What's new

Procurement Authority and Increased Delegated Procurement Authority

15 September 2025

The Procurement Authority and Increased Delegated Procurement Authority policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds and delegated procurement authorities, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2016, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. These policy changes affect various delegation levels and micro-purchasing thresholds, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:...

The Procurement Authority and Increased Delegated Procurement Authority policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds and delegated procurement authorities, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2016, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. These policy changes affect various delegation levels and micro-purchasing thresholds, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:

• Standard Delegated Procurement Authority Increase: The delegation limit for Level 1 procurement authority has been raised from $200,000 to $300,000 (Paragraph 2), with a no-UNALL Quantum threshold moving from $150,000 to $200,000 (Paragraph 4).

• Increased Delegated Procurement Levels: Thresholds for Levels 2, 3, and 4 procurement authority have been increased respectively from $300,000 to $400,000 for Level 2 (Paragraph 4), $500,000 to $700,000 for Level 3 (Paragraph 11), and $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 for Level 4 (Paragraph 14).

• Micro-Purchasing Thresholds Expanded: The minimum micro-purchasing threshold has been increased from $5,000 to $7,000, and the maximum from $10,000 to $15,000 (Paragraph 5).

• Ad-Hoc Increased Delegation Authority and Requests for Increased Delegated Procurement Authority (IDPA): Ad-hoc increased delegation authority and requests for IDPA (minimum above level 4) have also been increased from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, with the maximum amount delegated by the Regional Chief Procurement Officer moving from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000 (Paragraph 6).

The Procurement Authority and Increased Delegated Procurement Authority procedure and the Request for Increased Delegation of Procurement Authority (IDPA) template have been also updated to reflect the policy’s revisions.

EXPAND

Procurement Oversight and Procurement Review Committees

15 September 2025

Procurement Review Committees

The Procurement Oversight and Procurement Review Committees policy has been updated to reflect a systematic increase of standard procurement delegations and related procurement and financial thresholds, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2016, as follows:...

The Procurement Oversight and Procurement Review Committees policy has been updated to reflect a systematic increase of standard procurement delegations and related procurement and financial thresholds, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2016, as follows:

• Direct Review Authorities: The threshold for Direct Review by the Regional Advisory Committee on Procurement (RACP) and by the Advisory Committee on Procurement (ACP) Chairpersons has been increased from $500,000 to $700,000 (Paragraphs 47 and 53). Similarly, Direct Review by the Contracts, Assets and Procurement Committee (CAP) Chairperson has been increased from $200,000 to $300,000 to align with standard procurement delegations (Paragraph 53). Similar increases have also been implemented for Direct Contracting, Contract Amendments and Individual Contracts (Paragraph 53).

• Delegated Procurement Authority (DPA): The Standard DPA for Resident Representatives (RRs) and Heads of Business Units (BU) is raised from $200,000 to $300,000 (Paragraph 52).

• Head of BU Procurement Authority Without CAP Review: The procurement authority for Heads of BU without CAP review is raised from $50,000 to $70,000 (Paragraph 49).

• Committee Reviews: The procurement threshold for Committee Review by RACP (max.) and by ACP (min.) for competitive procurement and amendments is raised from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000 (Paragraph 53). Ex-Ante Reviews for RACP and ACP are increased for RACP (min.) from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, and for ACP (min.) from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.

• Direct Contracting: Procurement thresholds for direct contracting reviews by CAP, RACP, and ACP Chairpersons are uniformly increased, with minimums and maximums adjusted to reflect higher operational flexibility.

• Asset Disposal and Income Generation: The minimum threshold for asset disposal reviewed by the CAP Chairperson has been increased from $5,000 to $7,000. Income generation activities reviewed by ACP rise from $10,000 to $15,000.

EXPAND

Procurement Methods

15 September 2025

Procurement Methods

The Procurement Methods Policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds across various contract values and procurement methods, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2018, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. The policy updates reflect increased limits on contract values for micro-purchasing, limited international competition, and other procurement processes, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:...

The Procurement Methods Policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds across various contract values and procurement methods, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2018, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. The policy updates reflect increased limits on contract values for micro-purchasing, limited international competition, and other procurement processes, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:

• Increased micro-purchasing limits: The maximum contract value for micro-purchasing has been raised from $5,000 to $7,000, with some provisions allowing increases from $10,000 to $15,000 (Paragraphs 3 and 18) if approved by the Bureau. This change applies to direct contracting (Paragraphs 73 and 77) and requests for quotations (RFQ) in minimums as well (Paragraph 29).

• Higher thresholds for competitive procurement: The limits for limited international competition, invitations to bid (ITB), and requests for proposals (RFP) have been increased from $200,000 to $300,000 across multiple paragraphs (Paragraphs 3, 11, 14, 41, 52, and 53). This includes both minimum and maximum contract values for RFQ and RFP processes.

• Raised ex-ante review threshold: The minimum contract value for ex-ante review for RACP has been increased from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 (Paragraph 79), indicating a higher threshold before such reviews are mandated.

The following templates have been updated to reflect the revised procurement thresholds in the policy:

EXPAND

Construction Works

15 September 2025

Construction Works

The Construction Works policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds and delegated procurement authorities, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2020, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. These policy changes affect various delegation levels, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:...

The Construction Works policy has been revised to incorporate the increased procurement thresholds and delegated procurement authorities, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2020, increasing limits across multiple levels to enhance purchasing capacity. These policy changes affect various delegation levels, reflecting a systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization:

• Increased standard delegation of authority (DOA) to Resident Representatives (RRs): The standard delegation of authority (DOA) to Resident Representatives (RRs) has been increased from $200,000 to $300,000, as reflected in paragraphs 22 and 23 of the policy.

The Guidance Note: Construction Works Policy and the Request for Approval or Delegation for Project Document that Includes Construction Works template have also been updated to reflect the updated standard DOA.

EXPAND

Individual Contract

15 September 2025

Individual Contract

The Individual Contract policy has been revised to reflect the increased procurement thresholds and daily fee scales requiring different levels of approval, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2018, reflecting updated minimum and maximum amounts across various contract types. These policy changes affect competitive procurement processes, direct contracting, and selection procedures, clarifying financial limits and approval requirements and reflecting systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization, as follows:...

The Individual Contract policy has been revised to reflect the increased procurement thresholds and daily fee scales requiring different levels of approval, accounting for inflationary impacts since 2018, reflecting updated minimum and maximum amounts across various contract types. These policy changes affect competitive procurement processes, direct contracting, and selection procedures, clarifying financial limits and approval requirements and reflecting systematic adjustment to procurement authority within the organization, as follows:

• Increased daily fee minimums: The daily fee requiring Bureau Director's approval has been raised from $1,350 to $1,800 across multiple paragraphs (paragraphs 17, 18, 20, 40 and 66) standardizing approval thresholds.

• Higher procurement and approval limits: Thresholds for competitive procurement processes, direct review by CAP Chairperson have been increased from $100,000 to $150,000 (Paragraph 34), and standard Delegated Procurement Authority (DPA) for Resident Representatives has been increased from $150,000 to $300,000 (Paragraph 36).

• Updated daily fee scales by specialist level: Fee scales for Junior Specialists remain at $200, for Specialists the fee scales have been increased from $350 to $450 (Paragraph 66), and for Senior Specialists from $650 to $900 (Paragraph 66), increasing both minimum and maximum daily fees to reflect updated fee standards.

• Revised selection and contracting thresholds: Minimum and maximum amounts for selection of individual contractors without competition have been increased from $5,000 to $7,000 (min.) and from $10,000 to $15,000 (max.) if approved by the Bureau Director with at least three candidates, along with contract thresholds requirements for international advertisement which have been increased from $100,000 to $150,000 (Paragraph 69). The same minimum and maximum increases are applicable to direct contracting limits (Paragraph 112), sourcing from rosters (Paragraph 172) and pre-approved rosters (Paragraph 173).

The Consultancy Duration and Daily Fee Approval Form template and the Justification for Engagement of an Individual Contractor Based on a Direct Contracting Modality template have been updated to reflect the new daily fee scales and procurement thresholds.

EXPAND

Evaluation Policy

2 September 2025

Evaluation

The UNDP Evaluation Policy has been revised following consideration of the recommendations of the independent review of the UNDP evaluation policy (DP/2025/6) which, together with a management response (DP/2025/7) formulated by UNDP management and the Independent Evaluation Office, was presented to the Executive Board at its First Regular Session, 2025. The Executive Board approved the revised UNDP Evaluation Policy on 28 August 2025, at its Second Regular Session, 2025 (decision 2025/26).

Enterprise Risk Management

29 August 2025

Risk Management

As part of UNDP’s on-going efforts to enhance the Enterprise Risk Management framework across the organization, the Enterprise Risk Management policy has been updated to:

Replace the ‘Three lines of defense’ model with the ‘Three Lines Model’ which includes the role of the Executive Board.
Review and update the risk escalation criteria.
Include ‘portfolio’ risk management in the policy.
Update the roles and responsibilities of the Risk Committee.