Abuse of authority is the improper use of a position of influence, power or authority by UNDP personnel against UNDP or external personnel or a group thereof. This includes situations when the person in question uses their influence, power or authority to arbitrarily influence the career or employment conditions (including, but not limited to, appointment, assignment, contract renewal, performance evaluation or promotion) of other UNDP or external personnel. Abuse of authority can include a one-time incident or a series of incidents. It may also consist of conduct that creates a hostile or offensive work environment, which includes, but is not limited to, the use of intimidation, threats, blackmail or coercion.
Components or systems described as accepted or supported are not primary options, but are considered fully in line with UNDP ICT standards. Accepted or supported components are not mandatory.
The AAA report is designed to provide Country Offices with a tool to analyze balance sheet accounts. The report gives details of all transactions from various modules for a given account and Operating Unit (OU) for a chosen period. The report selects activities from source systems (AP, AR, GL, etc.) within a fiscal year based on the posting date of the journal tied to the activity. The report can be run for the OU, specified on the run control. Country offices should run generally for one OU only. Upon select account 16005, this report provides all movements in the account by Operating Unit/ Project and or Fund for a specific accounting period.
Accountability is the obligation to (i) demonstrate that work has been conducted in accordance with agreed rules and standards and (ii) report fairly and accurately on performance results vis-à-vis mandated roles and/or plans.
An Accounts Payable invoice must be fully processed in order to be correctly recorded in Projects and the General Ledger (GL). An invoice needs to be fund reserved in order for it to record in budget control.An Accounts Payable (AP) voucher records a liability due to a vendor and expense against a given Chart of Account.
Ad-hoc services may be required or requested in certain circumstances, for instance the provision of legal advice or representation on an agreement or case,1 enhanced local security services for movement of cash in countries without banking facilities, or other services such as advisory support. Ad-hoc services are not included in the UPL and should be managed based on a Local Price List (LPL) or other locally negotiated prices using transparent, prevailing market rates or on the existing guiding costing methodology (Annex 1) and set out in a local price list and agreed locally between the parties.
Adjusted Risk Rating is defined as the Overall Risk Assessment derived from the Micro Assessment adjusted for other available information including: results of the Macro Assessment; past experience with the Partner, prior capacity assessments and micro assessments by other agencies.
Encompasses critical systems of internal control that complement and ensure the proper functioning of checks and balance, including financial ones. These include international civil service standards and incentives, ethics codes, criminal penalties, and administrative review.
Administrative leave is an exceptional status provided for by Staff Rule 10.4 in which a staff member may be suspended from performing his or her functions. A staff member may be placed on administrative leave, subject to conditions specified by the Administrator, at any time from the receipt of an allegation of misconduct and prior to the initiation of an investigation, through the course of an investigation until the completion of disciplinary proceedings as appropriate. Administrative leave can be with pay (ALWP), with partial pay or without pay (ALWOP).
Advance payments received by a staff member from the Organization that are authorized under the UN Staff Regulations and Staff Rules and relevant policies;
An Agency for which the Vendor Review Committee (VRC) has determined that Proscribed Practices took place in respect of one or more of its procurement activities.
Agency implementation is one of the four modalities available to UNDP for the implementation of projects and programmes. A UN agency may be either an Implementing Partner (accountable for the delivery of overall results in a programme or project) or a Responsible Party (accountable for delivery of elements of a programme or project).
Assigned UNDP individuals, acting as liaison with UNDSS CATSU and are responsible for responding to questions relating to air travel safety in accordance with the UNSMS Commercial Air Travel Safety Policy and these guidelines. Based on available information, ATSFPs prepare an analysis and provide a recommendation to UNDP units on the use of airlines not on UNDP booking list.
A financial authorization issued by the Administrator to an official or to a unit to incur commitments for specific purposes relating to the institutional budget and within specified limits, during a definite period;
Amortization is the systematic allocation of the amortizable amount of an Intangible Asset over its useful life. Amortization expenses the cost of the asset in equal instalments (Straight line method of amortization) over the life of the asset, rather than when the asset is paid. Amortization is the systematic allocation of the amortizable amount of an Intangible Asset over its useful life. Amortization expenses the cost of the asset in equal instalments (Straight line method of amortization) over the life of the asset, rather than when the asset is paid for. Amortizable amount is the cost of an asset, or other amount substituted for cost, less its residual value and Residual value of an asset is the estimated amount that would currently be obtained from disposal of the asset, after deducting the estimated costs of disposal, if the asset were already of the age and in the condition expected at the end of its useful life. In UNDP all intangibles will have a zero residual life.
Annual leave is granted by UNDP to provide staff members with periods of time off from work at full pay for personal reasons and for purposes of health, rest and recreation. Subject to the exigencies of service, staff members are expected to exercise their leave within the period in which it is earned.
In line with the UN Staff Regulations and Rules, an annual performance review (referred to in Paragraph 11) will take place to evaluate the performance of the staff members during the year, confirm the achievement of agreed goals and other performance expectations, demonstrated.
The annual planning process starts with the preparation of an Annual Business Plan, which establishes corporate annual priorities to achieve results established in the Strategic Plan. Annual Business Plan priorities cascade throughout the organization through integrated workplans.
The Application Development Lifecycle (ADL) typically encompasses a six-step process starting with analysis, then wireframing before moving into design and development followed by deployment and maintenance.
A subdivision of the appropriations for which a specific amount is shown in the appropriate decision and within which the Administrator is authorized to make transfers without prior approval;
The total amount approved by the Executive Board for specified purposes for the current institutional budget against which commitments may be incurred for those purposes up to the amounts so approved. The appropriations are divided into “appropriations lines”, for each of which a specific amount is shown in the appropriate decision adopted for each budget period by the Executive Board and within which the Administrator is authorized to make transfers without prior approval.
Deals with the preservation and maintenance of non-current records on a temporary or permanent/indefinite basis in accordance with an established retention schedule. The public record of UNDP should be electronic whenever possible, and should be stored in UNDP official systems.
Area Security Coordinators (ASC) are staff members appointed in writing by the DO, in consultation with the SMT, in areas of larger countries which are separated from the capital in terms of both distance and exposure, in order to coordinate and control security arrangements applicable to all personnel, premises and assets in their area of responsibility. ASCs are accountable to the DO for their security-related responsibilities, in accordance with their respective letters of appointment. ASCs may be UNDP staff members.
Is the process of collecting, preserving and securing basic evidence, and the evaluation of this evidence to determine whether an investigation into reported allegations of wrongdoing is warranted
In the HACT framework, these refer to planned activities used to determine whether funds transferred to implementing partners were used for their intended purpose and in accordance with the annual work plan.
The role of the Audit and Evaluation Advisory Committee (AEAC) as an independent body is to assist the Administrator in fulfilling responsibilities regarding oversight, financial management and reporting; internal audit and investigation, external audit; risk management; the evaluation and ethics functions, and systems of internal control and accountability. The primary role of the Committee is to advise the Administrator, taking into consideration the Financial and Staff Regulations and Rules as well as policies and procedures applicable to UNDP (including UNV) and its operating environment, as well as one of its affiliates, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). The AEAC makes recommendations to the Administrator, including on the strategy and workplans of the independent offices as well as on the appointment, performance evaluation, extension and dismissal of the heads of those offices.
Authenticity. An electronic signature is considered to be authentic if it can be proved that the electronic signature was not modified, altered or otherwise compromised after it was placed. The authenticity of an electronic signature is established by the following parameters: i. Association of the electronic signature with a signatory; ii. Indication of the date and time of the electronic signature.
“Authority” refers to the power or decision making rights of an individual by virtue of his/her appointment and/or as appropriately delegated to him/her.
Any authorized user of UNDP ICT resources. May be a staff member, contract holder, intern, UN Volunteer, a member of another UN agency using UNDP ICT resources or other any other third party using UNDP ICT resources.
A centralized process that auto-matches Quantum transactions against the bank statements loaded into Quantum via Treasury Management System (TMS) payment hub.
Azure DevOps collaboration tools includes customizable team dashboards with configurable widgets to share information, progress, and trends, built-in wikis for sharing information, and configurable notifications.
The process under which cases are reviewed by a panel composed of UNDP staff who determine the recommendation(s) to be made to the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO).
Under Parallel Fund Management, each organization independently manages its own funds, whether coming from Regular or Other Resources. This option is likely to be the most effective and efficient when interventions by participating UN organizations are aimed at common results, but with different national, sub-national and/or international partners.
PCAT is a mandatory tool that includes a partner pre-requisite checklist and capacity assessment scoping to assist project developers to determine which capacity assessments (if any) need to be completed before the project is finalized and approved.
PPSA is a contractual modality through which UNDP may engage and administer non-staff personnel contacts for an on behalf of client UN entities - ‘the Partner’ for the purposes of this policy.
Partner risk is determined by the impact on human development and well-being which arises from the nature of the industry sector and business performance. It has social, environmental and governance aspects.
Partner Risk Rating is defined as the overall Risk Assessment derived from the Micro Assessment risk rating adjusted for other available information including results of the Macro Assessment, past experience with the Partner including results of assurance activities, prior capacity assessments and micro assessments by other Agencies.
A UNDP partnership is a voluntary and collaborative commitment between UNDP and one or more parties. Together, they work to achieve common objectives in line with overall development goals supported by UNDP. Parties should agree to respect the values and policies central to UNDP’s mandate, and maximize the effective use of resources, including through careful assessment of risks, responsibilities, competencies and benefits. They may provide opportunities for innovation and achievements that might not be feasible by either UNDP or its partner working alone.
Partnership risk is shaped by the nature of the collaboration with UNDP, by the private and public benefits of the collaboration, and also by the role that UNDP takes in brokering, co-creating and/or implementing activities that arise from the collaboration.
Under the pass-through fund management, two or more organizations develop a multi-donor trust fund or joint programme. If the donor(s) and participating UN organizations agree to channel the funds to participating organizations through one UN organization, then the pass-through modality applies. The UN organization channelling resources, called the Administrative Agent (‘AA’), is jointly selected by all participating organizations.
The United Nations Joint Pension Fund (UNJPF) provides participating staff members with benefits in the event of death, disability, separation from service before retirement age, or upon retirement. The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) (www.unjspf.org) was established by the General Assembly (GA) to provide retirement, death, disability, and related benefits for the staff of the United Nations and other organizations admitted to membership in the Fund. The Fund is administered by the UNJSPF Board together with staff pension committees from each member organization, with a secretariat to the Board and to each such committee (in tripartite and equal representation). The assets of the Fund are property of the Fund and are acquired, deposited, and held in the name of the UN on behalf of the participants and beneficiaries of the Fund; however, the assets are held separately from those of the UN and can be used only for the purposes stated in the Fund's Regulations.
For the purposes of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), special scales, called Pensionable Remuneration (PR), are established as the basis for determining the contribution to be paid by the staff member and by UNDP as well as the pension benefits to which the staff member may become entitled.
All UNDP staff members are accountable to the Administrator for performing their functions and delivery of agreed results based on the highest standards of competence, integrity, ethics, and efficiency, in line with the UN values, Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, Secretary-General’s Bulletin on the Status, Basic Rights and Duties of United Nations Staff Members, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, and UNDP policies.
Performance-based payments (PBPs) are a type of agreement between UNDP and a responsible party to provide funding upon the verified achievement of an agreed measurable development result. No advances are provided, rather payments are made only upon the verified achievement of agreed results. This approach gives greater incentive to responsible parties to achieve results.
A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is a tool that aims to facilitate the required improvement in the performance of a staff member. It serves to record: (1) identified shortcomings and improvements to be achieved, (2) actions to be taken to fully meet the requirements of the job and performance objectives, (3) timelines; as well as (4) support to be provided, (5) outcomes of periodic check-ins, and (6) the final review of the PIP implementation.
Effective performance management and development of each staff member (PMD) are a shared responsibility of the supervisee and the supervisor. Performance management and development are continuous processes and are anchored in the frequent, two-way, open communication between the supervisor and the supervisee aimed to ensure the achievement of results, staff development, and the provision of timely and appropriate support. Both the supervisor and the supervisee are expected to initiate and engage in such communication.12. The annual performance management and development cycle is from 1 January to 31 December of the year and includes: annual performance planning (mandatory); regular performance discussions, including performance monitoring, feedback and coaching during the performance year; the mid-term review (MTR) (mandatory); and the annual performance review (APR) (mandatory) .
Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity; [EU directive 95/46/EC]
UNDP staff and other persons engaged by UNDP under other contractual arrangements to perform services for UNDP programme activities or for programme support.
PCF is the cash balance kept in the safe in a CO’s main office or a HQ unit to meet small expenses for management projects where the use of cheque or electronic funds transfer (EFT) is inefficient.
“Pipeline” refers to the totality of planned projects, programmes, and initiatives that UNDP is expected to pursue within a foreseeable time in the future.
Plant comprises those assets that are grouped together; held in use for the production or supply of goods or services; used in the implementation of UNDP programmes and administrative operations; and are expected to be used during more than one financial reporting period. Examples of such assets are heavy machinery; furniture and fixtures. The combined cost of such group of assets together should be US$5,000 or more and should meet the capitalization criteria described under “Recognition.”
The definition endorsed by the Organizational Performance Group in 2015 refers to policies as providing an operational, long-term framework for the organization and describe what the organization intends to do. Policies are to be clear and simple statements and should not be overly prescriptive. UNDP’s main policy and procedures repository is the POPP (Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures).1
Under Pooled Fund Management, participating UN organizations pool funds together to one UN organization, called the Managing Agent (MA), chosen jointly by the participating UN organizations in consultation with the (sub-) national partner. The MA will support the (sub-) national partner in managing the programme. This option is likely to be the most effective and efficient approach when participating UN organizations work for common results with a common national or sub-national partner (e.g. Department, provincial office, NGO) and/or in a common geographical area.
A portfolio is a programming delivery instrument, which contributes to one or more country programme outcomes and engages one or more implementing partners to address system level challenges for strategic development results.
Positive pay is a process used to combat cheque fraud. With this service a company transmits a file of issued cheque information to the bank soon after its issuance to the payee. The bank matches cheque serial numbers and amounts of cheques presented for payments against the issue file and pays only those cheques that match. Exceptions are conveyed to the company for disposition. Some positive pay services match against the payee field as well as the serial number and amount, in an effort to detect altered payees.
The Post Adjustment system was designed to equalize purchasing power of United Nations salaries for professionals and higher categories, taking into account the cost of living differences between the base city of the system (New York) and other duty stations. The system aims at ensuring that, no matter where United Nations common system staff work at some 180 locations worldwide, their take-home-pay has a purchasing power equivalent to that at the base of the system. The Post Adjustment System is available at: http://icsc.un.org/secretariat/cold.asp?include=par
Particularly for high value or complex procurement requirements, a solicitation may be limited only to vendors who meet established criteria for capacity and resources, based on a prequalification process. The prequalification process aims to ensure that solicitation documents are extended only to those with adequate capacity and resources to provide the requisite goods, services or perform civil works.
UNDP’s Information Disclosure Policy is guided by openness, with the underlying presumption that any information concerning UNDP programmes and operations enumerated in Chapter III is available to the public, in the absence of a compelling reason for confidentiality in line with the exceptions to the Policy in Chapter IV.
Prima Facie case (of Retaliation) is established when the information available to the Ethics Office indicates that it is more likely than not that a causal connection exists between the Protected Activity (defined below) and the detrimental action that has been taken or threatened against the individual. When the Ethics Office has determined that a prima facie case is established, the matter will be referred to OAI for a full investigation.
The term ‘private sector’ refers to any such entity that could collaborate or collaborates with UNDP. UNDP can work with a private sector group or with an individual company.
Policy, institutional and capacity-building activities promoting the growth of local small and medium enterprises, and also including support for the provision of micro-finance.
Activities undertaken in collaboration with companies to develop solutions, mobilize resources, and advocate for change in order to support poverty reduction and the achievement of the SDGs.
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.
Procedures serve as a blueprint for policy implementation and as step-by-step instructions on how to implement a policy and states who will implement it.
Limited international competition is conducted by narrowing the competitive field to a short list of prospective offerors. This is pre-determined through a non-discriminatory evaluation of qualifications. Such a process may involve various sourcing methods, such as: a. Use of existing rosters; b. Shortlisting from previous rounds of prequalification or expressions of interest from another selection process, assuming similar goods or services; c. Previous vendors of known satisfactory performance; d. Referrals of vendors from other UN entities; e. Publicly accessible trade books and online databases; f. Advertised call for expressions of interest; g. Conventional business directories
In accordance with UNDP procurement policies and procedures, this should be a competitive bidding process. The responsibility for the award of a contract to a bank for the provision of banking services has been delegated by the Administrator to the Treasurer under UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules, Rule 125.01. Only the Treasurer can approve the recommendation made by the Resident Representative (RR), or the Head of Office following the RFP exercise. This
Procurement Review Committees render independent written advice and recommendations on a procurement action and the proposed commitment of funds to the person approving the procurement action. The review committees have been established at three levels. Contracts, Assets and Procurement Committee (CAP); Regional Advisory Committee on Procurement (RACP); Advisory Committee on Procurement (ACP).