RBEC Operations Managers Practice Event: Corporate Issues

Jens WandelDeputy Regional Director and Director, BRC

14 October 2008

UNDP is “half-way” on multiple fronts

Absorbing post-2000 growth (programmatic/managerial)

“Coming to terms” with UN coordination

From “operational supermarket” to “knowledge chain”

Between delegated authority and mandatory accountability

MDG midpoint

Early recovery

Climate change/ adaptation

More MIC/NCC partners than LIC/LDC 2

Reminder: Strategic Plan - to strengthen focus and identity through:

Building support structure for UN coordination

Shifting from project/program to advice/capacity development

Selectivity and Scaling-up for greater development impact

Tightened procedures and heightened awareness of accountability

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Projection: the triangular paradigm of the “development mandate”

“Curse of inequality” “Common survival”

Implications:Divergence of development requires tailor-made supportQuantity: clustering operational support in fewer placesQuality: strengthening advisory capacity in fewer areasNiche: operational profile and resources for CPR/DRR

“Bottom billion”

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Summary of Main Decisions

• Financial model: there was broad consensus on the need to reform UNDP’s budget, including the way costs are classified and integrating the different components of the budget (i.e. BSB + programming arrangements).

• Programme country focus:– Deliver better development results for programme countries– Engage with national systems to more systematically decide when to

use national systems and when to use the organisation’s own systems.

• Middle Income Countries: there was a decision to reach out to MIC to better support the UN/UNDP.

Possible Future Architecture• UNDP as a network with nodes reinforcing each

other – will be more recognized.• The development solution platform will be

dominated by the country offices & regional centers

• We will see more global policy centers• Broadening of funding partners – more each with

“less” contribution. • Focus on developing a transparent and effective

business model

Turn to RBEC realities

• Build on our success - next frontier strengthen procurement

• Promote use external access by projects• Prepare for key Changes – focus on IPSAS• Understanding financial sustainability –

allowing us to shaping UNDP’s business model• East – East and Web 2.0• Capacity of the Management Practice

Procurement

Long-term Arrangements

Realizing IPSAS BenefitsThere was excellent presentation on 13 OCT by Diane Kepler,

thus just to stress key issues:

1. Understand the impact of IPSAS:• Delivery Principle• Accounts Receivable• Pipeline management

2. Brief your office colleagues so that the impact on financial reporting is understood. It will appear as an improvement.

3. Capture the congruence – we manage our own accounts as we recommend countries to manage theirs.

Establish a Financial Sustainability Model & Calculator

• Create a generic – benchmark set of data against a base platform.

• Establish one version per office including salaries, cost of living, travel etc.

• Bring together funding sources including projected income.

• Distinguish between:– Turnover (programme income/expenditure)– Income to “platform”

• Prepare for capital cost calculation/amortization• Develop “current”, optimistic and pessimistic scenarios

Current Baseline

• Base configuration of 16 people loaded with 30% GOE

• Average pro-forma in RBEC would be USD1.5 million/year (plus minus 10 %) per office

• Only a benchmark

Optimize use of ICT Systems

• Promote use of existing systems• Discourage development of ad hoc overview

reports and donor reports. Refer people to systems, external access and communicate with corporate on needs.

• Prepare for Web 2.0 platforms, while maintaining 1.0 presence

• Keep an eye out for “Team works” which is the next big technology based push in UNDP.

Benefits at Corporate Level Short-term ValueImprove Business Outcomes

Long-term ValueDevelop Organizational Capabilities

Arena for problem solving Ability to execute a strategic plan

Quick answers to questions Authority with clients

Reduce time and costs Increased retention of talent

Improved quality of decisions Capacity for knowledge-development projects

More perspectives on problems Forum for “benchmarking” against rest of development industry

Coordination, standardization and synergies across units

Knowledge-based alliances

Resources for implementing strategies Emergence of unplanned capabilities

Strengthened quality assurance Capacity to develop new strategic options

Ability to take risks with backing of the community

Ability to foresee technological developments

Ability to take advantage of emerging opportunities

Barriers to Benefit Realization

• Crowding out: - simply no time to realize the benefits

• Practice is not developed to deliver benefits as described.

• There is not a suitable practice domain for what I do.

• I as a staff member do not know what the practice can offer

• I do not have access to realize benefits.

Assets

• People in the practice (practice to senior consultants).

• Tools (methodologies, analysis) • On-going portfolio (both substance and

relationships)• Pipeline /up-grades

What is the capacity of the Management Practice in RBEC ?