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;
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.
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.
Changes to a project budget affecting the outputs, completion date or total estimated project costs require a formal budget revision that is agreed by the signatories of the original project document, and may need the approval of the donor, UN pooled fund steering committee or vertical fund, if relevant. The UNDP programme manager alone may sign the revision provided the other signatories have no objection. This procedure may be applied, for example, when the purpose of the revision is only to re-phase activities among years.
A project document may be revised at any time by agreement among the signatories to the document, the donor, UN pooled fund steering committee and/or vertical fund, as relevant, and following consultation with the project board. The purpose of the revision is to make substantive or financial adjustments and improvements to the project. Restrictions apply for GEF- and GCF-financed projects.
According to Rule 121.01 paragraph (a) of the UNDP Financial regulations and Rules (as amended on January 1, 2012), the Chief Procurement Officer of UNDP is accountable to the Administrator for all procurement functions of UNDP for all its locations, except for those procurement actions governed by paragraph (c). The Chief Procurement Officer may further delegate authority to staff at headquarters and other locations, as may be appropriate in fulfilling the purposes of these rules.
A legal obligation arising from a contract, agreement or other form of undertaking by UNDP or based on a liability recognized by UNDP, either against the resources of the current year in respect to UNDP programme activities or against the current budget period in respect to the institutional budget
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.
Cash or in-kind resources (the latter being in the form of goods, services, or real property) provided to UNDP. Contributions are used to cover UNDP programme activities as well as programme support, management and administration, and support to operational activities of the United Nations, including costs associated with the administration of contributions received for special purposes; costsharing - a co-financing modality under which contributions from Other resources can be received as a supplement to Regular resources for specific UNDP programme activities, under the relevant cooperation framework.
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.
Category of costs associated with “programmes” and “development effectiveness” activities which contribute to the effective delivery of development results, as follows:
a) programmes: category of costs associated with specific programme components or projects that contribute to delivery of development results contained in country/regional/global programme documents or other programming arrangements;
b) development effectiveness: category of costs associated with activities of a policy, advisory, technical and implementation nature that are needed for achievement of the objectives of programmes and projects in the focus areas of the organizations. These inputs are essential to the delivery of development results, and are not included in specific programme components or projects in country, regional or global programme documents.
A method of financing the budget of a partner country through a transfer of resources from an external financing agency to the national treasury of the partner government. The funds thus transferred are managed in accordance with the recipient’s budgetary procedures. This includes using the national regulatory framework for financial allocations, procurement and accounting systems.
Includes disbursements and accruals for goods and services received, and the use or impairment of assets, dependent on the implementation arrangement and in accordance with administrative instructions issued by the Comptroller for a financial period.
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. .
The costs incurred by the organization in support of programmes or projects that cannot be directly attributed to such specific programmes or projects.
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.
Covers the estimates as approved by the Executive Board relating to the activities and associated costs in the cost categories of development effectiveness, United Nations Development Coordination, management and special purpose.
The difference between current assets and current liabilities. In the specific context of UNDP, this shall normally be taken to mean the sum of working capital and reserves.
To ensure the programme remains relevant and effectively contributes to outcome level results, the programme board may approve some changes to the programme without the need to resubmit the programme document to the UNDP Executive Board. These include: (a) removal of outputs that would not adversely affect the achievement of agreed outcomes; (b) adding new outputs necessary to achieve a given agreed outcome identified after the approval of the programme document; and c) changing outcome or output indicators that measure the progress of the programme.
Categories of costs in which the primary function is the promotion of the identity, direction and well-being of an organization. These include executive direction, representation, external relations and partnerships, corporate communications, legal, oversight, audit, corporate evaluation, information technology, finance, administration, security and human resources. This includes both activities and associated costs of a recurring and non-recurring nature.
The financial assistance provided to an intermediary which includes
nongovernmental or grass roots organizations in an amount not exceeding$150,000 for each individual grant.
Monitoring improves development effectiveness and efficiency by reviewing performance and using evidence to adjust programming for optimal results. Good monitoring starts with good planning and clear identification of what a programme or project will strive to achieve with specified resources. It is a continuous management function that provides decision-makers with regular feedback. Evidence from monitoring also serves as a critical input to evaluation and enables evidence-based reporting. Monitoring includes: (a) tracking performance through the collection of appropriate and credible data and other evidence; (b) analysing evidence to inform management decision-making, improve effectiveness and efficiency, and adjust programming as necessary; and (c) reporting on performance and lessons to facilitate learning and support accountability.
All UNDP programmes and projects must be governed by a multi-stakeholder board or committee established to review performance based on monitoring and evaluation, and address implementation issues to ensure quality delivery of results. In crisis contexts where constraints prevent the government from being able to participate in relevant programme and/or project boards, the Regional Bureau can grant approval for modified oversight mechanisms, taking risks and stakeholders into account.
UNDP staff and other persons engaged by UNDP under other contractual arrangements to perform services for UNDP programme activities or for programme support.
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.
Implementing a programme or a project requires ensuring all outputs in planning documents are delivered and contribute to achieving outcomes in the UNDP Strategic Plan and relevant country or regional programme document.
The document approved by the Executive Board that describes the framework for UNDP programme activities, and indicates the proposed UNDP resources to achieve results during a specified period. Programme documents are prepared at the country level in cooperation with the Government of that country, as well as at regional and global levels.
If the problems have not been resolved in a reasonable time, the project must be cancelled. Unspent funds defined as a target resource assignment from the core that result from a cancelled project may be reprogrammed, considering the outstanding obligations of the cancelled project. Third-party contributions may be reprogrammed subject to approval by the donor (unspent funds must be returned to vertical funds such as the GEF or GCF). The implementing partner proceeds with the steps required for financial completion as described in project closure. If cancellation means significant changes in the approved country programme document, an amendment may be needed.
Suspension. A project is cancelled after a period of suspension. During this period, the parties consult and try to resolve the problems by corrective measures. If the problems are resolved, the project activities may be resumed. The programme manager/Resident Representative confirms to the parties the date for resuming the activities. In an emergency situation, it is often clear that corrective measures cannot be taken. If so, UNDP proceeds directly with cancellation.
UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules document defines 'property, plant and equipment' as tangible assets held for use in the activities of UNDP or for administrative purposes and expected to be used during more than one financial period. The Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E) policy document provides further details of the term 'property, plant and equipment' as a tangible or physically verifiable item that meets ALL the following five criteria: a) Provides future economic or service benefits to UNDP – i.e. the PP&E item is held for use in the implementation of UNDP Programmes or for administrative purposes; b) Is expected to be used during more than one reporting period, which, is 12 months; c) Has a value of US$5,000 (US$5,000 for UNCDF too) or more (New Capitalization Threshold effective as of 01.01.2020); d) Is used and controlled by UNDP; and e) Has a cost that can be reliably determined.
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 resources of UNDP that are comingled and untied. These will include voluntary
contributions, contributions from other governmental, intergovernmental or nongovernmental sources and related interest earnings and miscellaneous revenue.
Reporting is an important accountability function. It draws on data and analysis collected through monitoring and communicates updates on results, risks, quality, learning and operational performance to oversight mechanisms, funding partners and other stakeholders. Reporting is a key input to decision-making at all levels as it provides information required to adjust programming to ensure results are achieved. To this end, reports must capture lessons learned on what worked and what didn’t work and explain how data and learning were used to adjust course or inform other interventions.
Refers to the financial contribution to a government budget, managed in a national account by a government entity for a specific set of sector or programme results.
Categories of costs of a cross-cutting nature that (a) involve material capital
investments, or (b) do not represent a cost related to the management activities of the organization.
Substantive revisions are changes to the project design, approach, implementing partner, theory of change or results framework made in response to changes in the development context or new evidence and learning. Revisions may be made any time in response to monitoring, evaluation and review activities. When there is a substantive change in the design, the inputs and the budget will normally also need to be changed.
A country programme may be suspended by UNDP when the situation in the country makes it impossible to achieve programme outcomes. The relevant Regional Bureau Director decides on suspension in consultation and agreement with the Associate Administrator. The Executive Board will be notified of programmes that have been suspended at the next practical session.
The order of magnitude of the Regular Resources expected to be available from UNDP during a specified period for the financing of UNDP programme activities at the country level.
Tolerance is the permissible deviation from a plan (in terms of time and cost) without bringing the deviation to the attention of the next higher authority .
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.
UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules (FRR) govern the financial management of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and shall, unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly or the Executive Board or as otherwise specified in these Regulations and the annexes thereto, apply to all resources administered by UNDP and to all the Funds and Programmes administered by the Administrator.
Resources credited to the UNDP Regular Resources Account or Other Resources Account and therefore excludes resources credited to the UNDP Funds Account.
Contributions to UNDP Regular Resources from Governments of States Members of the United Nations, of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency;