From Policy to Practice UNFPA’s Role in the Changing Aid and Development Environment
From Policy to Practice UNFPA’s Role in the Changing Aid and Development Environment Guidance Note on Aid Effectiveness Policies and Procedures Manual (Programme)
Acknowledgements The following guidance note addresses UNFPA’s role in the changing Aid and Development Environment and is an update to the 2007 edition included in the PPM. The note was prepared by the Aid Effectiveness team under the direction of Laura Laski of UNFPA’s Technical Division. The editorial team comprised of Dia Timmermans and Danielle Engel would like to acknowledge the valuable comments and inputs of the HQ reference group composed of members from UNFPA’s Technical Division, Programme Division, Information and External Relation Division, Human Resource Division and the Division Management Services. Particular thanks goes also to the participants of an expert meeting which brought together colleagues from HQ, County Offices and Regional Offices in June 2009 to review and validate the proposed guidance. Appreciated were in particular the valuable contributions provided by UNFPA Country Offices in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Viet Nam.
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
From Policy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. UNFPA’s Strategic Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1. How does UNFPA monitor progress? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Table 1: Current Indicators tracking UNFPA contributions to principles of aid effectiveness . . . . 2
2. UN Reform, UNDAF and National Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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2.1. The policy context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2. Practical strategies for action by country offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Capacity Development and Technical Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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3.1. Capacity development – determinants and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Box 1. ACCRA: A Strong Agenda for Capacity Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.2. UNFPA in the regions: brokering technical assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3.3. Harmonized technical assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Table 2: Options for pooling technical assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3.4. Strategies for country offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Cover photo: Bangladesh/Thomas Sennett/World Bank
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
Table of contents
‌to Practice
. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. Considering the Opportunities . . . . . . . . 11 4.1. Assessing the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Changing the Mindset: Human Resources Management . . . . . .
23
4.2. The future of risk management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7. Supporting National Procurement . . . . .
25
5. Managing Joint Financing & Understanding Public Finance Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
7.1. Improving UN procurement efficiency . . . . . . . . . .25 7.1.1. Updated guidelines for harmonized UN procurement at the country level . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.1. The different funding modalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
7.1.2. Main considerations in the guidelines . . . . . 26
Table 3. Committing the funds: Three modalities . 16
7.2. Strategies and actions for UNFPA country offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Table 4. Disbursement or transfer of funds . . . . . 17 Table 5. Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 5.2. Elements to consider when negotiating a MoU . . . 18
8. Support for National Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5.2.1. Minimum requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.1. Strategies and actions for UNFPA country offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.2.2. Tracking and monitoring expenditure and reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.1.1. Support to diagnostic review and assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.2.3. Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.1.2. Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2.4. Unspent balances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.1.3. Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3. Public Finance Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.1.4. Monitoring and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Diagram 1: The Budget Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
9. Mobilising Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.1. Options for support of public finance management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
9.1. UN Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Annex 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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35
“We are changing the way we work to respond to a changing environment. In a sense, UNFPA is aiming at implementing development effectiveness, in accordance with the Accra Agenda for Development. We are ahead of many others in ensuring the rights of countries to own their programmes, but we still have a long way to go to fine tune the HOW, to translate this agenda into actually using national systems. To fulfil this task, we need a change in our mindset and behaviour in our organizational culture and the way we do our work.“
Thoraya Obaid, 14 April 2009
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
Preface
T
his guidance note will assist UNFPA’s transition from stand-alone project implementation to strategic support for country-led processes and programmes. UNFPA’s value added lies in capacity development and the Fund’s experience in supporting national ownership, harmonization, alignment and strategic partnerships. The note updates UNFPA’s Role in the Changing Aid and Development Environment – from Policy to Practice, 2007, emphasising managing for results and contributing to better outcomes for development. Aligning with a partner country’s development priorities, with appropriate use of its own institutions and systems, increases aid effectiveness by strengthening the country’s capacity to develop, implement and account for its policies to its citizens and parliament, and advance progress towards achievement of the MDGs. The new approach to programming will be of direct benefit to the people of UNFPA’s partner countries, especially vulnerable groups including women and girls. This guidance note takes account of the major changes in the aid and development architecture at the global and country level. This includes the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, outcomes of the Accra High Level Forum for Aid Effectiveness, the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR) and UN reform. For easier reference and use, the note is divided into two parts; the policy environment and practical considerations for the changing aid and development environment. The Policy section includes: • A chapter on the UNFPA Strategic Plan, which addresses the principles of UNFPA’s response to the changing aid and development environment. • A chapter on UN reform, addressing countries’ expectations that the UN will deliver on global commitments. • A chapter on capacity development and technical assistance, locating capacity development in the policy environment.
F ro m P o licy to practice v
Preface (continued)
The Practical section includes: • Assessing the environment and managing risk; • Financial management, including engagement with public finance management; • Developing staff capacities and adjusting the skills mix in UNFPA country offices; • Using and strengthening national procurement; • Supporting national planning, monitoring and evaluation, with gradual harmonisation and alignment to national systems; • Resource mobilisation. Our challenge is now to translate our commitment to the changing aid environment from policy to practice, from words to action. I urge you to rise to this challenge and to make your contribution to development effectiveness.
Werner Haug, October 2010
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
Introduction
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n the changing aid and development environment, UNFPA is adapting its programmes and systems to each country’s own context, moving progressively to nationally owned and led processes. The goal is to improve the health and well-being of populations through the advancement of the ICPD Agenda.
UNFPA has been involved in sector-wide approaches (SWAps) for a number of years and is one of the leaders in this approach in the UN family. In 2009 UNFPA was involved in SWAps in 27 countries, in support of country-led processes. In at least ten countries the UNFPA financial contribution is harmonized within joint funding modalities. Experience from a number of countries, underpinned by a recent evaluation report, shows that this approach is effective for raising the visibility of reproductive health in policy dialogue, planning and monitoring, and leveraging a larger amount of resources towards ICPD implementation. Building on experience, this updated Guidance Note encourages this momentum while challenging country offices to be more ambitious and providing them with practical guidance on how to advance their programmatic support in the context of the changing aid and development environment. As developing countries are increasingly driving their own development agenda, UNFPA takes a pragmatic approach to advancing the ICPD mandate by: • Supporting national development frameworks and sector strategies; • Progressively using country systems for reporting, monitoring and channelling resources and procuring commodities; • Strengthening coordination and collaboration, including pursuing joint financing arrangements such as pooling/basket arrangements and sector budget support where appropriate; • Agreeing on divisions of labour between development partners based on comparative advantage and value added; • Relying on South-South and triangular (South-South-North) collaboration. • Supporting innovative and creative approaches to development, and giving a voice to marginalized groups • Collaborating with civil society organizations and the private sector in building better national policies and systems, and increasing the effectiveness of development assistance. F ro m P o l icy to practice vii
From Policy . . .
v iii UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
1
UNFPA’s Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan 2008-2011 Accelerating Progress and National Ownership of the ICPD Programme of Action is the centrepiece of UNFPA’s organizational programming, management and accountability. The Strategic Plan addresses the changing aid and development environment, in the context of the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, in the following four areas: 1
2
3
1 National ownership and alignment
UNFPA is fully committed to the principles of national ownership, national leadership and national capacity development with the goal of implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. These are the foundation of the Fund’s Strategic Plan, and hence of all UNFPA-supported activities (Strategic Plan, para 32).
2 National capacity development
National capacity development is the core of UNFPA programming. UNFPA will work in an inclusive manner on national capacity development, focussing on supporting systems and institutional development for government and civil society organisations.
Chad/Micah Albert/UNFPA
3 Partnerships and harmonisation
For UNFPA, being a strategic partner means working together towards national development results, based on the Fund’s comparative advantage and a clear division of responsibilities. The UNFPA Management Results Framework stresses the importance of maintaining and expanding effective partnerships.
UNFPA will work with other agencies to ensure the central importance of the ICPD agenda in common UN programming frameworks, and its integration into national development strategies. Chapter 2 has more details on UNFPA’s role in UN reform.
1. DP/FPA/2007/17 2. A/RES/62/208 General Assembly 3. OECD 2005, OECD, 2008
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4 Results-based management and accountability The Strategic Plan commits UNFPA to further strengthen results-based management, including planning, quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation, to enhance accountability and oversight. The Plan incorporates increased emphasis on results and devotes two of the nine management outputs to this area (for details see paras. 87 and 88). The Strategic Plan is comprised of three interlinked frameworks, on development results, management results and integrated financial resources, which together form the centrepiece of UNFPA programming, management and accountability.
1.1
How does UNFPA monitor progress?
UNFPA tracks progress on each of the four principles of the changing aid and development environment through its annual reporting process. Some of the key indicators are given in Table 1 below. UNFPA reports progress on an annual basis to its governing bodies, including on these indicators.
TABLE 1 Current Indicators tracking UNFPA contributions to principles of aid effectiveness Principle
UNFPA Tracking Indicator in Annual Reporting
National ownership
Proportion of national development plans and poverty reduction strategies that incorporate population dynamics, reproductive health including HIV/AIDS, and gender equality. Proportion of countries that address young people’s multi-sectoral needs within national development plans and poverty reduction strategies.
Capacity development
10 Reference Set of Output Indicators for UNFPA contribution to capacity development
Partnerships and harmonisation
Number of active joint programmes with other UN agencies Percentage of respondents assessing UNFPA as strong in advocacy in support of poverty reduction and MDGs
Results-based management and accountability
Proportion of country programme or project output indicators having baseline and target data. Proportion of office management plan outputs and annual work plan outputs achieved Proportion completed of activities listed in annual monitoring and evaluation plan Annual UNDAF and country programme review conducted Completion rate of results-based management staff training activities Proportion implemented of accepted recommendations from last year’s evaluation
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2
UN Reform, UNDAF and National Processes
T
India/Simone D. McCourtie/World Bank
he United Nations system is widely acknowledged as a partner with programme countries in capacity development; but in the past, capacity development was often directed at UN-supported programmes or projects rather than the national development process. In contrast, the 2007 Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR), the core of the UN reform at the country level, urged the UN to strengthen national capacities to manage national programmes, including aid coordination. The Review says that the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) process should demonstrate alignment with national priorities and country systems, harmonisation among development actors, and a focus on development results. For that to happen the UNDAF must become a strategic reflection of national development processes.
F ro m P o l icy to practice 3
2.1 The policy context UNFPA country and regional offices are encouraged to align their programmes with national priorities and country systems, taking into consideration the development status of the countries concerned and without compromising UNFPA’s mandate. Responding to a call from many UN country teams and stakeholders for a simpler UNDAF process, the Working Group on Programming Issues developed a) simplified guidelines, incorporating a simplified process; and b) a technical guidance document containing the substance of the February 2009 Common County Assessment j23 (CCA)-UNDAF Guidelines. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) approved both documents in November 2009. 4
2.2 Practical strategies for action by country offices • As a member of the UN country team, UNFPA should carefully organize its participation in policy discussions. The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) should speak with one strong voice. If the country office has the capacity, UNFPA should take the lead in relevant areas of the team’s work. • UNCT agencies involved in the same sector should agree on a division of labour, each in its own thematic area. • When UNCT decides on the division of labour, UNFPA has to ensure that ICPD/ MDG-related areas are fully reflected. If UNFPA is not leading the process, the country office should ensure that the UNCT promotes all aspects of the ICPD/ MDG agenda in discussions with government and partners. • UNCTs and UNFPA in particular are encouraged to work closely with other development partners for the inclusion of ICPD programme of action and the MDGs into joint programmes. • UNCTs are encouraged to harmonize UN cycles with government cycles. This presents no barrier for UNFPA: guidance has already been provided in this area (see Chapter 5 – Financial Management)
4. These documents are available on the UNDG website http://www.undg.org
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UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
3
Capacity Development and Technical Assistance
C
apacity development is far more than a simple transfer of knowledge or organizational models. Today’s consensus, articulated in the Paris Declaration 2005 and Accra Agenda for Action 2008, sets capacity development in its political and social context, a process strongly led from within a country with support from development partners. 5
6
The OECD/DAC definition adopted by UNDG is that capacity development is a process “whereby people, organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time.” The goal is to equip countries to take ownership of their national development priorities, especially those related to the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. UNFPA provides support to strengthen national capacities as a means to achieve the ICPD goals and corresponding MDG targets.
BOX 1
Accra: A Strong Agenda for Capacity Development
The Accra Agenda for Action makes specific commitments: Together, developing countries and development partners will take the following actions to strengthen capacity development: • Developing countries will systematically identify areas where there is a need to strengthen the capacity to perform and deliver services at all levels – national, subnational, sectoral and thematic – and design strategies to address them.
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• Development partners will strengthen their own capacity and skills to be more responsive to developing countries’ needs. • Donors’ support for capacity development will be demanddriven and designed to support country ownership. To this end, developing countries and development partners will i) jointly select and manage technical cooperation, and ii) promote the provision of technical cooperation by local and regional resources, including through SouthSouth cooperation. • Developing countries and development partners will work together at all levels to promote operational changes that make capacity development support more effective. Source: Accra Agenda for Action (2008)
3.1 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT DETERMINANTS AND DEVELOPMENT Capacity development is largely about developing potential and addressing structural capacity issues. As opposed to ad hoc, piecemeal and supply-driven approaches, 5. Accra Agenda For Action, 2008. 6. OECD, ” The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice”, OECD Journal on development, Vol. 8, No. 3 – ISSN 1816-8124 – © OECD 2008. 7. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) www.oecd.org/dac
F ro m P o licy to practice 5
sustainable solutions are structural and address specific conditions. In a changing aid environment, political will and good governance, including accountability and leadership, will determine development outcomes. Drawing on its comparative advantage and experience, UNFPA’s contribution to building the capacities of its partners includes transfer of knowledge and skills to individuals, development of national institutions, and support to national policies and strategies. UNFPA support should be part of national and UN processes rather than stand-alone UNFPA initiatives. UNFPA’s approach should be integrated with all relevant thematic areas and sectors. This may mean looking beyond UNFPA’s traditional allies for programme partners.
As knowledge networks develop, UNFPA staff will become managers, able to link demand for assistance with institutions that can provide it.
3.2 UNFPA in the regions: brokering technical assistance As the context for international assistance has changed, UNFPA has been restructured to increase the effectiveness of its support to the ICPD agenda through national plans and national ownership. UNFPA’s focus lies in brokering development: to build networks and stronger relationships among stakeholders; to facilitate the transfer of knowledge through partnerships with institutions of specialized knowledge; and to foster South-South cooperation and triangular SouthSouth-North cooperation.
As knowledge networks develop, UNFPA staff will become managers, able to link demand for assistance with institutions that can provide it. UNFPA will build the capacity of national and regional institutions as knowledge hubs, by assessing their capacity; providing feedback; accompanying them in their missions, and providing assurance of quality.
3.3 Harmonized technical assistance A combination of changes and developments at the international level, complemented by a significant drive by countries to shape their own development agenda, challenges all stakeholders to re-think approaches to technical assistance. Programme based approaches offer tremendous scope for harmonizing technical assistance, either through pooling assistance or by agreeing to divide responsibilities among donors. The table on page 7 presents a schematic overview of options based on loose, mixed and full pooling arrangements or through delegated cooperation as part of a division of labour.
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UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
Sudan/Sven Torfinn/Panos/UNFPA
TABLE 2
Delegated Cooperation
Options for pooling technical assistance
8
Harmonisation + Alignment
Design
Procurement
Strategic Management
Day-to-Day Management
Depends
One donor on behalf of others
Single donor
Single donor
Single donor
Development partners in liaison with govt
Donors
Loose
3
Joint
One donor on behalf of others
Mixed
3
Joint
Donor or third party
Govt in liaison with donor
Govt
Full
3
Govt
Govt
Govt
Govt
3.4 Strategies for country offices • Define goals clearly and identify the specific capacities needed to accomplish them. Give adequate attention to individual and organizational issues, and to an enabling environment. 8. Aid for better health – What are learning about what works and what we still have to do? An interim report from the Task Team on Health as a Tracer, OECD/DAC, Nov 2009
F ro m P o licy to practice 7
Tajikistan/Gennadiy Ratushenko/ World Bank
• Identify the systemic factors inhibiting country-owned capacity development. UNFPA’s internal Interest Group Analysis can be a useful tool to help identify weak points in the enabling environment and how to address them. At country level UNFPA needs to participate in joint capacity assessments involving national counterparts, bilateral development partners and other UN agencies. UNFPA should pay particular attention to gender-specific cultural issues related to capacity development. • Deliver context-specific support responding to national needs and priorities established in national and sector-wide development plans. All stakeholders must be involved in identifying both needs and providers. Wherever possible, the country team should draw first on national expertise, only then calling on other countries, sub-regional and regional offices. • Ensure coordinated and harmonized support through pooled resources for technical assistance, with a clear division of responsibilities. • Ensure that technical assistance builds long-term sustainable capacity and is an integral part of national human resources plans. Technical assistance is a continuing, iterative process, requiring lasting and flexible investment, although one-off support may also be needed. • Promote South-South and triangular cooperation. Develop a coherent approach to identify and assess available expertise, and strategies for collaboration with other UN agencies and development partners.
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
Tools: 3
Technical Brief on UNDG Programming Principles: Capacity Development, March 2009. This technical brief is intended to help practitioners quickly grasp the core messages of the UNDG programming principles and offer some useful examples. The brief will be reviewed and revised on a continuous basis, based on emerging issues including recent discussions and examples.
3
Enhancing the UN’s Contribution to National Capacity Development – a UNDG Position Statement 21 December 2006. The document provides background information and a definition, and summarizes key messages about capacity development by the UN at country level. It assists UN country teams in integrating and mainstreaming capacity development in their common programming efforts.
3
UNDG Capacity Assessment Methodology - User Guide: for National Capacity Development 1 May 2008; UNDG Capacity Assessment Supporting Tool. http:// www.undg.org/?P=225#s3. The UNDG Capacity Assessment Methodology was developed to help UNCTs assist national partners in analyzing their capacity assets and needs and designing capacity development strategies.
3
Concept note on UNFPA’s role in the provision of technical assistance for national capacity development (December 2009)
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The Challenge of Capacity Building – Working Towards Good Practice OECD-DAC Paris, 2006
3
DAC Network on Gender Equality (Gendernet)
3
Results based budgets to promote gender equality and sexual and reproductive health (available at UNFPA TD in December 2010)
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. . .To Practice . . .
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UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
4
Considering the Opportunities
I
n the changing environment the principal managers are national and local governments, at all levels. The planning process identifies and allocates available resources, and at sectoral level permits managers to share knowledge, understand and reach consensus on common challenges and goals, and build a framework for achieving them. They can also use the process to demonstrate to finance ministries and potential external partners that the sector understands what needs to be done to improve outcomes, how to do it effectively, how to make best use of limited resources, what financing gaps there are, and what could be achieved if additional resources were available.
Sudan/Sven Torfinn/Panos/UNFPA
Stand-alone projects may still be useful for managing technical support; providing services through NGOs if the sector budget does not permit, and demonstrating innovative approaches. However, they should relate to the overall plan and if possible appear in the budget. The main characteristics of a programme or sector based approach are: • A clear nationally-owned sector policy and strategy
Pakistan/Marc Westhof/UNFPA
Development partners have a number of ways of joining this process, some of which are better than others in ensuring harmonisation and alignment with government plans. Traditionally, partners have worked with stand-alone projects, and a large percentage of funding is still provided in this way; but it is preferable to adopt a broader approach which integrates donor-funded activities into the larger development picture. Hence the trend towards programme-based approaches.
• A medium-term expenditure framework that reflects the sector strategy • Systematic arrangements for programming resources that support the programme or sector
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• A performance monitoring system than measures progress and strengthens accountability Programme or sector based approaches provide a comprehensive budget that consolidates government, donor and other sources of financing. They permit better coordination of development assistance, including reports, missions and reviews; easier disbursement of funds and reduced management costs. A single annual operational and expenditure plan allows governments greater flexibility in the use of funds and improved efficiency in their use. It reduces the burden on governments to report, activity by activity, to a range of development partners, and allows the partners to focus on objectives such as equity.
Main Questions:
u
Can stand-alone projects be incorporated in any proposed new arrangements or closed without risk to UNFPA’s mission?
? u
How will new arrangements reflect the objectives of the UNFPA programme and overall ICPD commitments?
? u
How will new arrangements affect UNFPA’s relations with the health and other ministries, and with parliamentarians, civil society organizations such as women’s groups, faith-based organisations or groups and IPPF affiliates?
? u
How can activities with non-governmental partners be fully integrated in sector-wide approaches?
? u
Pilot projects can improve UNFPA’s advocacy position. How can they be funded outside any pool arrangement while still strategically linked to the overall sector programme?
? u
Are UNFPA staff equipped to handle the new modalities? If not, can they be retrained or reassigned? What is the scope for specialities with increasing importance, such as advocacy?
?
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Programme or sector based approaches provide opportunities for promoting the Cairo agenda, but arrangements are complex and call for special care. Before formally joining a sector-wide arrangement such as a SWAp the UNFPA representative and his team should consider implications for the current UNFPA programme and strategic objectives. As indicated in Chapter 3, it is important that the country office has the capacity to bring ideas to the policy table and position UNFPA’s mandate effectively in national policies, plans and budgets. The main questions to consider appear in box at left. There are specific risks: in joint financial support to a sector programme, for example, UNFPA must negotiate with partners to ensure that joint assurance activities such as audits, monitoring visits and capacitybuilding support are in place; that there are safeguards such as scope for temporary staff for specific limited assignments; and that all these are reflected in a joint agreement or MOU.
UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
4.1 Assessing the environment The UNFPA Representative should provide a written assessment of the environment, potential for joint arrangements and associated risks to the Regional Director with copy to the Technical Division for information. This assessment should build on evaluations and analyses by other UN or partner agencies and should be updated annually. If necessary, the decision on joint financing arrangements may be revisited. The assessment should take into consideration: • Stability of political climate, and good governance including accountability and leadership; • The situation of women and human rights • Fungibility, or the impact of new money on existing allocations; • Human resource capacity; • Acceptable, transparent and verifiable accounting mechanisms, including financial reporting and regular audits;
The country office will develop a strategy on how to adapt country programme design to the new circumstances.
• Mechanisms of joint annual reviews and other monitoring arrangements; • Medium-term expenditure framework or medium-term results framework in place • Financial transfer system allowing funds to flow to lower levels of government; • Review, monitoring, reporting and evaluation mechanisms; • UNFPA participation in planning and review meetings, and monitoring of indicators focusing on ICPD and MDGs. The country office will develop a strategy on how to adapt country programme design to the new circumstances in terms of programme design, implementation and monitoring. The country office is encouraged to participate beforehand in joint risk assessments with other UN agencies and donors, highlighting implications for UNFPA programming. The assessment should inform UNFPA about which areas to support as part of national capacity development and appropriate measures to minimize risk. In many cases the mandatory macro and micro assessments in conjunction with the HACT (harmonized approach to cash transfers to implementing partners) provide relevant risk management information:
F ro m P o licy to practice 13
• The macro assessment is based on existing risk assessments of the national public finance management system conducted by partners such as the World Bank and bilateral organizations. The assessment includes weaknesses and strengths, possible entry points for capacity building, and an indication if the national state audit institution could be used to audit partners. • The micro assessment, conducted jointly by UNCT agencies, assesses the adequacy of the implementing partner’s financial management system and internal controls. The assessment highlights possible areas for capacity development and should guide decisions on frequency and scope of risk assurance activities. • Some partners which historically put emphasis on systems, such as the World Bank or bilateral donors, provide detailed risk assessments. Where such an assessment exists, the UNFPA Representative is encouraged to document its implications for the work of UNFPA. Once part of a sector-wide arrangement, the country office must actively manage the risks for UNFPA. UNFPA must regularly monitor and review changes in the environment; progress and constraints in achieving results; financial management and reporting; audit findings, and any findings from major reviews and evaluations.
4.2 The future of risk management The Executive Board has requested UNFPA, in coordination with other UN agencies, to develop an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework to help coordinate risk management at headquarters, regional and country level. The ERM framework is being developed consistently with the internal control framework. Within this ERM framework is a methodology for in-depth risk assessments and improvement of risk management efforts.
Turkey/Bunyad Dinc/World Bank
Information on the framework and methodology as it applies to UNFPA will be available to country offices as soon as it is finalized.
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UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
5
Managing Joint Financing and Understanding Public Finance Management
W
ith the trend from project to programme support, joint financial contribution at the national or sub-national level is becoming increasingly important. UNFPA financial rules and regulations now explicitly permit pooled funding and sector budget support. As UNFPA increasingly programmes resources through national systems it is essential that UNFPA country offices become familiar with public finance management (PFM) at the country level.
5.1 The different funding modalities Three funding modalities are available to UNFPA country offices:
A. Joint UN programmes A joint UN programme is a set of activities with a common work plan and related budget, involving two or more UN organizations and national or sub-national partners, and managed by UN agencies. The joint programme document sets out the partners’ roles and responsibilities for coordination and management. Many UNFPA country offices are already engaged in joint UN programming and contribute to joint UN funds.
B. Government-managed pooled or basket funds In this modality a group of development partners agree to pool their resources, according to an agreed joint programme of work and under common fund management arrangements and is led by a government agency. The modality assumes harmonisation of management arrangements among development partners. Support may or may not be earmarked to a specific programme or sector plan, but differs from sector budget support in that financial management is never fully reliant on national systems. For example, even when UNFPA provides un-earmarked support to a comprehensive sector plan, in the case of pooled/basket funding, procurement or auditing requirements may differ from the national standard and therefore the pooled/ basket funds will carry a specific accounting code that distinguishes them from the “regular� funds in the health sector budget.
F ro m P o licy to practice 15
Pooled funds may be managed entirely outside national systems, by a bilateral donor or an international or national NGO. If the UNFPA country office desires to participate in such an arrangement, it should discuss that option with the Regional Office. If both favour the approach, the country office should submit a formal written request to the Director of the Technical Division, including a justification. The Technical Division will then appraise the request in consultation with the Regional Office concerned and send a recommendation for approval to the Chief of DMS for clearance from the Finance Branch and Legal Service. Without clearance from DMS, UNFPA cannot participate in a basket fund that is managed entirely outside of national systems.
C. Sector budget support Sector budget support is an earmarked financial contribution to the national budget or treasury of a partner country in support of a whole sector programme such as health or education, or a thematic programme such as HIV/AIDS, youth or gender. Full use is made of government budget execution, procurement and financial management systems. While country offices may decide on the appropriate funding modality, UNFPA will NOT engage in general budget support – the transfer of funds to the national budget without specific earmarking for a sector, theme or topic. The regulations regarding
Committing the funds: three modalities
Table 3 Funding Modality
Guidelines
Joint UN Programme
Funds are managed by a UN agency. There are three options: • Parallel fund management: each UN agency manages its own activities within the common work plan and the related budget. • Pass-through fund management: donor and UN agencies agree to channel their funds through one of the UN agencies (the administrative agent). • Pooled fund management: one UN agency (the managing agent) is charged with managing all funds on behalf of the participating agencies.
Pooled or basket fund managed outside of government
Pooled funds may be managed by an international or national NGO or bilateral donor. Clearance from UNFPA’s Finance Branch and Legal Service is required before signing an MOU.
Governmentmanaged pooled or basket funds and sector budget support
Before deciding to use this modality, development partners will jointly assess the robustness of the government’s public finance management system. Such a joint assessment does not necessarily have to be a HACT assessment, but country offices should ensure that it is consistent with the principles of UNFPA national implementation procedures (the PPM) and HACT. If the system is sufficiently robust, UNFPA country offices are encouraged to participate in joint financing. If the fiscal year of the partner country or managing agent does not correspond to the calendar year (UNFPA’s fiscal year), UNFPA representatives are authorized to make financial commitments against the ceiling of the following year, assuming the same ceiling as the current fiscal year.
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
Table 4
Disbursement or transfer of funds
Funding Modality
Guidelines
Joint UN Programme
• Parallel funding: UNFPA manages its own funds. The procedure for disbursement to national partners is similar to the procedure for disbursement of stand-alone-project funds. • Pass-through funding: UNFPA funds are managed by a UN agency, the administrative agent. The procedure for disbursement to national partners is similar to the procedure for pooled UN funding. • Pooled funding: UNFPA funds are managed by a UN agency (the managing agent). The managing agent is accountable for timely disbursement of funds and supplies to the national partner. The managing agent will charge indirect costs to UNFPA in accordance with its financial rules and regulations.
Governmentmanaged pooled or basket fund
UNFPA advances cash for the activities. Advances may be in local currency or US dollars, according to agreement, and should be paid into a designated account. Transfers will be recorded in Atlas, charging DBA Advance Account 16006.
Sector budget support
Requests for transfers must be in line with the sector budget plan and signed by authorized government personnel. Under national implementation, and provided that appropriate funds are available, UNFPA typically transfers advances on a quarterly basis according to the envisaged activities agreed in the annual work plan. Exceptions to this standard approach may be considered, such as when a government partner and participating partners favour a different schedule of fund transfer. In such cases, UNFPA country offices should discuss the proposed alternative with their regional office. If both favour an alternative transfer schedule the country office should submit a formal written request to the Director of the Technical Division, including a justification for the deviation from the common practice. The Technical Division will then appraise the request in consultation with the regional office concerned and send a recommendation for approval to the Chief of the Finance Branch, DMS. Irrespective of the period of the advance, a quarterly progress report will be required. The format of the quarterly progress report is flexible but must provide UNFPA with reasonable assurance that the advance is being properly used for the purposes intended. Requests for transfers are typically submitted and approved on FACE-forms, unless the partners in sector budget support or pooled funding strongly favour an alternative form. In such cases, the UNFPA country office should discuss the alternative with their regional office and seek approval from UNFPA HQ, as above. Typically, UNFPA clears transfers upon receipt of quarterly financial reports from the government or managing agent, accounting for all funds advanced. Arrangements with partners however may require alternative clearance procedures, for example clearance of certain transfers based on pre-determined programmatic milestones (performance-based financing). In such cases, the UNFPA country office should discuss the alternative with their regional office and seek approval from UNFPA HQ, as above. In all cases the government or managing agent must submit a comprehensive financial report on at least an annual basis.
F ro m P o l icy to practice 17
expenditure
table 5
Funding Modality
Guidelines
Joint UN Programme
Regulations with regard to expenditure of UNFPA contributions are similar to those for expenditure of stand-alone-project funds.
Governmentmanaged pooled or basket fund Sector budget support
General Rule:
The general rule is that all expenditures of advances from UNFPA by the partner government The contribution is subject to the terms of the agreement among or managing agent must be made the participants to the pooled fund, provided those agreements in accordance with the procurement are consistent with the financial regulations and rules of UNFPA. and contracting procedures agreed in the programme document The contribution is subject to the national regulatory framework (MoU), and must be related to the programme activities and outputs and agreed in the MoU. Before signing the MoU, the UNFPA envisaged in the annual work plan. country office must be confident that the national public All payments made by the partner finance management system is robust (See table 3 above) and government or managing agent consistent with the financial regulations and rules of UNFPA. using advances must be issued in the name of the recipient.
grants and stand-alone project funding, by direct cash transfer, direct payments, reimbursement or direct agency implementation, remain unchanged.
5.2 Elements to consider when negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 5.2.1 Minimum requirements The agreement: • Must include a comprehensive description of the planned activities; a budget; expected outputs, and plans for monitoring and evaluation. The UNFPA country office should ideally have direct involvement in the design of the programme, and must document its satisfaction with programme design and its assessment of the key risks. • Should state the total UNFPA commitment, with an annual breakdown, with the caveat that the commitment is subject to the availability of UNFPA resources and government or managing agents’ compliance with the terms of the agreement. • Must require an assessment report of the financial capacity of the government or managing agent before any transfer of cash. The country office must document its review of the assessment report and its conclusion as to whether the internal controls are satisfactory. • Must clearly describe the cash transfer mechanism. Cash should be transferred to the government or managing agent either on a quarterly basis or on some other basis linked to actual cash requirements. UNFPA must ensure that the government or managing agent is not holding large cash resources, which would indicate poor utilization of cash and increase the risk of fraud.
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UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
Guatemala/Curt Carnemark/World Bank
• Must indicate that UNFPA has the right to suspend cash transfers and to request the return of previous transfers if the requirements outlined in the agreement are not met. • Must require quarterly progress reports that show the financial status of the programme and progress towards outputs, as well as quarterly meetings with the government and managing agent to review progress. (Quarterly financial status reports need not be audited.) • Must require an audited financial statement at least annually, showing a complete financial picture (balance sheet and income statement) of the SBS or pooled fund.
UNFPA has the right to suspend cash transfers and to request the return of previous transfers if the requirements outlined in the agreement are not met.
Before signing a pooled funding or sector budget support agreement, the country office must document that the above requirements have been met. This documentation must be sent to the Regional Director for clearance, and the directors of TD and DMS (Finance Branch) for information and comments.
5.2.2 Tracking and monitoring expenditure and reporting • The guidelines for tracking expenditures are similar in all the three modalities, except that the regulations concerning national execution may not be relevant in the case of joint UN funding, which does not necessarily involve national execution.
F ro m P o l icy to practice 19
• If UNFPA is considering signing an MoU involving joint funding, the MoU must include minimum agreed criteria for joint monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the various contributions. • FACET is to be considered as an interim tool for accounting among our partners until national systems are sufficiently robust. • Recording of expenditures, from requisition through to disbursement, occurs in the books of the implementing government, managing agent or administrative agent. • Reporting on expenditures is typically on FACE-forms. Exceptions may be considered, such as when a partner government, managing agent or administrative agent and participating partners agree to use an existing national template that is considered adequate. Country offices must follow the guidelines in table 4 on page 17. • As the national implementing partner will report on the jointly-funded sector budget or pooled funds, the financial records of such expenditure will be proportionate to the share of UNFPA’s contribution to the total sum of resources available through the pooled fund or sector budget. There will be no exceptions to this rule. The pro-rated expenditure will be recorded in Atlas using account 72950 and will “liquidate” the outstanding transfer recorded in account 16006.
5.2.3 Audit
Vietnam/Tran Thi Hoa/World Bank
• In the case of a UN fund, sector budget support or pooled funds, resources obtained from or through UNFPA must be audited in accordance with the audit provisions established in the agreement (MoU) governing such modalities. • The auditing requirements set out in the agreement (MoU) must not contradict UNFPA’s financial regulations and rules, or policies and procedures. They should follow the audit approach of HACT. Differences should be documented and discussed, first with the regional office concerned and then with UNFPA’s Finance Branch.
• Partners may decide to contract an auditor, in agreement with the government.
5.2.4 Unspent balances As a general rule UNFPA funds can be rolled over from one year to the next. In a government-managed pooled/basket fund or sector budget support arrangement, the handling
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
of interim and final unspent balances at the end of the fiscal year must be clearly stated in the MoU. Funds remaining at the end of the year may become the opening balance for the next financial year and deducted from the following year’s commitments in proportion to each of the partners’ contributions. Funds which remain at the end of the programme must be returned to UNFPA in proportion to its contribution.
5.3 Public Finance Management As UNFPA increasingly programmes resources through national systems it is essential for UNFPA country offices to become familiar with public finance management at the country level. Understanding national fiduciary systems and knowing their strengths and weaknesses will help UNFPA to manage and account for its own resources. A clear understanding of national systems will also help UNFPA to identify critical entry points for strategic engagement in the policy dialogue, to position ICPD/MDG firmly on the national agenda, and to leverage resources for implementation. UNFPA can be effective at critical stages of the public finance management process (Diagram 1) including planning, budgeting, priority setting, resource allocation and disbursement.
Diagram 1: Public Finance Management: The Budget Cycle
IIndependent ndependentt Auditor
Sector Ministrie Ministries ies s
Parliament
Step 10: Government accounts audited
Step 9: Accounts submitted by line agencies
reporting rep re port rttin ing g
Step 11: Approval of audited accounts by Parliameent
audit a di au ditt
Cabinet supported by Finance Ministry
Finance nce Minist Ministry try
Step 8: Funds released by MF, and budget executed ine agencies by line
Sector Secto or Ministri Ministries Step 3: Prepare lin line agency expenditu expenditure proposals
Step 1: Projecting macroeconomic resources
execution exec cu uttio i n
Step 2: Setting of budgetary guidelines and expenditure ceilings
formulation form rm mul ulat attio ion n Parliament Parlia ame m nt
Step 7: Budget Appropriations debated and approved by Parliament
Cabinet
Step 6: Budget approved by Cabinet and submitted to Parliament
Finance M Ministry inistry
Step 4: Proposals in appraised and negotiated with line to agencies enable reconciliation of proposals Step 5: State budget prepared by MF
F ro m P o l icy to practice 21
The diagrammed cycle represents an ideal situation. The reality is usually less clear-cut. For example, • Aggregate expenditure ceilings may be unrealistic because revenue forecasts are over-ambitious. • Activities may be planned without considering capacity for implementation. • Sectoral allocations may not reflect policy priorities as set out in the PRSP. • Agencies’ spending levels may lack explicit links to intended policy outputs. • The release of funds may be unpredictable. • Expenditure reporting may be late, inaccurate or incomplete. • Planning and implementation may not take account of reporting which questions assumptions. • Qualitative information on impact at district level and overall poverty may not be available. The budgeting formulation and negotiation process results in a budget ceiling for the sector, and for the different programmes within it. It is important to understand where the ICPD programme of action fits within the process, in order to be able to leverage for more resources within the ceiling, citing the relative importance of the ICPD related activities, value for money and the return of investment that they represent. It is important to understand how assessment tools work, the information they can provide on public finance management processes, and how they can help shape and steer the country programme. Some of these tools are described in Annex 1.
5.3.1 Options for support of public finance management 1. Using and strengthening national systems: PFM is a key element of national systems, with an impact on aid effectiveness and national execution of development programmes. As UNFPA progressively programmes more of its resources through national systems, it is critical for UNFPA to work with others in strengthening and building confidence in utilising national systems. 2. Supporting the UN system as it interacts with country systems: Improving the predictability of UN assistance and ensuring that it synchronises with government planning and budgeting cycles (annual), thus enabling the UN’s financial support to be increasingly brought “on budget”. Within the UNCT, UNFPA can advocate for projects and resources to be progressively programmed on national plans and budgets with UN agencies increasingly using national systems for monitoring and reporting on implementation.
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
6
Changing the Mindset: Human Resources Management
U
NFPA Representatives are responsible for ensuring that their offices have the right skills mix to implement new programme modalities. They have several options:
• The office should have appropriate job descriptions spelling out roles, responsibilities and the competency profile for each post. Through the performance management process, the Representative will know the skill mix and performance level of his staff and what gaps exist. • In the programme planning phase, country offices should examine staff competencies in the light of new requirements: do they have the right mix of roles and responsibilities and the proper reporting relationships? (Regional offices should ensure that this review takes place.)
Mexico/Curt Carnemark/World Bank
• If the staffing structure is out of date or post profiles no longer meet the office’s needs, the Recruitment and Staffing Branch in DHR can provide guidance, for example on redesigning profiles and the use of competency-based assessments in filling vacant posts.
F ro m P o l icy to practice 23
• Representatives can use up to 25 per cent of country programme allocations for the creation of national posts, subject to the agreement of the government and the approval of the regional office. 9
• Representatives can tap into overall organizational capacity. Temporary deployment of staff to country offices from regional or sub-regional offices and headquarters can benefit both by building capacity and transferring knowledge and best practices. To meet surge requirements, offices may use UN Volunteers or, in the humanitarian context, GENCAP (Gender Capacity) or the UNFPA Humanitarian Response roster. Interns from local universities may be useful for certain functions such as documenting best practices. • Representatives may use their annual training allotment to build the skills and capacity of office staff, based on new requirements and gap analysis. If the original allotment is insufficient to meet the office’s needs, additional funds may be requested from UNFPA’s Learning and Career Management Branch (LCMB), on submission of a revised training plan. • The office may seek guidance from their designated focal point in LCMB. LCMB have designed workshops for staff at the level of representatives and assistant representatives, to improve substantive and managerial competencies. LCMB also offers whole-office team-building sessions on request. Training on public financial management, aid effectiveness and health system strengthening can be arranged in collaboration with the Aid Effectiveness Team of the Technical Division if requested. • Managers can mentor and offer developmental “stretch” assignments to help staff to handle changing responsibilities in the new aid environment. As well as broadening staff members’ knowledge and skills this can help break down the “silos” that exist in some offices.
Tools: 3
UNDG Toolkit for Improved Functioning of the UN Development System at Country Level
9. Circular from the Executive Director “Strengthening Country Office Staffing” June 2006
24
UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
7
Supporting National Procurement
T
he TCPR 2007 encourages the use of country procurement systems wherever possible. In para 41 the TCPR “requests the United Nations development system to strengthen its procurement systems, guided by best practices, and to progressively rely on national systems for procurement.� The Accra Agenda for Action also says that development partners should use national systems by default. However, many national systems have quality issues such as slow response, lack of transparency, and lack of systems and quality controls. While capacity assessments on national systems are often in place there may be no clear monitoring framework, no thorough risk analysis, and no procedures for risk management and mitigation. There are no appropriate tools for the micro-assessment of UNFPA country offices procurement services. UNFPA country offices should encourage partner countries and non-governmental partners to implement mutually agreed standards and processes so that they may be relied on for procurement. When national systems do not meet mutually agreed levels of performance, country offices should adopt harmonized approaches.
7.1
should encourage partner countries and non-governmental partners to implement mutually agreed standards and processes so that they may be relied on for procurement.
Improving UN procurement efficiency
7.7.1 Updated guidelines for harmonized UN procurement at the country level These new guidelines provide a long-term framework for UN country teams interested in developing common procurement initiatives at a country level, while respecting the processes and procedures and, most importantly, the professionalism and integrity 10
10. Guidelines for Harmonized UN Procurement at the Country Level UNDG Task Team on Common Services and Procurement, 13 October 2009
F ro m P o licy to practice 25
of individual agencies. The aims of the guidelines are to promote efficiencies in UN procurement; optimise the use of funds in support of differing agency mandates and operations, and encourage local procurement of common commodities and services, reducing transaction costs and improving value for money.
7.7.2 Main considerations in the guidelines Cost recovery: UNCTs’ experience with common procurement shows that reform, collaboration and increased efficiency has taken priority over cost considerations. All agencies have participated in analysis and planning; implementation has been shared evenly among the most effective procuring agencies in country and access to the results – for example common long term agreements – has been made available to all at no charge. Timing: Timing and momentum are important. An innovative approach will probably take two to three years, from the launch of the process to approval by the country team, to full common procurement planning, to the final form of the procurement team. The pilots’ work will reduce obstacles for countries following their lead and allow them to move quickly once the plan is approved. Scope: The guidelines are intended to apply only to procurement commonly initiated at the country level by all or most UN agencies. Unless they agree otherwise, agencies will continue to procure specialized or strategic goods and services such as food, cold chain supplies or contraceptives following agency-specific technical specifications and standards.
7.2 Strategies and actions for UNFPA country offices Best practice in public procurement using donor funds calls for specialized expertise. UNFPA encourages communication between country office teams and the Copenhagen Procurement Services Branch on procurement planning, bid processes, shared long term agreements, and rules as early as possible. Information provided too late often results in additional workload, costs, and time. Procurement Services Branch can assist further in transferring capacity-building and transition needs from UNFPA to governments, local institutions, and NGOs.
Tools: 3
26
UNDG Guidelines for Harmonized UN Procurement at the Country Level
UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
8
Support for National Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
M
anaging for development results requires transparent and open monitoring and evaluation systems within a single reporting framework that satisfies host country and donor requirements, as well as the principles of mutual accountability, good governance and transparency in the aid relationship. This section provides guidance on strategies for UNFPA country offices to identify and seek entry points to support the use of national planning, monitoring and evaluation systems.
8.1 Strategies and actions for UNFPA country offices 8.1.1 Support to diagnostic review and assessment Diagnostic reviews such as situation analyses Partner countries and and baseline studies are important sources of information to governments and development development partners have a partners on the state of country systems in partshared interest in being able ner countries. Partner countries and development partners have a shared interest in being able to to monitor progress over time. monitor progress over time. The inclusion of a systematic review of national systems is recommended as part of the CCA/UNDAF exercise, as the basis of the decision either to rely on national systems in subsequent programme cycles or to address capacity gaps through targeted support to national partners. UNFPA strategic actions could include the following: • Contribute to the analytical process, leveraging UNFPA’s comparative advantage and leadership in the area of data. • Contribute technical assistance for the assessment through regional monitoring and evaluation advisers. • As part of the joint response to the assessment and depending on country needs, support national and sub-national databases and surveys. F ro m P o l icy to practice 27
8.1.2 Planning UNFPA country offices should identify strategic areas for the Fund’s support to national planning, monitoring and evaluation systems, for example: • Strengthen data systems for monitoring and evaluation. Support may be at national or sub-national levels and could include databases, management information systems, census, and periodic surveys. UNFPA can give leadership in mobilisation of resources for the collection, analysis, utilisation and dissemination of data, which should be sex-disaggregated. • Develop performance frameworks for national development and poverty reduction strategies. With development partners and UNCT members UNFPA should support the development of robust national performance frameworks, making sure they include key ICPD indicators and evidence-based planning in the core UNFPA mandate areas. Other possible areas for UNFPA support include Country offices are encouraged an annual joint performance review process to explore innovative ways linked to national plans. UNFPA could provide, to strengthen and align with for example, capacity development and technical assistance, as in Ethiopia and Nigeria, where national planning, monitoring UNFPA supported development of the internaand evaluation systems. tional Health Partnership-plus (IHP+) country compact. Key ICPD indicators were integrated into the results framework. • Consolidate UNDAF monitoring and evaluation aligned with national mechanisms. A consolidated UNDAF monitoring and evaluation plan can help UNCTs to document what needs to be monitored, with whom, when and how, and how the data will be used. The plan would help to focus the monitoring and evaluation activities of the UNCT, and align them closely with national mechanisms. It would also help to co-ordinate the different types of studies and evaluations conducted by agencies and their partners.
8.1.3 Implementation Country offices are encouraged to explore innovative ways to strengthen and align with national planning, monitoring and evaluation systems. • Coordination: UNFPA should participate in and when appropriate chair the UNCT working groups on monitoring and evaluation or other relevant coordination mechanisms. • Technical Support: UNFPA should participate in national working groups on monitoring and evaluation and provide technical advisory services including technical assistance if appropriate.
28
UN FPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
Democratic Republic of Congo/Teun Voeten/UNFPA
• Institutional capacity development: UNFPA should continue to leverage its partnerships with key national institutions such as national statistics offices and bureaus, with whom it has been working for many years, to provide technical and capacity development support for national institutions for monitoring and evaluation. • Monitoring MDG 5b: A minimum requirement for UNFPA offices is to support and ensure monitoring of MDG 5b indicators, a key UNFPA responsibility.
8.1.4 Monitoring and Evaluation During monitoring and evaluation UNFPA should: • Participate in and support joint monitoring visits. • In collaboration with the resident coordinator’s office, UNFPA should engage in the review of performance indicators annually and periodically particularly for MDG/ ICPD indicators. At the same time UNFPA should provide feedback to the resident coordinator’s office and raise critical issues on MDG reports; • Consolidate and document experiences at country, regional and global level when national systems are weak, to encourage cross-learning; • Strengthen UNFPA’s staff capacity, and use dedicated national monitoring and evaluation officers with clear job responsibilities and deliverables in monitoring and evaluation.
F ro m P o l icy to practice 29
India/Curt Carnemark/World Bank
Tools:
30
3
How to Build Monitoring and Evaluation Systems to Support Better Government (World Bank, 2007)
3
Country-Led Monitoring And Evaluation Systems – Better Evidence, Better Policies, Better Development Results. (UNICEF, 2009)
3
A Diagnosis of Colombia’s National M & E System –SINERGIA (World Bank, 2007) Joint Assessment of National Health Strategies and Plans, Combined Joint Assessment Tool and Guidelines, July 2009, International Health Partnership
UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
9
Mobilising Resources
P
articipating in joint support for country-led processes, alters the environment for resource mobilisation. UNFPA should take the lead in advocacy and policy dialogue on ICPD issues, and securing technical and financial commitment for ICPD goals. One of the reasons for UNFPA participation in joint assistance strategies is to position the ICPD agenda as a national development priority and advocate for sufficient resources in sectoral budgets, whether or not co-financing resources are passed through UNFPA. Resource mobilisation for UNFPA will be required only to ensure support for emerging or sensitive ICPD issues in the sector programme. These issues include adolescent sexual reproductive health; gender based violence; female genital mutilation, and fistula: UNFPA has a clear role in demonstrating their importance, and advocating for their inclusion in future sector-wide programmes
Resource mobilisation for UNFPA will be required to support emerging or sensitive issues such as adolescent sexual reproductive health, gender based violence, female genital multilation and fistula.
Some development partners may still be interested in providing bilateral country-level funding. However, if UNFPA has signed a sector programme agreement, it may not be possible for UNFPA to implement co-financing initiatives in parallel with the sector programme. The country office is responsible for ensuring that country-level activities planned and funded by UNFPA global and regional programmes and by its thematic funds are fully consistent with the sector programme agreement.
There are two distinct scenarios: 1 When UNFPA signs on to a SWAp or joint assistance strategy (JAS) during a country programme, there is probably only limited scope for reaching the country programme’s resource mobilisation goals.
F ro m P o licy to practice 31
Guatemala/Curt Carnemark/World Bank
2 When UNFPA joins a SWAp or JAS at the beginning of a country programme cycle, the country programme’s resource mobilisation plan can take the diminished opportunities into account. 11
Even though UNFPA’s participation in a SWAp or JAS may overall diminish UNFPA’s potential to mobilise resources for traditional project implementation, it increases opportunities to leverage resources for the issues which UNFPA supports. For example: • Funds may be mobilised for activities complementing the sector-wide approach, such as policy dialogue and advice, specific technical assistance, sub-national implementation support, or sub-national capacity building. • A development partner in-country or at the regional or global level may choose to provide additional funding for UNFPA’s participation in a SWAp or joint assistance strategy to strengthen the organization’s capacity to engage in the joint activity. • UNFPA may be called upon to provide technical assistance, for instance developing and piloting new approaches on for example reaching out to youth, addressing sexual or gender-based violence, for later scale-up within the SWAp. Such initiatives should be supported, provided the government agrees. 11. Note: The resource mobilization plan is developed the year before the country programme starts, so it would be more accurate to say that if the decision to join the SWAp is taken toward the end of the CP cycle, the RM plan for the new CP cycle can accommodate it.
32
UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pmen t En v iro n men t
• Some governments may not be willing to work directly with NGOs. In such cases, UNFPA may mobilise resources for ICPD-related activities by NGOs which in turn can complement the overall sector programme. Tracking and accounting for resources is a critical consideration. UNFPA should ensure that ICPD-related activities receive specific coding in budgets and expenditures to avoid separate or parallel exercises and reduce transaction costs. Donor agreements and government programming documents should reflect discussion and clear agreement on this point.
9.1 UN Reform The changing aid and development environment includes a strong push towards pooling resources in joint funding mechanisms. As funds are increasingly channelled through UN agencies and allocation decisions are made by consensus between participating organizations and the national governments, the UN system itself is indirectly becoming a major donor to UNFPA. It is extremely important for UNFPA Representatives to ensure that Resident Coordinators and UN country team colleagues support UNFPA’s programmes and are well aware of UNFPA’s needs. Advocacy for the ICPD agenda and UNFPA programmes must now be targeted, not only towards the national government and potential government donors, but to UN colleagues as early as possible in the joint planning process so that ICPD is well integrated in the UNDAF and other common UN programming documents. UN country teams are encouraged to coordinate their efforts and develop common resource mobilisation strategies, giving priority to joint funding over agency-specific contributions. If the country team has developed such a plan, UNFPA’s country programme resource mobilisation plan should reflect and make reference to it.
F ro m P o licy to practice 33
The new approach represents a sea-change in the way UNFPA does business. It is a work in progress – there will undoubtedly be complications and unforeseen circumstances which will demand a creative and constructive response. The advantage for country representatives and their staff is that they have a hand in determining how the new approach will work, and ensuring that it serves UNFPA’s broader purpose – to achieve the aims of the ICPD Programme of Action, and the Millennium Development Goals. With our partners in the international community, government and all sectors of society we can ensure sexual and reproductive health for all. Our work together will help to put an end to extreme poverty, a historic purpose that is at last within reach.
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
Annex 1. Tools for assessing public finance management Tools for assessing public finance management It is important to understand how assessment tools work, the information they can provide on public finance management processes, and how they can help shape and steer the country programme. PEFA PFM Framework: The PEFA (Public Expenditure and Financial Management) PFM (Performance Management) Framework has been developed as a contribution to the collective efforts of stakeholders to assess and develop essential public financial management systems, by providing information for measurement and monitoring of PFM performance progress, and a common platform for dialogue. The PEFA Framework incorporates a PFM performance report, and a set of high-level indicators which draw on the highly-indebted poor country expenditure tracking benchmarks, the IMF fiscal transparency code and other international standards.
Sudan/Arne Hoel/World Bank
The goals of the PEFA Programme are to strengthen recipient and donor ability to (i) assess the condition of country public expenditure, procurement and financial accountability systems, and (ii) develop a practical sequence of reform and capacity-building actions, in a manner that encourages country ownership; reduces the transaction costs to countries; enhances donor harmonization; allows monitoring of progress of country PFM performance over time; addresses developmental and fiduciary concerns, and leads to improved impact of reforms. National Health Accounts and Public Expenditure Reviews: The main difference between these two tools is that public expenditure reviews (PERs) analyse the allocation and management of public expenditure on a sector or a sub-sector, looking not just at expenditure, but all issues of public expenditure management (e.g.: budgeting, assessing performance, reporting, auditing). National health accounts (NHAs) are more of a tracking tool, but include private expenditure as well – they are designed to track all spending in a sector or sub-sector. NHAs are fairly intensive to undertake because they require surveys to examine spending by individuals, and so are not generally undertaken on an annual basis. Ideally a PER would be undertaken every year to
F ro m P o licy to practice 35
aid government and partners both to review financial management performance and inform future planning. The reason for undertaking these reviews is basically to identify where the money is coming from, where it is going, when and how it has been spent, both to address performance and to help plan for the coming year. The reviews should determine if the spending is according to plan, and identify any bottlenecks in the process. Country Financial Accountability Assessment: The CFAA is not an audit of a country’s financial management system, nor does it identify minimum standards for system capabilities and performance. Rather it reviews the status of public and private sector accounting and provides recommendations and actions to further strengthen those processes.
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UNFPA’s Role i n the Changi ng Ai d and dev e lo pment En v iro n men t
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. UNFPA — because everyone counts.
UNFPA’s Role in the Changing Aid and Development Environment–from Policy to Practice, emphasises managing for results and contributing to better outcomes for development. Aligning with a partner country’s development priorities, with appropriate use of its own institutions and systems, increases aid effectiveness by strengthening the country’s capacity to develop, implement and account for its policies to its citizens and parliament, and advance progress towards achievement of the MDGs. The new approach to programming will be of direct benefit to the people of UNFPA’s partner countries, especially vulnerable groups including women and girls.
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