UNDP

FOR BEGINNERS

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME
4th Edition
April 2010
 Introduction

It has been a longstanding wish for the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) to establish a brief yet concise overview of the
organization‘s multifaceted structure, its intricate jargon and its
ongoing transformations. To respond to this need the UNDP JPO
Service Centre prepared a UNDP Guide for Beginners in 2004. The
Guide was updated in 2006 and 2008, and this is the fourth edition of
the Guide.

As a large, multilateral organization, the United Nations Development

Programme is a complex structure. Internal jargon and the use of
abbreviations also make it difficult for outsiders to understand what
UNDP does and how it does it.

This Guide for Beginners is written to give you a snap-shot of where

UNDP stands now, as well as to provide an overview of the basic
structures and systems of UNDP. It targets new staff members and
people who work with UNDP, and it is intended to make it easier to
understand the basics of the organization.

Naturally, an introductory guide is necessarily selective and therefore

subjective. However, we tried to provide hyperlinks for those who
want more information. This overview is for guidance only, and may
not necessarily reflect the views of UNDP.

The UNDP JPO Service Centre would like to thank Thomas Winderl, a
former JPO who drafted and updated the guide, and the JPO alumni
network for reviewing earlier drafts of the Beginner‘s Guide.

For suggestions and/or updates, please send us an email to:

jpo.registry@undp.org

UNDP JPO Service Centre

Copenhagen, Denmark
www.jposc.org

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 2
 Content

WHAT DOES UNDP DO?

What is the UN?
What is UNDP?
What does UNDP want to achieve?

HOW DOES UNDP DO IT?

Capacity development
Providing policy and technical support
Promoting coordination, efficiency and effectiveness of the UN

WHO IS DOING WHAT IN UNDP?

The global structure
The Country Offices

HOW DOES UNDP MANAGE WHAT IT DOES?

What are UNDP’s rules?
What are UNDP’s tools?
How does UNDP manage knowledge?
How does UNDP manage its staff?

HOW DOES UNDP FUND ITS ACTIVITIES?

Voluntary contributions
Bilateral donors
Multilateral donors
Local resources

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 3
 What does UNDP do?

What is the UN?

The United Nations (UN) www.un.org is a unique international organization of
192 sovereign states established in 1945. Its goal is to maintain international
peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, and to promote
social progress, a better living standard and human rights. Its member states are
bound together by the principles of the UN Charter
www.un.org/aboutun/charter/, an international treaty that spells out the rights
and duties of member states.

Although best known for peacekeeping, peace building, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance,
there are many other ways the United Nations and its system (specialized agencies, funds and programmes)
affect our lives and make the world a better place. One of the central mandates of the United Nations is
the promotion of economic and social development.

What is UNDP?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) www.undp.org is
the UN's global development network. UNDP is currently present on the
ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and
national development challenges.

UNDP emanated from the merging of the United Nations Expanded Programme
of Technical Assistance, created in 1949, and the United Nations Special Fund,
established in 1958. UNDP, as we know it now, was established in 1965 by the
General Assembly of the United Nations.

UNDP‘s headquarters are located in New York. UNDP has liaison offices in Geneva, Brussels, Copenhagen,
Tokyo, and Washington D.C. Further, UNDP has Regional Centres in Bangkok, Bratislava, Cairo, Colombo,
Dakar, Johannesburg, Panama and Suva.

What does UNDP want to achieve?

The history of UNDP
Human Development
UNDP’s mandate is human development.

UNDP supports national processes to accelerate the progress of

human development. It aims at eradicating poverty through
development, equitable and sustained economic growth, and capacity
development. Ultimately, UNDP wants to achieve real improvements
in people’s lives and in the choices and opportunities open to
them.

The Millennium Declaration and other summits provide a solid set

of values for UNDP‘s work. The Millennium Development Goals - The United Nations Development
Programme - A Better Way?,
including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015 - have
Craig N. Murphy, Cambridge 2006
set the benchmarks for concrete levels of progress to be achieved by
2015.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 4
The Millennium Development
Goals The Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, the members of the United Nations set the

international agenda for the beginning of the new
century. The resulting Millennium Declaration
www.un.org/millennium/ is a broad commitment of
all UN member states. The declaration applies the
principles of the UN Charter to a new world and a
new millennium.

The Millennium Development Goals

www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ extract and refine
those elements of the Millennium Declaration which
are related to development. The goals are time-
bound, starting in 1990 and to be achieved by 2015.

The first seven goals stress the responsibility of

developing countries to undertake policy reforms
and enhance good governance. Goal eight focuses on
the responsibility of developed nations to relieve
debt, increase aid and give developing countries
better access to its technologies and markets.

The Millennium Development Goals include 18

targets for the eight goals. One goal is normally
defined by one or two targets. For each target, a
number of indicators make progress measurable.
There are 48 indicators in total.

Guided by the UN Core Strategy, UNDP's work on

the MDGs www.undp.org/mdg/ focuses on
coordinating global and local efforts:

Campaign and mobilise for the MDGs through advocacy;

Share the best strategies for meeting the MDGs in terms of innovative practices, policy and
institutional reforms, means of policy implementation, and evaluation of financing options;
Monitor and report progress towards the MDGs; and
Support governments in tailoring the MDGs to local circumstances and challenges.

Poverty, Governance, Crisis Prevention, Environment

The Strategic Plan is UNDP‘s comprehensive corporate planning
UNDP’s Strategic Plan
instrument which outlines the vision and mission of the
organization, as well as the concrete goals and objectives to be UNDP uses a global strategic
pursued over the four year cycle to support programme countries in plan covering four years to set
achieving national development objectives. the overall direction for UNDP
operations. The current strategic
plan covers the period 2008 –
For the 2008-2013 period, UNDP organizes its work along four focus 2011. The plan defines the areas
areas: in which UNDP will work based
on its mandate and comparative
advantage.
Achieve the MDGs and reduce human poverty
www.undp.org/execbrd/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 5
 Foster democratic governance
Support crisis prevention and recovery
Manage energy and environment for sustainable development

UNDP’s four areas of work

Poverty Reduction
UNDP works to make real improvements in people‘s lives and in the choices and opportunities open to them.
Guided by the Millennium Declaration and its key benchmarks for measuring progress – the Millennium
Development Goals – UNDP promotes inclusive development and works to reduce poverty in all its
dimensions. www.undp.org/poverty/

As part of this effort, UNDP is a trusted development partner, and co-sponsor of UNAIDS, helping countries
put HIV/AIDS at the centre of national development and poverty reduction strategies, working to prevent the
spread of HIV/AIDS and reduce its impact. UNDP also helps build national capacity to mobilize all levels of
government and civil society for a coordinated and effective response to the epidemic and protect the rights
of people living with AIDS, women, and vulnerable populations. Because HIV/AIDS is a world-wide problem,
UNDP supports these national efforts by offering knowledge, resources and best practices from around the
world.

Democratic Governance
More countries than ever before are working to build democratic governance (also called ―good governance‖
or just ―governance‖). Their challenge is to develop institutions and processes that are more responsive to the
needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor. UNDP helps countries strengthen their electoral and legislative
systems, improve access to justice and public administration, and develop a greater capacity to deliver basic
services to those most in need. www.undp.org/governance/

Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Conflicts and disasters can erase decades of development
and further entrench poverty and inequality. UNDP works
around the world to restore the quality of life for men,
women and children who have been devastated by
natural disaster or violent conflict. UNDP helps countries
prevent and recover from armed conflicts and natural Global Environmental Facility
disasters. www.undp.org/bcpr/
UNDP is one of three Implementing Agencies
of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Environment and Sustainable Human
Development The GEF was established to forge
international cooperation and finance actions
to address critical threats to the global
Energy and environment are essential for sustainable environment.
development. The poor are disproportionately affected by
environmental degradation and lack of access to clean, The GEF provides grants to support projects
affordable energy services. These issues are global as in the areas of biodiversity, climate change,
climate change, loss of biodiversity and ozone layer international waters, land degradation,
depletion cannot be addressed by countries acting alone. phase-out of ozone depleting substances,
UNDP helps countries strengthen their capacity to address and persistent organic pollutants.
these challenges at global, national and community levels.
www.undp.org/gef/
www.undp.org/energyandenvironment/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 6
UNDP bases its operations in these four areas on the following principles:

National ownership UNDP activities are based on full national ownership. This implies that governments
have the primary responsibility for the development of their countries and for establishing and leading the
national development agenda.
Human rights Because development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually
reinforcing, UNDP includes human rights in all its planning and operations. To do that, UNDP follows a
human rights –based approach (HRBA) with its partners in the UN Country Team. www.undg.org/?P=221
South-South Cooperation South-South Cooperation is about developing countries working together to
find solutions to common development challenges. www.undp.org/poverty/topics8_south_south.shtml
Gender equality and women's empowerment are human rights that lie at the heart of development
and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This is why UNDP integrates gender equality
and women's empowerment in its four main areas of work. www.undp.org/women/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 7
 How does UNDP do it?

Capacity Development
What is capacity
If human development is what UNDP does, capacity development development?
is how UNDP does it.
UNDP defines capacity
development as the process
To accelerate human development and develop capacities, UNDP through which individuals,
fulfils two roles at the service of the international community, organizations and societies
Member States and society at large: obtain, strengthen and maintain
the capabilities to set and achieve
their own development
UNDP provides policy and technical support by objectives.
working on and advocating for poverty reduction,
democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, www.undp.org/capacity/
and environment and sustainable development.

UNDP promotes the coordination, efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations
system at the country level.

UNDP‘s policy and technical support, advocacy, and contributions to strengthening coherence in global
development are based on seven key principles:

1. National ownership and leadership;

2. Credible link to development results aiming for real improvement in people‘s lives and in the choices
and opportunities open to them;
3. Flexibility to respond to national (changing) priorities;
4. Development and use of national capacities, mechanisms and systems;
5. Strengthen national implementation;
6. Efficiency, accountability, results and transparency;
7. Simplified procedures aligned with national procedures.

Providing Policy and Technical Support

– Managing for Results –
UNDP plans, runs and monitors the policy and technical support on three levels: 1) the UN Country
Programme for all UN agencies in a country, 2) the UNDP Country Programme in a country, and 3)
specific UNDP projects.

Each level follows a cyclical process of planning and defining, running, and evaluating a programme or
project. This is called the programme or project cycle.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 8
Through UN Country Programmes
The UN Agencies in a country regularly analyze progress and assess key development needs. This can take
the form of a joint UN Common Country Assessment (CCA), and forms the basis of the UN‘s work in a
country.

Based on the analysis of the country situation, the UN agencies subsequently set out the collective priorities
of the UN agencies in a given country. The UN Country Programming Cycle is concerned with setting and
measuring results in achieving a country‘s Millennium Development Goals with the government and all UN
development agencies. The results expected from members of the UN country team, including UNDP and its
Associated Funds and Programmes, are identified. This common UN framework is called the United
Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=226

Planning steps for the UN and UNDP in a country

UN Development
UN Common Country UNDP Country
Assistance
Assessment Programme
Framework
(CCA) (CP)
(UNDAF)

Through UNDP Country Programmes

On the basis of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, UN agencies draw up country
programmes. The UNDP Country Programme describes in more detail how UNDP will achieve outcomes
described in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. It defines a limited number of outcome
targets to be achieved over the next years. UNDP‘s Country Programme is reviewed and approved by
UNDP‘s highest body, the Executive Board.

In addition, a UNDP Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) refines the approach taken by the UNDP
Country Programme. It is the operational master plan that guides the development and delivery of projects
on an annual basis. The UNDP Country Programme Action Plan details the programme, the major results
expected and the strategies for achieving these results. It also clarifies the arrangements for project
implementation and the management of projects.

Special development
Through UNDP Projects situations

In certain special development

Projects generate the concrete outputs identified in the UNDP situations, the UNDP Resident
Country Programme Action Plan. The project cycle for UNDP projects Representative can designate a
crisis situation for up to three
consists of five steps:
months.

Justifying a project Operations in ―crisis mode‖ should

ensure a rapid response to such
A project idea must be in line with UNDP’s planning situations.
instruments like the United Nations Development
Assistance Framework and UNDP Country Programme. A UNDP‘s normal procedures are
temporarily suspended and
project idea must contribute to the results expected from business processes shortened.
UNDP‘s operations in the current programme period. It
must also be a correct response to the country‘s needs, be To extend the special
in line with UNDP‘s global business plan and be suitable development situation beyond
three months, approval by UNDP‘s
for UNDP support. Regional Bureau and the Associate
Administrator is required.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 9
 Defining a project
The next step is to analyze if the scope of the project What are Results?
is realistic for UNDP to deliver. It also defines how
A result is a describable and measurable
clear and obtainable results can be delivered in the development change resulting from a
most cost-effective way. A project document cause-and effect relationship.
(sometimes called ‗prodoc‘) is drafted containing
information about the project scope, the objectives, Results are outputs, outcomes and the
impact of a development intervention.
and the management arrangements. It must be
approved by a Project Appraisal Committee (PAC)
Inputs
and signed by the parties involved. are financial, human and material
resources used for development
interventions
Initiating a project
UNDP further defines the operational details of the
project. It defines the structures and approaches
taken to effectively monitor the project. All Activities
are actions taken through which inputs
processes and results to which UNDP is contributing are mobilized and produce specific
must be monitored regardless of budget and outputs
duration.

Running a project Outputs

When running a project, UNDP focuses on achieving are tangible, time-bound products,
project outputs as defined in the approved Project goods and services that result from
development interventions
Document through implementation and monitoring.
The plan to achieve results for a given year is
articulated in the Annual Work Plan (AWP).
Fundamental responsibility for this process lies with
the Project Manager as a representative of the Outcomes
are short-term and medium-term
Implementing Partner. effects of an intervention‘s outputs

Closing a project
UNDP formally ends and closes the project Impact
operationally and financially. The focus is on is an actual or intended change in
assessing the overall performance of the project, human development as measured by
people‘s well-being. It is an
evidence of completion, lessons learned, and improvement in people‘s lives.
necessary handover.

The details of UNDP‘s approach to projects are explained in the (publicly accessible) Programme and
Project Management section of UNDP‘s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures. The section
describes the minimum requirements used within UNDP to successfully manage processes to produce
development results. content.undp.org/go/userguide/results/

What are Evaluations?

An evaluation is a rigorous and independent assessment of a completed or ongoing activity. An
evaluation determines the extent to which UNDP‘s objectives are being met.

Evaluations attempt to answer three questions:

Did it work or not, and why? How could it be done differently for better results?
What can we learn? How can we apply this knowledge to other contexts?
Is UNDP doing the right things? Is UNDP doing things right? Did UNDP do what it said it would do?

Evaluations can apply to many things, including an activity, project, programme strategy, policy, topic,
theme, sector or organization. www.undp.org/evaluation/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 10
Promoting coordination, efficiency and effectiveness
of the UN
Reform at the UN
In addition to providing specific policy and technical
support, UNDP promotes the coordination, efficiency "Every day we are reminded of the need for a
strengthened United Nations, as we face a
and effectiveness of the United Nations system. growing array of new challenges, including
This coordination effort is grounded in UN reform, humanitarian crises, human rights violations,
following the call from the UN General Assembly in 1997 armed conflicts and important health and
for a more coherent, effective and efficient UN environmental concerns.
development system. With the recent economic setbacks, Seldom has the United Nations been called
and with the challenges to achieve the MDGs by 2015, upon to do so much for so many.
UNDP is working hard to bring together the numerous
mandates and types of expertise to be found amongst the I am determined to breathe new life and inject
renewed confidence into a strengthened United
various UN agencies, so as to enable the UN to respond Nations firmly anchored in the twenty-first
most effectively to national priorities and challenges. century, and which is effective, efficient,
coherent and accountable."
UNDP promotes coordination, efficiency and effectiveness
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
through a variety of activities:
www.un.org/reform/
Managing the UN Resident Coordinator
System for the UN
Chairing the UN Development Group
Reporting on Human Development
Tracking the Millennium Development Goals
Advocating for development through goodwill ambassadors

Managing the UN Resident Coordinator system

UNDP funds and manages Resident Coordinators (RCs) of the UN. They are senior UN officials who lead UN
country teams and coordinate their activities. UN
Resident Coordinators are appointed by the UN
Secretary-General and overseen by the UN Development Delivering as One
Group.
The United Nations launched the “Delivering
The UN Resident Coordinator system encompasses all as One” pilot initiative in 2007, to respond
to the challenges of a changing world and test
organizations of the United Nations system dealing with how the UN family can provide development
operational activities for development, regardless of their assistance in a more coordinated way.
formal presence in the country. Working closely with
national governments, UN Resident Coordinators and UN The governments of eight countries —
Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique,
country teams advocate the interests and mandates of Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay,
the UN system while drawing on the support and and Viet Nam — volunteered to become
guidance of the entire UN family. ―Delivering as One‖ pilots.
www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=5
The eight pilots are making reforms based on
four principles:

Chairing the UN Development One Leader

One Budget
Group One Programme
One Office
At the global level, the UNDP Administrator chairs the
United Nations Development Group (UNDG)
www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=7
www.undg.org on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.

Established by the Secretary-General in 1997, the UNDG

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 11
designs system-wide guidance to coordinate, harmonize and align UN development activities.
The group strengthens the UN development system at the country level, prepares it to meet future
challenges and ensures that operations are conducted in accordance with mandates from UN governing
bodies such as the General Assembly.

The United Nations Development Group unites 32 UN funds, programmes, agencies, departments,
and offices that play a role in development.

In addition, the United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO) supports and
strengthens the UN Resident Coordinator system with funding, policy guidance and training. The office
advises UN Resident Coordinators on how to make country programmes more efficient, effective and better
aligned with national priorities, and work to streamline coordination mechanisms. At UN Headquarters,
DOCO provides technical support for the UNDG’s work. The
office is administered and funded by UNDP.

Reporting on Human Development

UNDP‘s flagship publication for advocacy is the Human
Development Report (HDR) hdr.undp.org. The concept of
human development puts people at the centre of the
development process. It is about development of the people, by
the people, and for the people.

The Global Human Development Reports, published

annually since 1990, are commissioned by UNDP. The reports
focus on a highly topical theme in the current development
debate, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis
and often controversial policy recommendations. The reports
are guided by the belief that development is ultimately a process of enlarging people's choices, not just
raising national incomes. The reports are written by independent teams of experts.

The Global Human Development Reports contain substantive data on development indicators. The
reports rank every country each year in areas such as per capita income, literacy, life expectancy and
respect for women's rights. Since the first report in 1990, four composite indices for human development
have been developed — the Human Development
Index, the Gender-related Development Index, the
Gender Empowerment Measure, and the Human
Poverty Index. The Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is

The analytical framework of the global report carries over a summary measure of human
into Regional and National Human Development Reports: development. It measures the average
achievements in a country in three basic
dimensions of human development:
 Regional Human Development Reports
are promoting regional partnerships for A long and healthy life, as
influencing change, and addressing region- measured by life expectancy at birth
specific human development approaches.
Knowledge, as measured by the
adult literacy rate (with two-thirds
 National Human Development Reports
weight) and the combined primary,
are a tool for national policy debate. They secondary and tertiary gross
attempt to place human development at the enrolment ratio (with one-third
forefront of the national policy agenda. weight)

A decent standard of living, as

measured by GDP per capita

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 12
Tracking the Millennium Development Goals
UNDP - in collaboration with national governments - is coordinating
country reporting on progress towards the UN Millennium Development
Goals. The Millennium Development Goals Reports (MDGRs) bring
the Millennium Development Goals from a global to the national and
regional level. The premise is that these reports can help accelerate
progress.

Millennium Development Goals Reports (MDGRs) are not lengthy reports.

They are designed to be short and easy-to-read reviews that convey
messages quickly in a non-technical way. Their main audience is the
media and the general public. They show progress at a glance with the
objective of helping focus the national debate on specific development
priorities, which in turn will trigger action - in terms of policy reforms,
institutional change and resource allocation.

www.undp.org/mdg/tracking_countryreports2.shtml

UNDP‘S MDG Monitor shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals.

The MDG Monitor is designed as a tool for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists,
students and others to track progress through interactive maps and country-specific profiles, to
learn about countries' challenges and achievements and get the latest news, and to support
organizations working on the MDGs around the world.

www.mdgmonitor.org

Advocating through Goodwill Ambassadors

Global UNDP ambassadors are prominent individuals whose fame
helps amplify the universal message of human development
and international cooperation.

UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors articulate the development philosophy

of UNDP and its programmes. They give their time to help UNDP,
and travel often to developing countries for first-hand observation so
that they can bring the human development message to the
industrialized world.

Global ambassadors for UNDP are currently the actor Antonio UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Zidane and
Banderas, soccer stars Ronaldo, Zinédine Zidane and Didier Drogba, Ronaldo
the Japanese actress and television personality Misako Konno, tennis
player Maria Sharapova and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway.

www.undp.org/goodwill/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 13
 Who is doing what in UNDP?

The global structure

The United Nations General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council establish overall
policies for UNDP.

The Executive Board www.undp.org/execbrd/ provides inter-governmental

Helen Clark,
support and supervises the activities of UNDP. It ensures that UNDP is UNDP Administrator
responsive to the needs of programme countries. The Executive Board consists
of 36 members from as many countries. The members are chosen on a rotating basis.

The Administrator manages UNDP‘s day-to-day work, and is directly accountable to the Executive Board
for all UNDP activities. The Administrator is the third highest ranking official in the United Nations system
after the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General. He/she is
appointed by the Secretary-General for a term of four years, and confirmed by
the General Assembly.

The current Administrator is Helen Clark. She became the Administrator of

the United Nations Development Programme on 17 April 2009, and is the first
woman to lead the organization. Prior to her appointment with UNDP, Helen
Clark served for nine years as Prime Minister of New Zealand. The
Administrator is supported by an Associate Administrator.
www.undp.org/about/helen-clark.shtml

UNDP’s global structure

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 14
Five offices (Executive Office, United Nations
Development Operations Coordination Office, UN funds and special units
Human Development Report Office, Evaluation
In addition to its regular programmes, UNDP
Office and Office of Audit and Investigation) and
administers affiliated UN funds and programmes
four bureaus (Partnerships Bureau, Bureau for and special units:
Development Policy, Bureau for Crisis Prevention
and Recovery and Bureau of Management) in
UNDP‘s headquarters in New York form the
backbone of the organizational structure. They
focus on UN coordination, management,
partnerships, development policy, and crisis
The United Nations Volunteers programme
prevention and recovery. (UNV) is the volunteer arm of the United Nations and
based in Bonn, Germany. It mobilizes qualified UN
There are five Regional Bureaus overseeing Volunteers and encourages people to become active in
UNDP‘s Country Offices: the bureaus for Africa, for volunteering in their countries. Currently, over 5,600
UN Volunteers are active worldwide.
Arab States, for Asia and the Pacific, for Europe www.unv.org
and the Commonwealth of Independent States,
and for Latin America and the Caribbean. They are
headed by directors and work out of UNDP‘s
headquarters in New York.

The Women's Fund at the United Nations

The Country Offices (UNIFEM) provides financial and technical assistance
to innovative programmes and strategies that promote
women's human rights, political participation and
Much of UNDP‘s work is done through permanent economic security.
Country Offices in over 140 countries. A list of www.unifem.org
countries with a UNDP Country Office with links to
the Country Office websites is available at
www.undp.org/countries/.

UNDP runs programmes in every country with a

per capita income of under $4,700. UNDP also has
permanent offices in countries with higher income
levels (such as Bahrain) if the country covers the
base cost of UNDP‘s presence. The United Nations Capital Development Fund
(UNCDF) works to reduce poverty in Least Developed
As a field-based organization, the bulk of UNDP‘s Countries through a variety of innovative approaches
in both local governance and microfinance initiatives.
staff is based in Country Offices. www.uncdf.org

 National staff is recruited locally. Around

80% of UNDP‘s staff is national. Salaries for
national staff follow a locally defined salary
scale.

 International staff are recruited from

outside the country, and paid according to the The Special Unit for South-South Cooperation
Noblemaire principle. The Noblemaire principle (SU/SSC) was established by the United Nations
states that salaries of international civil General Assembly in 1978. Hosted in UNDP, their
primary mandate is to promote, coordinate and
servants should match those of the best-paid
support South-South and triangular cooperation on a
national civil servants. Global and United Nations system-wide basis.
tcdc.undp.org

To keep UNDP independent from governments,

and to avoid possible conflict of interest, senior management positions are filled with international staff
members. For the same reason, international staff is rotated between Country Offices and headquarters on
a regular basis.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 15
 People in a UNDP Country Office
These are some of the people you will meet when working in or with UNDP country offices
around the globe:

The Resident Representative (also called ‗RR‘ or ‗ResRep‘) is the Administrator‘s

representative at the country level. He/she is ultimately accountable for the quality
and sustainability of UNDP interventions in the country. The Resident
Representative often serves as the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) for the entire
United Nations system and sometimes as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator.

In some countries, a Country Director (‗CD‘) is responsible for the day-to-day

management of UNDP. He/she has overall responsibility for, and coordination of,
the operational and programmatic activities of UNDP. The Country Director has
delegated financial authority, including project approval authority, as well as
management and internal controls responsibilities. The Country Director represents
UNDP with other UN Agencies, donors and Government officials.

The Country Director is typically aided by at least one Deputy Country Director.
A Country Director can be responsible for UNDP‘s programme in a country, UNDP‘s
operations, or both. In countries without a Country Director, the Resident
Representative will be aided by a Deputy Resident Representative.

Assistant Country Directors (ACD) assist Deputy Country Directors and are
typically responsible for a unit (‗head of unit‘) or area of work within a UNDP
country office.

Programme staff in a UNDP Country Office looks after planning, implementing,

monitoring and reporting on UNDP‘s programme.

Operations staff is responsible for enabling the smooth running of the country
office. This typically includes financial management, human resources,
procurement, as well as day-to-day office maintenance and support.

Junior Professional Officers (JPOs) are university graduates under 32 years

with working experience. They are usually funded by their respective government.
Junior Professional Officers typically work under the supervision of a senior staff
member on the identification, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
UN programmes. www.jposc.org

United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) serve the entire United Nations system. They
are usually hired for donor-supported projects and programmes, or based in UN
country offices. United Nations Volunteers can be international or national
specialists. www.unv.org

Consultants provide specific advisory and training services to strengthen national

skills. Consultants can be hired for short term or long term assignments, and can
be national or international.

Interns are graduate students who offer their unpaid services to support
development activities, while acquiring work experience. Interns can be national or
international.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 16
 How does UNDP manage what it does?

What are UNDP’s rules?

UNDP Accountability System
For UNDP, accountability is the obligation to a) demonstrate
that work has been conducted in accordance with agreed
rules and standards and b) report fairly and accurately on
performance results vis-à-vis mandated roles and/or plans.

Accountability is not just about what UNDP delivers (results

and performance) – but also how it delivers (quality and standards) and the way UNDP manages risks.

The UNDP Accountability System has two components:

 The Accountability Framework describes organization-wide processes for monitoring, analysing,

and improving performance in all aspects of organizational policy, management processes and
operational procedures in support of the UNDP Strategic Plan.

 The Oversight Policy details the specific procedures, tools and timing for providing UNDP and its
stakeholders with independent assurance and evaluation of UNDP.

Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures

The Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) describe what needs to be done in
UNDP, by whom and by when.

These online Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures describe key operational procedures and
processes for all aspects of work: results management; partnership management; contracts, assets and
procurement management; financial management; human resources management; project and programme
management and information technology management.

All managers and staff members are expected to base the exercise of functions on the Programme and
Operations Policies and Procedures.

Access to the full Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures is limited to UNDP staff and partners,
but some chapters are publicly accessible (for example the chapter on
‗Programme and Project Management
content.undp.org/go/userguide/results/ ).

Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and

Evaluating
The handbook describes in detail UNDP’s approach to planning,
monitoring and evaluation.

It complements the POPP by providing UNDP programme units with

guidance on ‗how to‘ and practical tools to strengthen results-oriented
planning, monitoring and evaluation in UNDP.
www.undp.org/evaluation/handbook/

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 17
What are UNDP’s tools?
ATLAS
Atlas is a name for the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system used by
UNDP and other UN agencies. UNDP uses Atlas to manage projects, finances,
human resources, inventory and procurement. Atlas also forms the basis for
UNDP‘s internal control and accountability framework.

To mark a departure from UNDP‘s bureaucratic designations, Atlas is not an

abbreviation but stresses UNDP‘s global network approach.

Balanced Scorecard
UNDP Balanced Scorecard consists of selected results and indicators to be planned, monitored and acted
corporately to achieve the goals articulated in the Strategic Plan.

The Executive Balanced Scorecard is a global scorecard to track UNDP progress with regard to
its overall Strategic Plan.
The HQ Bureaus Scorecards track progress of UNDP‘s bureaus in headquarters
The Country Office Balanced Scorecard tracks progress of country offices in six areas: a)
Programme Effectiveness and Alignment, b) Support to UN Reform and Coherence, c) Partnership,
d) Programme and Financial Management, e) System and Culture of Accountability, f) People and
Knowledge Management.

Executive Snapshot Abbreviations

The Executive Snapshot aims at increasing managerial Countless abbreviations are a frequent element of
UNDP lingo. It‘s not uncommon to hear somebody say:
effectiveness. It provides senior and middle management ―The RR wants the NPD to submit the FR to UNDP by
with aggregate reports and key ratios for analysis and for EOB today‖.
facts-based management decisions. Further, it provides
programme officers and management professionals with It might save time to use some well-known
abbreviations for internal communication, especially in
more detailed reports for regular monitoring of finances. writing. But in order to communicate effectively with
everybody who is not UNDP staff (and that is the
The Snapshot provides: majority of people), it is better to avoid the use of
abbreviations.
Overview and summary on programme and However, the reality is that you will come across many
management finances abbreviations in UNDP. But they are not a well-kept
Detailed financial information secret. Pick up ten or twenty as you go along, and you
Human Resources information will be fine. For the rest, it‘s perfectly fine to ask what
they stand for.

Enterprise Risk Management You can find a brief list of abbreviations and acronyms
in most official UNDP documents. For the more
advanced, there is a UN multilingual terminology
A risk is a future event that may impact the achievement database, with 70,000 acronyms in the 6 official UN
of UNDP‘s objectives. The very nature of UNDP exposes it languages. unterm.un.org The JPO Service Centre
website also presents a list of 2170 acronyms and
to risks that range widely, including environmental,
abbreviations of various origins. jposc.org
financial, operational, organizational, political, regulatory
and strategic risks. The creative use of abbreviations can also provide you
with additional fun while still doing work. For example,
UNDP‘s Sub-Regional Facilities were called SURFs.
UNDP identifies, monitors and responds to risks at all
Accordingly, SURF‘s supervising board was called – well
levels of the organization using Enterprise Risk – SURF board.
Management (ERM). UNDP‘s various units track and
manage risks in a ‗Risk Log‘. If managing a risk is beyond
the capacity of a Unit, the risk can be brought to the
attention of a higher level in UNDP.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 18
International Public Sector Accounting Standards
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are independently-developed financial reporting
standards. UNDP is currently introducing the International Public Sector Accounting Standards in stages until
2012. www.undp.org/about/ipsas/

Surveys and scorecards

UNDP uses three surveys to ensure flow of critical information to its headquarters.

Global Staff Surveys ask a comprehensive range of questions about the relation between staff
and management at all levels. It is an important annual tool to identify areas of concern, both by
topic and by Country Office.

Headquarter Products and Services Surveys allow country offices to provide feedback on the
services provided by units in New York.

Partners Surveys attempt to solicit feedback from UNDP‘s clients, host governments, other UN
agencies, donors, civil society and the private sector on how UNDP is doing.

How does UNDP manage knowledge?

Knowledge is what people know. It is about: What works? What does not work? What works where, and
what works under what circumstances?

Knowledge management turns personal knowledge into corporate knowledge. It helps to connect people
and information. Knowledge management makes it easier for UNDP staff members to access the best
knowledge the organization has, and to access the best people to get a job done.

Regional Centres UNDP has regional and sub-regional centres in:

UNDP‘s eight Regional Centres provide Country Bangkok regionalcentrebangkok.undp.or.th

Offices with easy access to knowledge Bratislava europeandcis.undp.org
through high quality advisory services Cairo arabstates.undp.org
based on global applied research and UNDP Colombo www.undprcc.lk
lessons learned. Regional Centres also focus on Dakar 
building partnerships and promoting regional Johannesburg  www.undprc-esa.org.za
capacity building initiatives. Panama www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org
Suva www.undppc.org.fj

Knowledge networks
Drawing on its global presence, UNDP has established numerous email-based community networks of
practitioners. These vibrant knowledge networks are used for a variety of things: discussing current
problems, asking for help or advice from colleagues, sharing reports and documents, etc. The community of
practitioners typically include UNDP staff, staff from other UN organizations and other development
institutions.

Thematic centres
In addition, UNDP is engaged with a number of global thematic facilities, working to research and provide
policy advisory services.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 19
 The Oslo Governance Centre helps UNDP Country Offices
to assist in democratic reforms necessary to achieve the
MDGs, with a special emphasis on access to justice, human
rights, civil society, access to information, and governance
and conflict prevention.
www.undp.org/oslocentre/

The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth UNDP‘s Governance Assessment Portal is
(IPC-IG), formerly the International Poverty Centre, is a a hub of information and a valuable
entry-point on democratic governance
partnership between UNDP and the Government of Brazil. assessments.
Located in Brasilia, IPC-IG is a hub for South-South dialogue
on applied research and training on development policy. The major attraction of this website is
www.ipc-undp.org the ease of access to an extensive
amount of current reference materials,
measuring tools and initiatives on
The Drylands Development Centre specializes in democratic governance assessments.
assisting countries to fight poverty and encourage
development in the drier parts of the world. The Centre is www.gaportal.org
located in Nairobi, Kenya. www.undp.org/drylands/

Training programmes
The Leadership Development Programme (LEAD) is UNDP‘s fast-forward, intensive training programme
for promising young staff under 35 years. It was introduced to rejuvenate UNDP management staff. The
selection process is open to both UNDP staff and outsiders, and is highly competitive. The Leadership
Development Programme includes at least two assignments of two to three years each, typically in UNDP
Country Offices or Regional Centres. www.undp.org/lead/

The Virtual Development Academy (VDA) is a UNDP-tailored distance learning course, operated in
cooperation with the Jones International University. This internal training programme builds up the skills
and competencies needed to provide expert policy advice to UNDP programme countries. The Virtual
Development Academy is open to all staff.

Publications
UNDP and its administered funds produce a wide variety of publications that are available free of
charge in electronic form. www.undp.org/publications/
The Office of Development Studies (ODS) undertakes research and policy analysis on issues
that are directly relevant to strategy and leadership of UNDP. www.undp.org/developmentstudies/

UNDP’s Evaluation Office publishes a number of evaluations and other reports on development
effectiveness. www.undp.org/evaluation/

On-line courses
Currently, seven on-line courses are mandatory for all UNDP staff and available through the UNDP intranet:
Orientation to UNDP
The Gender Journey: Thinking Outside the Box
Basic Security in the Field: Staff Safety, Health and Welfare
Advanced Security in the Field
UN Programme On The Prevention Of Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse Of Authority
Ethics Training
Persons with disabilities, ability, capability and employability

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 20
How does UNDP manage its staff?
Currently, UNDP has a total of 8,000 staff members. Over 11,000
including service contract holders. Half of UNDP staff are women (72%
men and 28% women in the case of service contract holders), but only International Civil Service
Commission
36% of senior management staff are female.
The International Civil Service
Commission (ICSC) regulates
How is staff categorized in the United Nations and coordinates the conditions
of service for the United
common system? Nations common system staff.

Professional and higher: This includes staff concerned with the icsc.un.org
substantive and managerial activities of the organizations, general
administration and language services. Professional staff requires a university or professional
background, or equivalent experience. Professional staff is recruited internationally or nationally,
with consideration given to appropriate geographical distribution.

The international professional and higher categories comprise five Professional grades (P-1 to P-5)
and two Director levels (D-1 and D-2).

The national professional category comprise four Professional grades (NO-A to NO-D).

The General Service staff are recruited and paid on a local basis. The General Service covers
such functions as messengers, clerks, secretaries and administrative support staff.

What types of contracts are there in UNDP? Staff associations

UNDP staff can have different types of contracts: Staff associations promote and
safeguard the rights, interests
and welfare of staff. They also
UNDP staff on Continuing Appointment (CA) have open-
act as the channel of
ended contracts without expiration date. communication with UNDP‘s
administration on matters
Staff on Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) have contracts for concerning staff.
a period of one to five years. Such contracts can be renewed
UNDP staff are organized into
multiple times, but do not carry any expectation of renewal. staff associations at the
country level.
Staff on Temporary Appointment (TA) are hired for
At the global level, UNDP,
seasonal or peak workloads and specific short-term
UNFPA and UNOPS staff form
requirements for less than one year. A TA may be renewed the staff council.
on an exceptional basis for up to one additional year, but
cannot exceed two years. www.staffcouncil.org

Consultants on Special Service Agreement (SSA) have contracts for short duration activities,
not exceeding eleven months, such as temporary assistance or consultancies.

How does UNDP assess staff performance?

The performance of UNDP staff is assessed on an annual basis through a Results and Competency
Assessment (RCA).

There are three stages during the annual RCA cycle. This enables both staff and managers to engage in
structured, inclusive and interactive dialogue and discussion to plan, review progress, take stock of
developments, and to assess the results, learning and competency development and finally evaluate overall
performance.

The Result and Competency Assessment serves as the basis for promotions and salary raises. Termination
of contracts is based on this assessment as well.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 21
 How does UNDP fund its activities?
UNDP receives over $5 billion in a year. This money comes from five different sources:

voluntary contributions from member states

earmarked contributions from bilateral donors
earmarked contributions from multilateral partners
local resources from UNDP‘s programme countries
other sources, including contributions to UNIFEM, UNCDF and UNV

Can we still afford the United Nations?

Voluntary contributions
The United Nations and all its agencies and funds
spend about $30 billion each year or about $4 for
The voluntary contributions from member states form each of the world's inhabitants.
UNDP‘s regular resources (also called ‗core
resources‘ and ‗Target for Resource Assignment This is a very small sum compared to most government
budgets and it is less than three percent of the
from the Core’ / ‗TRAC‘). world's military spending.

Regular resources are not earmarked (not reserved Yet for nearly two decades, the UN has faced financial
for any specific purpose by the donor) and are used difficulties and it has been forced to cut back on
important programs in all areas, even as new mandates
to run UNDP. They constitute the bedrock of UNDP, have arisen.
and guarantee its universality, neutrality and
independence. www.globalpolicy.org/un-finance.html

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 22
From 1994 to 2001, there was a decline in regular
resources, leading to a funding crisis of UNDP. Since Who pays for UNDP Country Offices?
then, global regular resources have steadily
increased and stand at annually $1.1 billions in Country offices and headquarters are provided with
at least $350,000 yearly from regular resources to fund
2008.
a base structure.

Over the past years, long-term funding The base structure centers on the fundamental
commitments made by several donor governments functions that UNDP is mandated to fulfill, in particular
as custodian of the resident coordinator system for the
have helped increase the predictability of UNDP‘s
entire UN. These functions do not change with the
regular funding base. Mobilizing an adequate level volume of resources managed and are considered fixed
of core resources remains a top priority for UNDP. costs.

All country office costs above the base structure are

The largest voluntary contributors to UNDP‘s
split proportionally between regular and other
regular resources are Norway ($138 million), the resources.
Netherlands ($117 million), Sweden ($110 million),
the United States ($97 million) and the United A part of the regular resources are held back by UNDP
to address special development needs of countries
Kingdom ($96 million).
in crisis, or to prevent a crisis from happening.

Bilateral donors
Additional contributions from states are typically reserved for a specific purpose (‗earmarked‘).
Earmarked contributions from bilateral donors come mostly from member states of rich countries organized
in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Bilateral donors provide UNDP annually with around $1.4 billion earmarked for specific purposes.

The largest bilateral contributors to UNDP‘s

earmarked resources are the United States ($202
million annually), Japan ($193 million) and the
United Kingdom ($189 million). Multi-Donor Trust Funds

A Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) is a funding

Multilateral donors instrument through which donors can pool resources
that are then disbursed by a fund administrator.
Earmarked contributions also come from MDTFs can be important instruments for resource
multilateral partners and the European mobilization, donor coordination, policy dialogue and
Commission. Multilateral donors provide UNDP the provision of coordinated support for humanitarian,
annually with around $1.3 billion earmarked for a recovery, reconstruction and development assistance
that are based on national priorities.
specific purpose. www.undp.org/mdtf/

Local resources
Some programme countries channel resources
through UNDP in support of their own When donor funds are intended for multi-agency
development priorities. These funds are fully operations, UNDP‘s Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office
may be appointed as the fund administrator for the UN
integrated into UNDP‘s budget process, and UNDP system. It currently has a portfolio of more than 30
recovers the costs incurred for handling these Multi-Donor Trust Funds and Joint Programmes,
funds. Channelling local resources through UNDP including numerous country-level and global MDTFs and
occurs particularly in Central and Latin America. Delivering as One UN Funds. mdtf.undp.org/
Currently, local resources amount to around $1
billion.

UNDP for Beginners: A Beginner’s Guide to the United Nations Development Programme 23