GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF PROJECT DOCUMENTS FOR THE 6TH TRANCHE OF THE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT

 Link to template for project document

A. INTRODUCTION

B. ADMINISTRATIVE MODALITIES

C. OUTLINE OF A SAMPLE PROJECT DOCUMENT

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. BACKGROUND

3. ANALYSIS    

4. OBJECTIVES, EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND STRATEGY

5. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

6. EXTERNAL FACTORS

7. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

8. DESCRIPTION OF ANNEXES

ANNEX 1: SIMPLIFIED LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

ANNEX 2: RESULT BASED WORK PLAN

ANNEX 3: RESULT BASED BUDGET

ANNEX 4: ALLOTMENT REQUEST   

 A. INTRODUCTION

 A detailed project document should be submitted to the Programme Manager for review. The Programme Manager will review the project documents on programmatic and results-based management aspects and possibly seek clarification and justifications from implementing. After the review and approval of the project document, implementing entities should request the issuance of the allotment.  

Given that the concept papers were prepared some time ago based on a broad project idea and outline, a more thorough review of the project content and modalities has to be undertaken prior to starting the activities. These guidelines intend to help prepare a detailed project document based on the concept paper submitted to the GA through generating an outline of a project document.  

A project document has multiple functions: It is a management tool for the implementing entities, the Programme Manager, and the Budget Division; a communication tool with stakeholders; a tool on which monitoring and evaluation is based, and it is the basis for project implementation and for funds allocation.

All projects should satisfy the criteria established by the GA in that they should: 

* Result in durable, self-sustaining initiatives to develop national capacity building, with impact at field level, ideally having multiplier effects;  

* Be innovative and take advantage of information and communication technology, knowledge management and networking of expertise at the sub-regional, regional and global levels;  

* Utilize the technical, human and other resources available in developing countries and effectively draw on the existing knowledge/skills/capacity within your Department;  

* Create synergies with other development interventions and benefit from partnerships with non-UN stakeholders.  

The experience of applying these criteria in projects of the first four tranches has led to the following lessons learned which can be helpful in the design and implementation of projects: 

1. Projects funded from the DA seek to enhance the contribution of local expertise. The establishment of, and provision of support to effective networks of knowledge may enhance the contribution that the local expertise available in developing countries makes to the development process. DA projects emphasize the importance of building knowledge networks using newly available technologies that allow developing countries to directly access guidance and information on good practices. 

2. Distance learning is an effective tool to acquire and share knowledge. DA projects develop local, national and subregional networks with the purpose of facilitating the informal sharing of knowledge, skills and experiences on key development issues. While traditional means of transferring skills and knowledge such as workshops, fellowships and advisory missions are used, internet-based communication technologies are also often utilized to increase the impact of such subregional and regional networks and link them to relevant global networks. 

3. Properly functioning networks are powerful agents for change. For example a network of decision-makers dealing with environmental issues in West Africa raises awareness and provides momentum to the process of implementing favorable environmental policies. Knowledge acquired in World Trade Organization (WTO) accession training events assists in the formation of core human resources in least developed countries (LDCs) and other acceding countries. The implementation of a drug monitoring and management system fosters the development of a rapidly growing interregional network of over thirty countries, enables compliance with the requirements of drug control conventions, and paves the way for parties in the network to introduce other e-governance systems. Informal networks of government officials and experts built during subregional workshops in strategic planning and management of natural resources facilitated the cross-fertilization of ideas and thinking on the planning of national level activities. Functioning networks require careful planning and development.  

4. Collaborative relationships and/ or partnerships generate multiplier effects. In carrying out projects, the implementing entities are increasingly encouraged to establish collaborative relationships or partnerships with various interested parties, aiming to multiply the effects of main activities through sharing capacities and strengthening skills. The number of jointly executed projects has increased from zero in the first tranche to twelve in the fifth. Building partnerships is a challenging task. While the UN system increasingly views partnerships between the UN, government and the civil society as a useful and effective means to advance development goals, DA projects offer particularly interesting opportunities to experiment with collaborative arrangements at the local and sub-regional levels. All partnerships need to be clearly defined.

5. Consistent and proactive involvement of stakeholders in project design and implementation enhances sustainability.  This approach has proved to be effective at both the conceptual and operational levels. Project sustainability is also to be promoted through encouraging the co-financing of pilot activities by partners.

6. DA projects draw on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) applications that often extend beyond the scope of the programmed activities and seek to use ICT as a medium for technical cooperation (e-TC).

B. ADMINISTRATIVE MODALITIES

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 54/15, the Development Account should operate within the financial regulations of the United Nations and the regulations and rules governing programme planning, the programme aspects of the budget, the monitoring of implementation and the methods of evaluation.  

In summary this means: 

The project title and objectives must be the same as those in the budget fascicle.  

Expected accomplishments, indicators of achievement, and main activities may be refined in order to reflect new ideas and concepts derived from practice.  

The budget needs to be in line with GA approved budget.  

The allotment request needs to be in line with the summary budget as approved by the GA in the concept paper.  

All projects should build on existing human resources within the implementing entities, and only for pointed short term needs rely on external capacity.

C. OUTLINE OF A SAMPLE PROJECT DOCUMENT

 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive Summary should give the reader an overall picture of the project. It should be maximum one page and include key data of the project like the overall budget, implementing entities, beneficiaries, start and end date and objectives.

2. BACKGROUND

 2.1 Introduction:

This section should be concise and based on the background as per the concept paper. You should further elaborate and illustrate how the project fits into the normative and analytical work of your organization/sub programme(s). 

2.2 Link to the Programme Budget

As done in the concept paper, reference should be made to the relevant expected accomplishment (s) of the concerned subprogramme of the 2008/09 programme budget (A/62/6).

2.3 Link to the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs), including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Development Agenda

This part should include, where appropriate, a reference to the IADGs, including the MDGs it will contribute to. If there are other parts of the Development Agenda / Global Conferences it contributes to, please elaborate.

2.4 Lessons learned

What are lessons learned from your activities in the area? What are lessons learned from projects of other entities in the thematic/geographical area? What should be the impact of these lessons learned on the project design and execution? The impact of the lessons learned should be clearly reflected and applied in the project document.

3. ANALYSIS

All projects should address a major problem in the area of capacity building supporting the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs through partnerships, knowledge-management and taking advantage of ICT using, in sequence, the three methodological tools outlined below:

·         User analysis

·         Problem analysis

·         Analysis of objectives

3.1 USER ANALYSIS

The user analysis is about defining the users, their needs, interests, potentials and weaknesses.

Follow these six steps to undertake a user analysis: 

·         List all groups connected or influenced by the project;

·         Categorize the groups in accordance to specific characteristics, functions, relationships to each other, etc;

·         Characterize and analyze their needs;

·         Indicate what will change as a result of the project and describe the future desired situation;

·         Indicate whether the beneficial outcomes of the project, such as assets, skills, facilities or improved services, are expected to persist for an extended period beyond project implementation (i.e. sustainability);

·         Identify conclusions for the project design or planning process.

3.2 PROBLEM ANALYSIS

The problem analysis shows cause-effect relationships between problem conditions.  

For the problem analysis the following procedure is suggested: 

·         Define precisely the initial situation (sector, sub-sector, area, etc.) to be analyzed;  

·         Define major problem conditions related to the selected conditions; 

·         Present the problem conditions in a cause-effect relationship; 

·         Add further relevant problems if necessary, and describe causes and effects;

The problem tree, which is a diagram showing cause-effect relationships between problem conditions, helps to clarify the issues the project will address.

An example of a problem tree can be found below:

 3.3 ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES

The analysis of objectives illustrates potential expected accomplishments, which can be derived from the problem conditions. The analysis is carried out by transforming the problems into expected accomplishments describing future conditions that are desirable and realistically achievable. 

We suggest following six steps for the analysis of objectives: 

·         Reformulate the problems as objectives;  

·         Check the logic & plausibility of the means-end relationship;  

·         Adjust the structure wherever necessary, revise statements;  

·         Delete objectives which are not desirable;  

·         Check whether rewording will lead to meaningless or ethically questionable statements;  

·         Add new objectives if relevant & necessary.  

The objective tree illustrates potential objectives, which can be derived from the problem conditions discussed above. The tree is created by transforming the problems into objectives describing future conditions that are desirable and realistically achievable.

The problem tree as well as the objective tree should be included in the project document to strengthen the logic and coherence of the document.

An example of an objective tree can be found below:

4. PROJECT STRATEGY: OBJECTIVE, EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS, INDICATORS, MAIN ACTIVITIES

This section links the project objective to the expected accomplishments, the indicators of achievement, and the main activities. It will also elaborate and explain what strategy will be used to achieve the expected accomplishments, what makes for good indicators of achievement, and what the main activities contribute to the expected accomplishment.

The project title and objectives must be the same as those in the concept paper submitted to the GA. Expected accomplishments, indicators of achievement, and main activities may be refined in order to reflect new ideas and concepts derived from practice. 

Some considerations: 

(a) The objective will not be achieved by the project alone (it will only provide a contribution to the achievement of the objective), but will require the contributions of other programmes and projects as well; 

(b) Expected accomplishments refer to the strategic accomplishments that the project is expected to achieve in terms of sustainability at the end, or soon after, the project life. Examples might include raised awareness, improved technical capacity, increased skills and knowledge, the establishment of networks etc. Expected accomplishments may also relate to attitude, behavior, condition, status etc. A clear distinction should be made between the expected accomplishment and the activities and process utilized for obtaining it. They should also be achievable and specific enough to be measured by the appropriate indicators.  

(c) Indicators of achievement are measures used to determine to what extent the stated expected accomplishments have been achieved. Indicators refer to the information needed to help determining progress towards meeting stated project objectives. An indicator should provide, where possible, a cleanly defined unit of measurement and a target detailing the quantity, quality and timing of expected results. They provide a specific scale against which the progress towards expected accomplishments can be assessed.  

(d) Main activities are the tactical actions (and means) that have to be taken/provided to achieve the expected accomplishments. They summarize what will be undertaken by the project. Examples of main activities are workshops, publications, training modules, advisory services, or seminars.

Putting them all together: It is crucial that all of these elements are clearly linked and build on each other. Note that the implementation process will follow the reverse sequence from that given above: 

·         If activities are carried out, THEN expected accomplishments will be produced;  

·         If expected accomplishments are produced, THEN they will contribute to the achievement of the objective.  

5. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

This section should detail: 1) the indicators of achievement to be used; 2) how will indicators be measured and data collected(means of verification); 3) other monitoring and evaluation measures planned (self evaluation and/ or external evaluation). 2% of project funds should be earmarked for these activities.  

Indicators: An indicator of achievement must be measurable (both by its nature and due to availability of information sources), valid and relevant (be able to measure what it claims to measure) and verifiable (lend itself to scrutiny by others). Further, indicators need to directly relate to the accomplishments they are meant to measure. They are established in response to the question: "How do I know whether or not what has been planned is actually happening or has happened” An indicator should not show the level or number of outputs, it should measure the achievement of the expected accomplishments.

Means of verification: The different means and costs of collecting information must also be considered when choosing appropriate indicators. Some indicators may give the information one would ideally like to have, but when the means of getting this is carefully considered in might become impractical, complex or expensive. Consequently, the following questions should be asked and answered:

How should the information be collected, e.g. sample surveys, administrative records, national statistics, workshops or focus groups, observation, etc.  

What source is most appropriate? Is the source reliable?  

Who should do it? E.g. project staff, supervisors, an independent team?  

When and how often should the information be collected, analyzed and reported?

What formats are required to record the data being collected?

6. EXTERNAL FACTORS, RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS 

This section should detail the external factors beyond the control of project management that can negatively impact the effort to achieve project objectives. 

7. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

Most projects are executed jointly with other EC-ESA entities often with involvement of other UN organizations, regional bodies, governments and NGOs. This section should describe who is responsible for what and how the different actors will work together to achieve the objective and have impact.

8. DESCRIPTION OF ANNEXES

The annexes below contain a simplified logical framework and additional  information regarding the work plan and budget.

Please attach other useful and relevant information (e.g. detailed work plans, TORs, MOUs, and partnerships) as appropriate.

Link to template for project document

ANNEX 1: SIMPLIFIED LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

 ANNEX 2: RESULT BASED WORK PLAN

ANNEX 3: RESULT BASED BUDGET

ANNEX 4: ALLOTMENT REQUEST

The table with the allotment request should be based on the logical framework and give details by budget line.  If there are deviations compared to the concept paper, these need to be explained.

 4.1. SUMMARY TABLE (see below for details on object codes/classes)

4.2. DETAILED JUSTIFICATION BY OBJECT CODE

Based on the logical framework a more detailed description of the budgets by object code should be developed. For each object code provide more details should be provided.

 Consultants

A provision of $........ is required to cover specialized expertise:

- In support of activity (X.X): title of consultancy, work month cost per work month;
-  In support of activity (Y.Y): (same details as above) ; 

(differentiate between national and international consultants)

Expert groups

A provision of $ …….. is required for x expert group meetings with an average budget of ………….:

- In support of activity (X.X): title of meeting, possible country of venue, duration, number of participants, number of resource persons)
- In support of activity (Y.Y): (same level of detail as above)…..

 Travel

A provision of $ …….. is required for X missions by international and regional staff for ………….:

- In support of activities (X.X), indicate purpose, number of missions, purpose, countries to be visited and average cost)
- In support of activity (Y.Y): (same level of detail as above)…..

Contractual services

A provision of $........... is required for X services for ……………..  :

- In support of activities (X.X), (Y.Y) : description of services, duration and cost of each contract and if possible recipient country);
- In support of activity (Y.Y): (same level of detail as above)…..

General operating expenses

A provision of $.......... is required for: (indicate costs for each line)

 - rental and maintenance of equipment (...............);
- communications (..................);
- other general operating expenses.

 Equipment

A provision of $....... is required for equipment

- Provide budget estimates, recipient countries if applicable

Training

A provision of $.......... is required for organization XX seminars:

- In support of activity X.X: (title of seminar, total cost,, venue country, number of participants, number of resource persons);
- In support of activity (Y.Y): (same level of detail as above)…..

4.3. FREQUENTLY USED OBJECT CODES, DEFINITIONS, AND NORMATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

This table provides details on the most common budget lines used in the implementation of the Development Account projects. In order to ensure consistency among all offices implementing these projects, it would be appreciated if you could refer to this table and use those codes which have been indicated. Your attention is called to the observations included in the table, especially as concerns the use of GTA, national consultants, expert group meetings, contractual services and training.

There are 2 levels of budget codes: the object classes and the object codes. Object codes provide more details within the object classes. In the DA budgets we try to limit the classes and codes to a few in order to make it easier for the project managers to prepare the allotment codes. For most expenditures we are only using the object class, only if further details are needed we request an additional object code.