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.