacity development.
For UNDP, the period of transition from peacekeeping operations is complex and sensitive. This is the point at which UNDP support activities often take on greater significance in consolidating a country’s progress away from conflict. The effective management of these transitions is of particular interest at present, as several peacekeeping operations are soon to wind down, with support continuing through integrated peacebuilding offices, country teams and special political missions. New United Nations transition guidelines should provide an opportunity for more effective, actionable inter-agency planning and budgeting.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
Although UNDP has been actively involved in the development of Standard Operating Procedures for Delivering as One, to ensure that specific aspects of transition settings were taken into account, a new review by the United Nations Integration Steering Group (ISG), chaired by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, is in the process of developing a common policy on transitions for United Nations missions based on lessons and good practices from across the United Nations system. UNDP is actively involved in this process. UNDP, together with DPKO, OCHA and UNICEF, is currently having regular meetings with key Security Council members, at which critical issues in mission settings including transitions are discussed. UNDP has also initiated a lessons learned study from past mission transitions aimed at developing guidelines for its future action in this area. Contributing to joint and/or collective United Nations activities remains an important priority for UNDP that underpins all activity. However, despite the good intentions of UNDP, it is also important to highlight the fact that any success in this areas will depend on the willingness of all agencies concerned to work together.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 United Nations-wide policy on integrated
mission transition to be developed
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
Executive Office of the Administrator (EXO), Regional Bureaux, BCPR | 2013/06 | Completed | The revision of the guidelines on the UN Integrated Mission Planning Process was completed in April 2013 with the approval of a new policy on Integrated Assessment and Planning (IAP) | |
| 5.2 Lessons learned and guidance for UNDP
engagement in integrated mission transitions
being developed
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/03/10] |
BCPR | 2013/12 | Completed | A lessons learned study of UNMIT?s withdrawal in Timor-Leste was conducted in July-August 2013. A lessons learned study called Beyond Transitions was produced in partnership with Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands. The report was launched in New York in September 2013. Based on the lessons learned draft guidance has been developed. The draft guidance will be implemented in Burundi and Liberia. Based on the lessons from these two cases the guidance will be revised and final guidance note produced. | |
| 5.3 Contribute to the development of UNDG
Standard Operating Procedures for Delivering
as One to ensure that they can be fully applied
in transition settings
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
EXO, BCPR through UNDG-ECHA | 2014/12 | Completed | The relevant provisions , guidances and tools were incorporated in the latestversion of the Standard Operating Procedures issued in August 2014. |
6. Recommendation:
Recommendation 6. Cooperation with international financial institutions, including the World Bank, should be further developed in the areas of joint approaches to post-crisis needs assessments and crisis prevention planning.
UNDP has been expanding its partnerships with IFIs in post-conflict situations. For instance, post-crisis needs assessments are being developed through a collaborative scoping exercise undertaken by the United Nations Development Group and the World Bank. These assessments help to identify the infrastructure and government support activities needed to support countries as they move towards recovery.
The IMPP has been designed to help achieve a common understanding of strategic objectives in a particular country, by engaging all relevant parts of the United Nations system, and to provide an inclusive framework for action that can also engage external partners, such as the IFIs, regional organizations and bilateral donors.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
The issue covered by this recommendation has been a UNDP priority for several years. UNDP cooperation with the World Bank in crisis countries increased after the publication of the World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development in the thematic areas of rule of law, employment creation, disaster risk reduction and crisis governance, including public sector administration and capacity development. UNDP is also chairing the Post-Conflict Needs Assessment Advisory Group, and leads in the United Nations system on joint work with the World Bank on Post- Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNA). The Advisory Group concentrates on further development of the PCNA methodology, and there are efforts to link the PCNA more closely with PDNA. UNDP is also an active participant in a system-wide effort that began in 2010 to strengthen cooperation with the World Bank on the ground in specific countries, supported by a Swiss Trust Fund. A review of this experience will be conducted by the end of 2013 to outline the impact of this cooperation and lessons learned in the first four pilot countries. The conclusions of the review will build on the closer cooperation that has been built between UNDP and the World Bank and will hopefully provide future avenues for increased collaboration.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 Further develop and finalize the PCNA
methodology, in close cooperation with the
Development Operations Coordination Office
(DOCO) of the United Nations Secretariat,
in particular regarding support to country
exercises, development of monitoring methodology
and involvement of other regional
organizations, in particular the regional development
banks
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR, DOCO | 2013/12 | Completed | The standard operating procedures (SOPs) recognize that UN country teams and their counterparts need to tailor the implementation of Delivering as One to the particular contexts, including the post-conflict transition | |
| 6.2 Establish a forum for engagement in job
creation in fragile States with the World Bank
and other partners; and implement pilot
programmes that seek to enhance complementarity
and the impact of collaborative
support in selected countries
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2015/06/26] |
BCPR, BERA, BDP, Regional Bureaux | 2014/12 | Completed | From 2013-2014, UNDP in partnership with the World Bank and EU, established the New Deal Process planning framework for engagement in fragile states. With financial support from the World Bank, EU, and other donors, such as France and the Africa Development Bank, UNDP implemented fragility assessments and projects addressing fragility in Afghanistan, CAR, Chad, Comoros, DRC, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Timor-Leste and Yemen. | |
| 6.3 Engage in joint analysis with the World
Bank to identify countries where the PCNA
approach might be limited to and would
benefit from a more coherent United Nations/
IFIs joint analysis
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2018/03/21] |
BERA, BCPR; Regional Bureaux (in consultation with DPA and DPKO as appropriate) | 2014/12 | Completed | Joint World Bank/UNDP capacity needs assessments were conducted in Eastern DRC and in Yemen. Completed and ongoing. History | |
| 6.4 Provide guidance and direction through
the UNDP Executive Team for protracted crisis
and complex emergencies on country-specific
situations regarding engagement with the IFIs
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/14] |
Executive Team; Executive Team secretariat; Regional Bureaux; BCPR | 2014/12 | Completed | Guidance, direction and concrete support is provided to the countries in crisis and post-crisis situations through the UNDP Executive Team on a continuous basis, based on regular country analysis and updates. | |
| 6.5 Undertake at least two joint assessments
with the World Bank of the capacity needs
for implementation of peace agreements,
and establish joint mechanisms to mobilize
resources to meet these needs
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BERA, BCPR, Regional Bureaux, the World Bank, Resident Coordinators in concerned countries | 2014/12 | Completed | Joint World Bank/UNDP capacity needs assessments were conducted in Eastern DRC and in Yemen. | |
| 6.6 Provide joint implementation support
to New Deal pilot countries with the World
Bank through donor funded G7+ support
mechanism
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2015/03/19] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux | 2014/12 | Completed | UNDP supported the Government of Somalia and the g7+ in implementing the New Deal and setting up of New Deal coordinating structures, (i.e. High Level Task Force and Compact Working Groups). Following the launch of the New Deal compact in September 2013, A Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility was developed, with the UNDP and the World bank being members of the Steering Committee. The European Union co-funded New Deal implementation efforts and consultations between May and September 2013, channeled through the UNDP Somalia Country Office. In South Sudan, UNDP has placed its own staff member from July- December 2013 to support the New Deal process. The development of the New Deal compact has happened through an extensive and highly inclusive consultation process among the main stakeholder groups - government, civil society and donors, including the World Bank and UNDP. |
7. Recommendation:
Recommendation 7. UNDP should establish an internal human resources programme designed to prepare and place female staff in conflict settings and should set tighter benchmarks for offices to meet gender targets.
UNDP has a mixed record of accomplishment in terms of the gender balance of its work force in some conflict-affected countries. In Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2010, only 23 percent of the staff was female. In post-crisis Côte d’Ivoire in 2011, only two women were employed, neither in key posts. This poor gender ratio is replicated in the integrated United Nations mission in Côte D’Ivoire. The reasons given relate to difficulties in finding qualified French-speaking women willing to work in unstable environments.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
The requirements of ensuring gender equality are already included in the UNDP recruitment policies and procedures. However, it has proven continually difficult to attract female candidates to CPR settings. UNDP will address this challenge and provide additional training for the female UNDP staff and female consultants to be placed in conflict settings.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 Organize training/skills enhancement
activities for female UNDP staff selected to be
posted in crisis environments
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2015/06/26] |
Office of Human Resources/BoM, BCPR | 2014/12 | No Longer Applicable | ||
| 7.2 Analyze issues pertaining to attraction and
retention of female personnel in crisis environments;
develop and implement targeted
response actions
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2015/06/26] |
BoM, Regional Bureaux | 2014/12 | No Longer Applicable |
8. Recommendation:
Recommendation 8. All programming for conflict-affected countries should articulate a clear exit strategy. Direct implementation projects should be required to justify why they cannot be nationally executed and should include capacity development measures and a time frame for transitioning to national implementation modalities.
It is clear that building national and subnational capacity takes time and depends on many factors, including a robust education system. But UNDP has yet to strike an optimal balance between direct programme implementation and national implementation in many conflict countries. Direct service delivery can escalate the achievement of specific outcomes, and it may be initially necessary to safeguard against corruption. However, it also runs the risk of weakening institutions that countries must rely on over the long term. The capacity for governing that gets built through UNDP support can be quickly eroded by a ‘brain drain’ that takes trained national counterparts to new jobs either in the private sector or, perversely, in international aid organizations such as the United Nations.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
UNDP agrees with the need to ensure that all its projects, whether national implementation (NIM) or direct implementation (DIM), have an appropriate exit strategy and foster capacity-building. This is an important consideration under the current approval process for direct implementation of projects, which is granted to the country offices by their respective Regional Bureaux after consideration of the nature of the special development situation and specific comparative advantages of the country office in managing projects. It is important to clarify that the DIM modality has as much of an emphasis on capacity-building as does NIM. However, in crisis or post-crisis settings, national authorities are least able to cope with procedures imposed upon them by the NIM modality, which are, moreover, different from their normal operating procedures. It is, however, important that both NIM and DIM projects clearly outline their capacitybuilding objectives in line with the exit strategy. UNDP will also review the programme- operating modalities to ensure that there is no misunderstanding concerning how they contribute to national capacity-building.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 Review a selected number of country
offices to determine their compliance with
the implementation of UNDP procedures on
DIM from the perspective of their impact on
national capacity development
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2015/03/19] |
OSG/Evaluation Office, Regional Bureaux | 2013/12 | Completed | The audit of DEX/DIM projects is undertaken periodically by the UNDP?s Office of Audit and Performance Review. In some instances, the Resident Coordinators/Resident Representatives initiate the request to audit DIM/DEX projects. | |
| 8.2 Refine approval process for DIM by
adding a strong national capacity assessment
requirement and a clear strategy for capacity
enhancement as well as a timeline for transition
to NIM
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
Regional Bureaux, OSG, EXO | 2014/12 | Completed | The UNDP Programme and Operations Policy and Procedures (POPP) includes a provision for the assessment of the capacity for direct implementation, including a specific assessment tool. The POPP also prescribes that before the DIM arrangments are approvded, the important factors, such as availability of national institutions' capacity to implement and availability of exit strategy need to be assessed. | |
| 8.3 UNDP Senior Management to assess project implementation modalities for CPR settings in the UNDP programme manual
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2018/01/26] |
EXO/DIG/BCPR | 2018/12 | Completed | This was done through the PPM re-write. The PPM Reference Group had a team looking specifically at modalities and solutions for crisis settings. This working group was led by RBAS with membership from CRU, RBA and others within the overall umbrella of the BPPS/DIG led PPM Reform process. The reforms are introducing a number of new flexibilities for working in crisis settings, including the ability to use initiation plans to quickly respond to crisis for up to 18 months and greater flexibility to change CPDs and projects to respond to changing contexts in crisis. History |
9. Recommendation:
Recommendation 9. UNDP should expand its staff training programmes for countries identified as at risk for conflict, revise hiring procedures for staff to stress experience in conflict settings and provide additional incentives for experienced staff to continue working in conflict-affected hardship posts.
UNDP’s surge initiative and fast-tracking procedures have gone some way to addressing the shortage of skilled staff on hand at the outbreak of conflict; however, the effectiveness of UNDP in conflict situations will remain contingent on the quality and capabilities of in-country management and staff. Selecting skilled staff to fill appointments in countries at risk for conflict, and carrying out robust training programmes for staff in these countries, constitute the two most important actions to ensure UNDP effectiveness.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
UNDP recognizes the need to continue improving the competencies and quality of staff assigned to conflict settings and will continue to improve training, recruitment systems and incentives within the framework and limits of related regulations.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 Define specific skills and competencies
required for posts in conflict-affected hardship
duty stations
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR, OHR/BoM | 2013/12 | Completed | The specific job descriptions for posts in crisis-affected countries are developed in consultations with relevant UNDP bureaus and units | |
| 9.2 Engage BCPR during the selection and
appointment of senior managers for crisis
country offices (deputies and above)
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
OHR/BoM, BCPR | 2014/12 | Completed | BCPR senior managers participate in the selection panels established for recruitment of senior managers for country offices affected by crisis. | |
| 9.3 Develop and introduce a team approach
for assigning senior managers to crisis country
offices, taking into account the capacities of
the country office management team as a
whole with the goal of filling capacity gaps
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
OHR/BoM | 2014/12 | Completed | The job descriptions for senior managers' posts in crisis-affected countries are developed in consultations with relevant UNDP bureaus and units. These job descriptions incorporate specific requirements for relevant competencies and skills. | |
| 9.4 Ensure that a staff member with skills in
political analysis, facilitation, and conflict
resolution is available to support the Resident
Coordinator/Resident Representative in at
least half (i.e., 20) of 40 priority countries
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
BCPR, DPA, Regional Bureaux | 2014/12 | Completed | Peace and Development advisors (PDAs) are deployed based on the requested from country offices. Each year, the PDAs are deployed in more than 35 countries globally. |
10. Recommendation:
Recommendation 10. UNDP should establish new guidance for project development in crisisaffected countries, including generic sets of benchmarks and indicators. This should also include monitoring, evaluation and reporting on progress in conflict settings. These tools should build from programme indicators developed in non-conflict contexts and then be revised to reflect changed circumstances brought on by conflict.
New guidance is needed, as UNDP lacks a coherent and systematic assessment of progress towards CPR objectives within country support programmes. Specific indicators or benchmarks have not been established for UNDP work in crisis environments, and there is no consistent practice for setting baselines at the outset of country-based projects in order to track progress.
Management Response: [Added: 2013/01/31] [Last Updated: 2020/07/04]
UNDP guidelines for planning, monitoring and evaluation of interventions in crisis settings are contained in the ?Compendium #1 ? Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Prevention and Recovery Settings?. However, UNDP acknowledges the point made in the recommendation and the fact that the current Compendium does not address the specific issues of programme effectiveness, particularly in post-disaster settings. A recent review of the BCPR programme portfolio in CPR settings conducted jointly with Regional and Central Bureaux further stressed the need to implement existing guidance in this area in order to strengthen programme relevance and effectiveness, identify areas for strategic investment to maximize impact, and refocus on capacity development in CPR settings. A detailed action plan was established to implement the recommendations for the review, and includes the development of a special monitoring and evaluation system for crisis-affected countries that includes crisis-sensitive indicators, frequent contextual analyses, and more frequent monitoring visits. BCPR is also undertaking a pilot initiative to spearhead a new approach to monitoring and evaluation in conflict settings.
Key Actions:
| Key Action | Responsible | DueDate | Status | Comments | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 Introduce and roll out a new results based
management support package to
country offices
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
Operations Support Group (OSG) | 2013/01 | Completed | UNDP has developed the Country Office Support Initiative (COSI), with the objective of strengthening the practices of Results-Based Management, and supporting offices in this process of adapting to the new Strategic Plan. The initiative was successfully rolled-out to country offices, seeking to improve practices and strengthen the culture of RBM in the organization, as well as monitor the implementation of the Strategic Plan on a structural level from a results-based approach in a complex, changing and multidisciplinary development contexts. | |
| 10.2 The definition of CPR relevant indicators
will be part of the formulation of results chains
for the new UNDP strategic plan
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/12/18] |
OSG/BCPR/BDP | 2014/12 | Completed | The crisis prevention and recovery indicators have been incorporated in the results framework of the Strategic Plan. | |
| 10.3 BCPR to spearhead pilot phase of new
monitoring and evaluation approach in two
pilot countries
[Added: 2013/03/21] [Last Updated: 2014/02/13] |
BCPR, Regional Bureaux, OSG | 2013/12 | Completed | Pilot phase of the project of using narrative-based methodologies for Outcome monitoring was completed in Sudan, DRC and Pakistan. Representatives from three country offices were trained in Sensemaker methodology for data collection and analysis. The project will continue in 2014 with data collection and lessons learned to be produced in second half of 2014. |