| Direct Project Costs Policy | A new fund code and operational procedures have
been clarified for Expert Advisory Services provided by the Headquarters’ staff.
| 26/04/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| DPC Implementation through Multiple Funding Lines for Positions Policy | A new position type “Structure Post (SP) – Direct
Project Costing” in Atlas is available to track the positions better that
routinely provide project implementation support services (UPL/LPL based) or advisory
services through Development Effectiveness (DE) fund source.
| 26/04/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| Use of Universal Price List (UPL) and Local Price List (LPL) for Attributing DPC Policy | DPC account codes with better definitions to
attribute UPL/LPL based services and DE advisory services have been added.
| 26/04/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| Attribution of DPC through a Stand-Alone DPC Project Policy | DPC account codes with better definitions to
attribute UPL/LPL based services and DE advisory services have been added.
A new fund code has been provided for CO
stand-alone projects where a pre-financing could be essential.
| 26/04/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| Delegation of Authority Policy | 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.
| 07/04/2017 | Accountability |
| Performance Management and Development Policy | The Policy aims to foster the culture of high
performance through making performance management an integral part of every-day
work. It encourages more frequent
interactions/communication between staff and managers on performance and
shifting the focus from compliance with annual milestones to higher quality
performance conversations.
| 07/04/2017 | Human Resources Management |
| Furniture and Equipment: Acquisition and Maintenance policy | As per audit recommendations, responsibilities of regional bureaus/regional hubs and BMS have been clarified. | 22/02/2017 | Administrative Services |
| Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E) policy | To adjust the changes on Furniture and Equipment: Acquisition and Maintenance policy which were made in Feb 2017 based on the audit recommendation, the following descriptions on Assets and closure of projects were added for clarification purpose. Assets and closure of projects - No asset should be left in the closed project. Project cannot be closed if it has not completed disposal or transfer of its assets.
- Well in advance of the project closure, project management should identify assets disposal methods taking into consideration respective provisions of the project document, UNDP Policy as well as local circumstances.
- Assets disposal methods, requirements and procedures are described in details in the Disposal policy.
| 22/02/2017 | Administrative Services |
| Implementing a Programme Policy | 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.
| 13/02/2017 | Programme and Project Management |
| Project Management: Implementing Policy | | 13/02/2017 | Programme and Project Management |
| Creating and Approving Vendors | 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. | 08/02/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| Home Leave | | 25/01/2017 | Human Resources Management |
| Mobility and Hardship | A mobility incentive is introduced to replace the current mobility allowance. The annual amounts of the mobility incentive per grade band are as follows: | P.1 – P.3 | 6,500 USD | | P.4 – P.5 | 8,125 USD | | D.1 and above | 9,750 USD |
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 4th assignment, and by 50 per cent as of the 7th assignment. The hardship allowance system is adjusted as follows, eliminating the current single rate (amounts in USD): | Hardship category | P.1 – P.3 | P.4 – P.5 | D.1 and above | | A | - | - | - | | B | 5,810 | 6,970 | 8,140 | | C | 10,470 | 12,780 | 15,110 | | D | 13,950 | 16,280 | 18,590 | | E | 17,440 | 20,920 | 23,250 |
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: | P.1 – P.3 | 6,500 USD | | P.4 – P.5 | 8,125 USD | | D.1 and above | 9,750 USD |
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 4th assignment, and by 50 per cent as of the 7th assignment. The hardship allowance system is adjusted as follows, eliminating the current single rate (amounts in USD): | Hardship category | P.1 – P.3 | P.4 – P.5 | D.1 and above | | A | - | - | - | | B | 5,810 | 6,970 | 8,140 | | C | 10,470 | 12,780 | 15,110 | | D | 13,950 | 16,280 | 18,590 | | E | 17,440 | 20,920 | 23,250 |
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).
| 25/01/2017 | Human Resources Management |
| Repatriation Grant | Eligibility to repatriation
grant is subject to a minimum of five years of expatriate service. Serving
staff will retain their eligibility under the current grant up to the number of
years accrued at the time of implementation.
| 25/01/2017 | Human Resources Management |
| Settling-In Grant | 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.
| 25/01/2017 | Human Resources Management |
| Cost Recovery from Other Resources – GMS | 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.
| 01/01/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| GMS Fee Set-up and Collection | 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.
| 01/01/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| GMS Fee Set-up and Collection | Adjustments to the POPP content on GMS income to reflect the changes arising from the 2017 enhanced planning and budgeting exercise, including: - A discontinuation of internal distribution of GMS income for all funds except those from Vertical Funds, which are the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM); Global Environment Facility (GEF); Green Climate Fund (GCF); and Montreal Protocol (MP); and
- A revised GMS rate calculator for UNDP, GEF, GFATM, and MP projects
| 01/01/2017 | Financial Resources Management |
| Pre-award negotiation | Pre-award negotiation (“hereinafter referred to as “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[1] 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%. · 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% It is important to note the required conditions for exceptional negotiation of price: · 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. [1] The recommended offeror can only request negotiations on certain aspects of the contract upon the award of the contract, while this policy addresses pre-award negotiations. BUs shall ensure that such negotiations are in the interest of UNDP and for the success of the contract.
| 07/12/2016 | Procurement |
| Pre-award Negotiations | 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.
| 07/12/2016 | Procurement |
| Guidelines on Engagement with NGOs under Country Based Pooled Funds | Country
Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) are designed to support cluster coordination and stronger
humanitarian leadership. Such funds are made available to UN agencies and NGOs
that participate in the country’s consolidated appeals process (CAP) or
Humanitarian Response Plan (HAP). The Guidelines on Engagement with NGOs under
CBPF supplements OCHA’s Operational Handbook for CBPFs(2015), and
provides guidance to Country Offices acting or considering to act as Managing
Agent. Currently,
UNDP Country Offices in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan are Managing Agents for CBPF grants to NGOs.
This work is not only important in the context of the UN’s humanitarian
delivery in protracted crisis situations, but also advances an agenda where
local actors are at the forefront of this response. The capacity-building work
that UNDP does through the CBPF’s also contributes to programming that advances
better collaboration across the humanitarian and development nexus. For questions
on this process, please contact Taija Kontinen-Sharp at taija.kontinen@undp.org , Programme
Specialist, the Crisis Response Unit.
| 01/12/2016 | Crisis Response |
| Purchase Orders (Commitments, Maintenance and Closure) | 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.
| 30/11/2016 | Financial Resources Management |
| Atlas Financial Closure Instructions | We
have reflected the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)
closure process and linked the technical year-end closing guidance.
| 29/11/2016 | Financial Resources Management |
| Revised Selection and Recruitment of FTAs not covered by the candidate pool | The following provision, which previously required Fast Track activation request are no-longer necessary (i.e. integrated into the main policies).
Offices are authorized to conduct desk review in lieu of an interview for all positions up to and including P-5 level. The desk review would still need to be conducted by an independent panel which must adhere to the recruitment principles as set out in the Policy.
| 03/10/2016 | Human Resources Management |
| Revised Aviation Risk Management | The Air Travel Risk Management Guidelines have been
revised to reflect a new UN Security Management System Air Travel Policy.
Theseguidelines are applicable to all UNDP Personnel on official travel via
Commercial Air (Transport) Operators, UN Chartered Flights and Donated Flights.
To facilitate booking of flights, a Global Booking List of Airlines
Pre-approved for Travel by UNDP Personnel has been made available on the UNDP
Intranet via the following link. For Airlines which are not pre-approved (and
therefore not included in the UNDP Global Booking List), the guidelines provide
for an evidence-based risk assessment methodology, enabling informed decision
making by the UNDP Managers with Signature Authority before use of these
airlines. | 29/09/2016 | Security |
| Revised Increased Delegated Procurement Authority | 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 $200,000, based on the confirmation by the ACP Chairperson or respective Regional ACP Chairpersons. | 22/09/2016 | Procurement |
| Revised Procurement Method | a) Micro-purchasing
Country offices may request increasing the micro-purchasing threshold from US$ 5,000 to US$ 10,000 as part of their request for increase in delegated procurement authority. Please see Procurement Methods .
b) Request for Quotation (RFQ)
Offices are now authorized to issue RFQs in line with the following thresholds:
• For offices with micro-purchasing threshold of USD 5,000, the RFQ limit is US$ 5,000 ¬ US$ 149,999.
• For offices with micro-purchasing threshold of USD 10,000, the RFQ limit is US$ 10,000 ¬ US$ 149,999. | 22/09/2016 | Procurement |
| Revised Engaging CSO as Responsible Party | | 10/08/2016 | Procurement |
| Revised Temporary Appointment | The following provision, which previously required Fast Track activation request are no-longer necessary (i.e. integrated into the main policies).
The Regional Bureau Directors are authorized to grant waiver of competitive recruitment for up to 10 (ten) Temporary Appointment (TA) positions per annum, per country office in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) The process must ensure that the person selected is the best-qualified candidate to perform the job functions in a fully satisfactory manner;
(b) References must be checked prior to contracting/appointment;
(c) Contracting/appointing of close family relatives and other conflict of interest matters must be verified prior to contracting/appointment;
(d) The individuals must be medically cleared an enrolled in the applicable medical and life insurance policy prior to contracting/appointment;
(e) The appointment letter/contracts issued must be in compliance with the standard terms and conditions;
(f) The individuals must be informed of the contract terms and standards of conduct as set out in the POPP | 04/08/2016 | Human Resources Management |
| Resived Service Contract | The following provision, which previously required Fast Track activation request are no-longer necessary (i.e. integrated into the main policies). The Regional Bureau Directors are authorized to grant waiver of competitive recruitment for up 20 Service Contract (SC) positions per annum, per country office in accordance with the following provisions: (a) The process must ensure that the person selected is the best-qualified candidate to perform the job functions in a fully satisfactory manner; (b) References must be checked prior to contracting/appointment; (c) Contracting/appointing of close family relatives and other conflict of interest matters must be verified prior to contracting/appointment; (d) The individuals must be medically cleared an enrolled in the applicable medical and life insurance policy prior to contracting/appointment; (e) The appointment letter/contracts issued must be in compliance with the standard terms and conditions; (f) The individuals must be informed of the contract terms and standards of conduct as set out in the POPP
| 04/08/2016 | Human Resources Management |
