Under a project, a contract is an agreement between the implementing partner and another institution, private firm, individual or NGO to carry out specific activities, or to provide specific goods or services. Contracting is used where the parties agree that it would be the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired results.
Implementing a project involves delivering outputs defined in the approved project document. A multi-year workplan articulates activities to achieve outputs in a specified time period. Fundamental responsibilities for this process lie with the project manager, who is appointed by and responsible to the implementing partner. UNDP’s primary role in implementing a project is project assurance. UNDP has implementation responsibilities only when it serves as the implementing partner or when the national implementing partner requests UNDP for support services.
A fellowship is a specific training activity for a qualified individual, referred to as a fellow. The individual is entitled to payment of a stipend. .
Inputs are the personnel (including staff, service contract holders, UN Volunteers and consultants), goods, services, partnerships and low-value grants required to produce planned outputs. Inputs are obtained on the basis of the project workplan and the corresponding budget. Where the progress towards planned outputs is not advancing as expected, the project board should review the strategy of the project, including the workplan, budget and inputs.
UNDP may issue contracts equivalent to those for individual consultants to professionals who are financially supported by a third-party for up to two years. If the financial support is provided by a private sector company, UNDP’s rules for due diligence apply.
Based on the approved workplan, UNDP provides the required financial resources to the implementing partner to carry out project activities. Under the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers, four cash transfer modalities are available, based on operational agreements described in the project document: a. Direct cash transfers to implementing partners and responsible parties; b. Direct payments to vendors and other third parties for obligations incurred by implementing partners and responsible parties; c. Reimbursement to implementing partners and responsible parties; d. Direct agency implementation through which a UN agency makes obligations and incurs expenditure in support of activities.
The project can fund training to contribute to expected results and the capacity development strategy. Key policies and principles are: a. Participants in training are project beneficiaries and government staff; b. UNDP programme resources may not be used for training UNDP staff alone; c. Sitting fees cannot be paid for training, although UNDP may finance travel and allowances for participants who live somewhere other than where the training event takes place; e. The implementing partner must establish procedures to ensure that the best-qualified candidates are selected for training; f. The employer, normally the government, is responsible for ensuring that the participant puts the training to good use to achieve results.