Knowledge Product Production and Quality Assurance | United Nations Development Programme

1	Step Product Design	Responsible Party Issuing Office	Template/Guideline Knowledge Product Production Guidelines	Explanatory Notes The issuing office identifies the need and elaborates the necessary details (intended impact, target audience, budget, roll out plans, etc.) to guarantee that the knowledge product is clearly justified, targeted and impactful. These details will be submitted in Form 1 of the online assessment as per step 1.1 of these procedures. For further information on knowledge product types, life cycle steps, production processes, and quality assurance standards, please see the Knowledge Product Production Guidelines.
1.1	Step Submit Product Details (Online)	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline Step 1 of the online assessment	Explanatory Notes The focal point submits the new publication for approval. The focal point inputs in the online quality assurance form the justification for the product, the audience, the budget and other product details. See form sample.
1.2	Step Approve product design	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline	Explanatory Notes After the submission of Step 1 by the Focal Point, an email soliciting the approval of the new knowledge product is sent to the Approver. The Approver follows the link on the email to the online form and approve the knowledge product details or rejects it. If it is approved, the knowledge product can then be completed by the Issuing Office. If the form is rejected, the workflow resumes from step 1.1., where the Knowledge Product Focal Point will review and address the Approver’s comments.
2.0	Step Produce the knowledge product	Responsible Party Issuing Office	Template/Guideline	Explanatory Notes Following the approval of the knowledge product and its details, the issuing office can proceed to produce the product. All products, once finalized in draft, should be subject to critical review. The product’s type determines the nature of the review, the composition of the reviewers and whether an external review is called for.
2.1	Step Assess quality standards (online)	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline Step 2 of the online assessment	Explanatory Notes Clearing a knowledge product for publication is to certify that the product meets the quality standards set at Step 2 of the online quality assurance forms. This step is completed on the Knowledge Products Quality Assessment site.
2.2	Step Clearance for publication	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline Step 2 of the online assessment	Explanatory Notes Following the inputs submitted by the Focal Point on the online quality assurance forms, the Approver receives an email notification soliciting the clearance of the form. The email notification will lead to an online form for final certification that the product meets the quality assurance. The Approver can either “approve” or “reject” the details in the forms. If the submission is cleared, it will be uploaded first internally (step 3) and subsequently issued on www.undp.org (and any of the appropriate regional and country sub sites) If the form is rejected, the workflow resumes at step 2.1 of these procedures. The Knowledge Product Focal Point then reviews the Approver’s comments and corrects the issue.
3.0	Step Upload the knowledge product	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline Step 3 of the online quality assurance	Explanatory Notes Following the Approver's clearance of the knowledge product, the Focal Point will complete “Step 3” of the online quality assurance form. This step is to guarantee that the product details, clearance process, and product itself are documented and uploaded for storage and audit purposes.
3.1	Step Publish the knowledge product	Responsible Party	Template/Guideline	Explanatory Notes The KM Team (knowledge@undp.org) assists the Issuing Offices and Knowledge Product Focal Points in publishing quality approved knowledge products on UNDP’s public site.
3.2	Step Roll out the product	Responsible Party Issuing Office	Template/Guideline	Explanatory Notes The issuing office will continue to communicate and roll out plans as indicated in the product’s strategy and details.
4.0	Step Track product’s performance and impact	Responsible Party Knowledge Product Focal Point and Issuing Office	Template/Guideline Knowledge Product Report on Power BI	Explanatory Notes Track and Monitor the impact of the knowledge product. Consult the Knowledge Product Report (Power BI) User Guide.