Table of contents

1. Objective

2. Data collection and quality assurance

3. Baseline

4. Proposal evaluation

5. Business case

1. Objective

This page prepared by UNDCO outlines the purpose and use of the data collected as part of the Common Back Office (CBO) design and planning stages. The document has been prepared to ensure all stakeholders have an overall understanding of the purpose of collecting the data requested. The explanations are organized in four sections:

1. Data collection and quality assurance

2. Baseline

3. Proposal evaluation

4. Business case

The information provided by entities at the country level will be used to support UNDCO, prospective hosting entities and service providers to establish the operational baseline workload and costs, inform the scoping of the services to be included in the country CBO, and orient the design of the CBO in terms of capacities and organization.

The descriptions below aim to provide transparency and clarity on the process.

2. Data collection and quality assurance

The data collection is the first step of the process and consists of gathering data to understand the status of each entity’s back office activities in terms of costs and workload, design the capacity needed in the future CBO, and serve as the baseline for the cost-benefit analysis.

The data collection template is composed of 7 tabs:

Once entities complete filling in the information requested, an important part of the process is to quality assure the data collected to identify and resolve issues before creating the baseline.

In the quality assurance part of the process, UNDCO technical and data leads check for inconsistencies and possible misinterpretations based on expected productivity and functional knowledge.

3. Baseline

The data collected will be consolidated at country level to define the cost of the current structure. For each service, the transaction volumes, back-office FTEs, personnel cost, and outsourcing expenditure will be stated.

Note prior to February 2023, the data was used as the base to support the elaboration of a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) related to consolidating the provision of services through the CBO.

4. Proposal evaluation

This document, referred to as the 'proposal evaluation', contains the guidance and templates to be used for the formal consultation to be carried out by UNDCO, on behalf of the UNSDG. The consultation aims to register the interest of UN Entities in a country to serve as the Host of the CBO and operate as a provider of common services to other UN Entities. The templates in this document will have to be filled in with the relevant information by each interested UN Entity. The information collected with this exercise will be reviewed by a panel endorsed by the UNCT to make recommendations with regard to the Host and service provider of the CBO. The UNCT endorses the recommendations with regard to the Host and Service Provider, and the process completes with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Whilst the default operating model is to have one UN Entity be the Service Provider for all CBO services, it is foreseen that multiple UN Entities may be service providers in some countries.

To achieve transparency and fairness in the process, this formal consultation has been formatted as if it were a procurement process.

The proposed features set out in this consultation include:

• An assessment of the technical capacity of Proposers to serve as Hosting Entity and/or Service Provider;

• An assessment of the costs and service levels proposed;

• A comparative examination of analogous proposals from other UN Entities, when more than one UN Entity expresses its interest.

This document:

• Is a tool developed by UNDCO and endorsed by the UNSDG to support the UNCT decision-making process for the selection of the Hosting Entity and, when applicable Service Providers among UN Entities;

• Serves to ensure that prospective Hosting Entities and Service Providers have carefully considered what will be required to successfully deliver the services in scope.

5. Business case

The business case recommends establishing a CBO based on considerations made in the previous steps of the process. It summarizes the Cost Benefit Analysis, outcome of the Proposal Evaluation, key aspects of the organizational design, the governance arrangements, as well as the budget mechanism, and work plan for the CBO based on a proposed scope of services for each one of the functional areas.

Since this is the last part of the process, the data presented in this document reflect the final version that should be considered by entities to plan for the implementation of the CBO.

1. Introduction

Towards meeting the SG’s reform target for Common Back Offices (hence referred to as CBO), this initiative proposes to streamline key operational areas of participating agencies by consolidating support services into one facility at the country level. This consolidation is expected to reduce duplication of functions, and of administrative and transaction costs, while at the same time increase the quality and effectiveness of these services.

The CBO initiative is a key part of the UNSDG Efficiency Reform, aiming at improving our programme implementation through improved business support services.

Establishing an CBO is a complex change effort with many stakeholders. To embrace the opportunities that the CBO offers will require strong leadership, robust process management, inclusive communications, and technical capabilities.

Please find below a briefing presentation on the key aspects of the CBO project.

In cases where 'Right of First Proposal' has been granted a series of adjustments to the approach have been agreed to. These are outlined in the below note.

Also, it may be instructive to read through this general collection of frequently asked questions (General FAQ) which will be updated on an ongoing basis.

In the CBO Resources section, you will find the following subtopics:

• First module of online training on CBO: This online training first module will allow you to: define the purposes of the Efficiency Reform; identify the core principles and enablers of the Efficiency Reform; explain the purposes of establishing an CBO; explain the linkages between the CBO, BOS, CP and GSS (Global Shared Services) initiatives and describe the CBO design engagement process.

• Data usage document: This section outlines the purpose and use of the data collected as part of the Common Back Office (CBO) design and planning stages.

• Service catalogue: Consolidated list of available services to be potentially consolidated in the CBO classified in Tier 1 (mandatory services) and Tier 2 (optional services).

• Recruitment and procurement deep-dive: This section outlines what is CBO and what is not in relation to recruitment and procurement services.

• Roles and responsibilities document: This session outlines the main process steps of the design and planning phases along with clear roles and responsibilities for key stakeholders.

• PMO and PIU TORs: These TORs outline the roles and responsibilities of the Project Management Offices and Project Implementation Units during the Design and Planning Phases.

• Quality benefits: This section outlines the quality benefits related to the services managed by the CBO.

2. CBO Methodology

The design and planning steps are organized around four phases as outlined below. Combined these phases, and their tools, templates and guidance, make up the CBO methodology.

Whilst the thinking has evolved as part of the hands-on efforts to support countries design CBOs during 2021-2022, overall, the general approach has been informed by the guidance on CBO developed 2018-2020 by the BIG Project Team through visits to six countries. See below.

3. Tools, templates and guidance

Please refer to the pages below for more details on specific topics regarding the project rollout.

The document below outlines the main process steps of design and planning phases along with clear roles and responsibilities for key stakeholders.

The following document includes the list of available services to be potentially consolidated in the CBO. The services are classified in two groups:

• Tier 1: Mandatory services

• Tier 2: Optional services

Please note that the list of workload drivers, the KPIs and SLAs associated with each service can also be found in the file.

The tier 1 services were endorsed as being required services following the completion of the LSSC/CBO Review Q1 2022. A brief presentation of the review approach and findings can be found below.

In addition to the cost avoidance impact, the CBO generates a range of projected quality benefits related to the services managed by the CBO:

1. Ability to better focus on mandate and programme implementation, without the need to manage all facets of back-office support functions. This is particularly relevant for entities with a smaller footprint in the country.

2. Increased focus on client orientation and client needs for entities receiving services from the CBO. This is reflected in the central role of the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that tie in directly with the performance indicators of the CBO and its staff, in line with the UNSDG Client Satisfaction principles. Tracking of performance through client feedback and regular reporting on KPIs facilitates the annual review between the CBO (supplier) and the participant UN entities (clients) to identify and address issues early on. The SLAs and KPIs will be included as an Annex to the Memorandum of Understanding for the CBO.

3. Increased agility and ability to scale programmes in response to change in local needs: The CBO provides operational capacity to all country-based UN entities, offering the ability for entities to scale their programmes in response to local needs, without first having to establish their own operational capacity.

4. Introduction of use of standards related to services provided by the CBO, including sustainability and greening standards in procurement and facility management, waste management standards, and disability inclusion standards under human resources, facility management, and ICT (deriving from the UN Disability Strategy/UNDIS) and introduction of gender-sensitive targets in procurement.

5. Ability to scale future innovations in service delivery: as the CBO consolidates service provision, the future introduction of service innovations, for example through digitization of case management, introduction of procurement practices and standards, will be easier and faster to roll out. Instead of introducing these innovations separately in each entity they only need to be introduced once in the CBO for all clients to benefit from the innovation.

6. Potential to leverage (future) efficiencies from Global Shared Services to provide services of relevance to country operations through the CBO if such an arrangement is agreed to. This could include elements of fleet management services, including asset purchase and disposal, administrative services such as UNLP provision and international travel solutions where relevant. GSS and CBO have the potential to jointly form a global marketplace for inter-agency operational support services in support of the mandates of participating entities.

These TORs outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Project Management Offices and Project Implementation Units during the Design and Planning Phases.

As the role will differ between the PMO of the lead entity and the PMO of non-lead entities, these two roles are outlined separately in the document below.

Note that only the lead entity is expected to set up a PIU. Other entities will most likely be able to engage sufficiently through the OMT. More details are provided in the document below.

Frequently asked questions related to PMOs and PIUs (FAQ)

1. Project Management Office (PMO)

Question 1.a. What is the role of the PMO?

Answer: The PMO Lead is the primary HQ level interlocutor with UNDCO with regards to planning, communication, coordination, and problem solving. DCO will be responsible for providing technical support throughout the process and lead with regards to methodology, tools and guidance.

Question 1.b. Is there a specific profile for the PMO lead and what are the other FTE elements within the PMO?

Answer: PMO lead should have project management capability, knowledge of rules and regulations, and access to decision makers within their organization. The PMO lead needs to have an operational and practical approach to problem solving. The PMO lead will liaise with UNDCO.

Question 1.c. Who will establish PMOs?

Answer: All entities that take on lead and/or hosting roles will establish PMOs at headquarters. At this stage this includes UNDP, UNICEF, UNOPS, WFP, and the UN Secretariat.

Question 1.d. What is the constitution of the PMO (is it an individual or a team)?

Answer: The PMO is HQ centric. Each entity will gauge the constitution of the PMO depending on how many countries they will be leading – and potentially hosting. This team will need to scale up and down in terms of capacity. The estimate is that one full-time equivalent (FTE) is required in the PMO for each country being lead or hosted, and quarter of an FTE for each non-lead/hosting country in which the entity is among the largest four entities. For example, if entity X leads or hosts two countries and is among the four largest entities in four other countries then it is estimated that the PMO will require three FTEs.

Question 1.e. What are the reporting lines of the PMO?

Answer: The PMO reports to its own entity, possibly to the office of the Reference Group member. The exact internal arrangements will be determined by each entity.

Question 1.f. What is the extent of the collaboration between the PMO and PIU?

Answer: The PMO is based on headquarters and the staffing is likely to be more senior than the PIU staff. The PIU is the country based counterpart to the Lead PMO. PIU is likely to include the OMT-member of the lead entity and some dedicated capacity. In large countries this dedicated PIU capacity may be a full FTE, in other smaller countries it could be a roaming capacity. The roaming capacity could in some cases be part of PMO also.

Question 1.g. Are there any timelines for the RFP?

Answer: 2-3 months for the core elements of sharing of documents, info session, time for entities to prepare proposal, panel evaluation and endorsement by UNCT. The specifics related to the RFP process will be laid out in the RFP documentation which will be shared separately.

Question 1.h. What is the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and how is it relevant to the PMOs and PIU?

Answer: The RFP is a process step which determines which entity will become the Hosting Entity. The DCO team prepares the documentation setting out the scope of services of the CBO and the evaluation criteria against which entities will be evaluated. For the Lead Entity, the PMO works together with their country level PIU to prepare their proposal in response to the Request for Proposal. For interested non-lead entities the HQ PMO works together with their country level operations staff and management to prepare the proposal.

Question 1.i. Can you clarify criteria and selection process for establishing the RFP panel, how many members, roles etc.

Answer: This will be laid out in the RFP documentation which will be shared shortly.

2. Project Implementation Unit (PIU)

Question 2.a. What is the role of the PIU?

Answer: The PIU is the primary country level interlocutor with UNDCO with regards to planning, communication, coordination, and problem solving. UNDCO leads with regards to planning, communication, coordination as well as on data collection, data focal point training, methodology clarifications, and tools.

Question 2.b. Who is expected to set up a PIU?

Answer: Lead Entities (and Hosting Entities once confirmed) are expected to have PIUs. Non-lead entities may choose to set up a PIU if the workload associated with the process warrants this. In large countries the 2-3 largest entities may want to set up PIUs.

Question 2.c. What is the relative percentage involvement of DCO and the UN entities, when it comes to the PIU related work?

Answer: This will wary throughout the process. Please refer to the PIU TOR.

Question 2.c. Is the PIU expected to be an inter-agency group?

Answer: PIU is NOT an interagency group. The OMT and UNCT will remain the main interagency groups. The PIU is the country level dedicated CBO process support capacity of the Lead or Hosting entity. PIU works closely with OMT and DCO.

Question 2.d. What are the expected elements of the CBA to be presented to the UNCT, PMOs and other key stakeholders?

Answer: The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) outlines the costs and benefits, overall, and by entity. Establishing a robust CBA is an iterative process. A first high level version will be sketched out based on the scoping of potential CBO services. After review of the initial CBA, feedback, and further analysis a second version will be developed. This second CBA forms the basis for a more detailed CBA. This more detailed version is presented to the UNCT, PMOs and other key stakeholders.

Question 2.e. What are the oversight structures in place for the PIU; who does it report to?

Answer: The PIU reports to the PMO of the Lead/Hosting Entity. Moreover, the PIU works closely with the OMT and with DCO.

Module 1: This base training module focuses on the why and what of CBOs. The first module of the online training is available in the UNSSC platform in the following link:

CBO, an initiative under the Efficiency Reform (click here)

Take this course to discover how CBOs can support the implementation of the Efficiency Reform and to learn more about CBOs purposes and benefits. The training includes lessons learned from existing CBOs.

Module 2:

Module 3:

The following document includes a description of what is CBO and what is not in relation to recruitment and procurement services.