Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures

 

The policy has been updated as following;

a) A route should be most economical route;

b) Increase personal tolerance threshold to $500 at the discretion of the authorizing unit;

c) 'Cabin above economy' applies when there is no business class;

d) If the most economical fare does not include checked luggage, it is within the discretion of the authorizing unit to approve a higher fare including one piece of checked luggage; and

e) Revised advance purchase guideline from 21 days to 14 days when traveling in economy class.

A new fund code and operational procedures have been clarified for Expert Advisory Services provided by the Headquarters’ staff. 

DPC account codes with better definitions to attribute UPL/LPL based services and DE advisory services have been added.

The Delegation of Authority (DoA) policy was first approved by the Organization Performance Group (OPG) in 2012, and has been updated based on the Corporate Accountability Framework (CAF) that was approved by the Executive Group in March 2015. While the CAF provides a functional view of accountabilities, the DoA outlines the specific accountabilities by individual senior managers for actions undertaken within those functions. The Policy has its Annex A detailing specific delegations, starting from the Administrator, Associate Administrator and those delegated to the heads of UNDP offices in headquarters and in country offices.

As per audit recommendations, responsibilities of regional bureaus/regional hubs and BMS have been clarified.

Updated CPD Template  has been added. This template guides how theories of change should be incorporated throughout the country programme document (CPD) to explain our programming choices based on evidence, learning and UNDP’s comparative advantages. Clearer expectations on how support to SDG achievement in the country should be reflected within the theory of change and as a coherent programming strategy is also included. Finally, a standard required statement has been added on Direct Project Costing in the Programme and Risk Management section.

To provide clarity, a background note on Background Note on Global Economic Sanctions and Procedural Guidance has been added to a procedure for creating and approving vendors. UNDP must facilitate each bank’s exercise of its obligations by providing full, accurate and complete information about a payment and the beneficiary. This information may be captured at different stages of procurement or accounts payable processes, but in all cases, the preparer must capture full and complete information.

A mobility incentive is introduced to replace the current mobility allowance. The annual amounts of the mobility incentive per grade band are as follows:

The incentive is payable to staff with at least five consecutive years of prior service in a UN common system organization, as of their second assignment, following a geographical move. Staff assigned to category "H" duty stations will not be eligible to the incentive. The incentive will be payable for a period of up to five years. Staff members serving in the "H'' duty stations that are in receipt of the mobility allowance or received a letter of offer that included the mobility allowance will continue to receive the current amount for up to five years or the move to the next assignment, whichever comes earlier. The mobility incentive will be increased by 25 per cent as of the 4^th assignment, and by 50 per cent as of the 7^th assignment.

The hardship allowance system is adjusted as follows, eliminating the current single rate (amounts in USD):

The current additional hardship allowance is replaced with a non-family service allowance. Eligible staff with recognized dependents receive 19,800 USD/year (1,650 USD/month); staff with no dependents receive 7,500 USD/year (625 USD/month).

A mobility incentive is introduced to replace the current mobility allowance. The annual amounts of the mobility incentive per grade band are as follows:

The incentive is payable to staff with at least five consecutive years of prior service in a UN common system organization, as of their second assignment, following a geographical move. Staff assigned to category "H" duty stations will not be eligible to the incentive. The incentive will be payable for a period of up to five years. Staff members serving in the "H'' duty stations that are in receipt of the mobility allowance or received a letter of offer that included the mobility allowance will continue to receive the current amount for up to five years or the move to the next assignment, whichever comes earlier. The mobility incentive will be increased by 25 per cent as of the 4^th assignment, and by 50 per cent as of the 7^th assignment.

The hardship allowance system is adjusted as follows, eliminating the current single rate (amounts in USD):

The current additional hardship allowance is replaced with a non-family service allowance. Eligible staff with recognized dependents receive 19,800 USD/year (1,650 USD/month); staff with no dependents receive 7,500 USD/year (625 USD/month).

The entitlement formerly known as the Assignment grant is now called Settling-in grant. Under this policy, payment of the non-removal allowance is discontinued. Staff who moved prior to the implementation of the new relocation package and are in receipt of non-removal allowance will continue to receive the allowance for up to five years, or until they move to another duty station, as per current eligibility criteria.

Further, the second lump sum equivalent to one additional month of net salary previously payable under the non-removal option in case of moves to field duty stations for three years or more has been abolished. Where the letter offer issued to the staff member includes a payment of the second lump sum payment, this will be honoured.

Information and FAQs on these updates and other elements of the New Compensation Package for internationally recruited staff members in the professional and higher categories can be found on OHR website.

Adjustments to the POPP content on GMS income to reflect the changes arising from the 2017 enhanced planning exercise, including:
a.      A discontinuation of internal distribution of GMS income for all funds except those from Vertical Funds;
b.      A revised GMS rate calculator for UNDP, GEF, GFATM and MP projects
c.      Recording of DPC in relation to GMS exceptions.

The Combined Delivery Report (CDR) policy has been updated.

1. CDRs will be sent to Implementing Partners for verification and signature only for the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th quarters of the year, instead of each quarter. The CDR for the 2^nd quarter will cover expenses incurred from January to June.
2. CDRs should be sent to the implementing partner with a request for certification within 15 calendar days. If no response is received within 30 days, a follow-up request should be sent indicating that "the Combined Delivery Report will be deemed accepted by the IP if a response is not received within 15 calendar days from the date of the follow-up request".
3. The CDR, certified by the authorised official of the implementing partner or evidence of follow-up where no responses are received, should uploaded to the CDR Library (in UNDP's Corporate Planning System) immediately upon receiving the certification from the implementing partner but no later than 45 calendar days after the end of each quarter. The uploaded documents will be provided to the auditors to support the validity of project expenses.
4. If adjustments to the recorded expenses are agreed with the Implementing Partner, to the extent possible, the adjustments should be recorded in the period the CDR relates to. Adjustments can be recorded in the subsequent period if the ledger is closed but offices should ensure timely issuance and thorough review of CDRs and FACE (funding authorization and certificate of expenditure) forms to minimize recording of adjustments in subsequent periods. 

Pre-award negotiation is the process in which the business unit discusses certain aspects of the bid with the bidder who has been recommended for the award of the contract, with the aim of understanding the rights and obligations of both parties and to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement. Negotiation is not a mandatory step in a procurement process. It shall be undertaken on an exceptional basis, and shall be only initiated by UNDP subsequent to review of the procurement process by the relevant procurement authority and in accordance with this policy.

The policy outlines the two types of negotiations:

• Substantive Negotiations: Should be fully justifiable, as they may significantly affect the scope of the requirements, terms and/or price beyond UNDP's right to vary the quantity up to 25 percent.
• Non-Substantive Negotiations: Do not significantly affect the scope of the requirements, terms and/or price, and are within the right of UNDP to vary the quantity by 25 percent.
  

Price alone, under normal circumstances, should not be negotiated (especially in cases of open competition, which is designed to reflect true value for money). An exception can be made in a situation where the price quoted by the recommended offeror is deemed to be higher than market rates. Negotiation of price in Direct Contracting – When UNDP is evaluating only one offer, the price can and should be negotiated whenever necessary.

For greater efficiency and better financial tracking, offices are now able to set up multi-year POs for projects that have future year resources and budgets. This allows UNDP to better track deliverables of a supplier for a given procurement action through a single PO reference. When raising multi-year PO lines in Atlas, offices must ensure that corresponding multi-year budget and resources are available. For projects where Annual Spending Limits (ASLs) are limited to one year, multi-year PO lines should not be used.

Previously, goods or services, which are expected to be received over more than one financial period, a separate PO had to be raised for each of the respective financial periods, and offices were requested to close POs annually. Multi-year contracts for projects were also maintained outside Atlas. Such requirements are no longer relevant. For questions on this process, please contact Helen Hall at helen.hall@undp.org, the Chief of Account, Office of Financial Resources Management, Bureau for Management Services.

The following provisions, which previously required Fast Track activation request are no-longer necessary (i.e. integrated into the main policies).

a)       The authority to grant the increase in Delegated Procurement Authority was devolved to Regional Chief Procurement Officers (RCPOs) in consultation with respective Regional Bureau Director for clearance. The respective RACP Chairpersons then will be responsible for obtaining technical inputs from relevant offices in assessing a request for increased delegation.

b)      Recognizing the reduction of risks through e-Tendering, the standard delegated procurement authority of Resident Representative or head of a business unit in an office that systematically uses the e-Tendering has been raised from US$ 150,000 to US $200,000, based on the confirmation by the ACP Chairperson or respective Regional ACP Chairpersons.