Guidelines

UNICEF Programme Cooperation Agreementsand Small Scale Funding Agreements with Civil Society Organisations

UNICEF New York

December, 2009

Table of Contents

ABBREVIATIONS

1.Introduction and Overview of Changes

2.Background and Context

3.Accountabilities

4.Mapping Potential Partners and Capacity Assessment

5.Formalizing Partnerships with CSOs

6.Characteristics of Programme Cooperation Agreements and Required Documentation

7.Characteristics of Small Scale Funding Agreements and Required Documentation

8.Applicability of the PCA and SSFA for Capacity Development

9.Budget Policy Framework and Different Types of Costs

10.Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation of Agreements

11.Phase-Out Strategies and Termination of Agreements

Attachment 1. Programme Cooperation Agreements (with Annexes)...... 23

Attachment 2. Small Scale Funding Agreement...... 36

Attachment 3: Guiding Principles for Partnerships with CSOs...... 37

Attachment 4. Simplified Financial Management Assessment Checklist...... 39

Attachment 5. Sample Checklist for Assessing CSO Capacity and Integrity...... 46

Attachment 6: Sample Terms of Reference. Programme Cooperation Agreement Review Committee…………………………………………………………………………………... 47

Attachment 7: Description of a Generalized Workflow for PCA and SSFA Preparation, Approval and Launch of Cooperation Country Office 51

Attachment 8. Checklist for Small-Scale Funding Agreement...... 54

ABBREVIATIONS

BCA / Basic Cooperation Agreement
CAG / Cash Assistance to Government
CBO / Community-based Organisation
CCC / Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies
CEDAW / Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CO / Country Office
CMT / Country Management Team
CP / Country Programme of Cooperation or Country Programme
CPD / Country Programme Document
CPAP / Country Programme Action Plan
CPMP / Country Programme Management Plan
CRC / Convention on the Rights of the Child
CRC / Contract Review Committee
CSO / Civil Society Organisation
CSP / Civil Society Partnerships
DCT / Direct Cash Transfers
DFAM / Division of Financial and Administrative Management
PP / Policy and Practice (UNICEF HQ)
DPSC / Direct Programme Support Costs
EPRP / Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan
FACE / Funding Authorization and Certificate of Expenditure
HACT / Harmonised Approach to Cash Transfer
HQ / Headquarters
IFI / International Finance Institutions
IHL / International Humanitarian Law
IR / Intermediate Result
IPC / Indirect Programme Costs
JWP / Joint workplan
MDG / Millennium Development Goals
M&E / Monitoring and Evaluation
MOU / Memorandum of Understanding
MTSP / Medium Term Strategic Plan
MTR / Mid-Term Review
NGO / Non-governmental Organisation
OECD - DAC / Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development – Development Assistance Committee
OR / Other Resources
PCA / Programme Cooperation Agreements
PCARC / PCA Review Committee
PCR / Programme component result
PPPM / Programme Policy and Procedure Manual
PRO / Programme Instruction
ProMS / Programme Manager System
RD / Regional Director
RO / Regional Office
RR / Regular Resources
SD / Supply Division (UNICEF Copenhagen)
SITAN / Situation Assessment and Analysis
SSA / Special Services Agreement
SSFA / Small Scale Funding Agreements
SWAp / Sector-wide approach
TOR / Terms of Reference
TCPR / Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review
UNCT / United Nations Country Team
UNDAF / UN Development Assistance Framework
UNDAF - AP / United Nations Development Assistance Framework Action Plan
UNDG / United Nations Development Group

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  1. Introduction and Overview of Changes

This guideline on UNICEF’s Programme Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) and Small Scale Funding Agreements (SSFAs) with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) updates and supersedes previous instructions and guidelines on UNICEF cooperation with civil society partners namely: CF/EXD/1996-001, CF/EXD/2001-013, CF/EXD/IC/2002-002, CF/EXD/2005-008 and CF/EXD/2001-13.

These revised guidelines help, in part, to meet UNICEF’s commitment to develop stronger partnerships with CSOs, as articulated in the Strategic Framework for Partnerships and Collaborative Relationships approved by the Executive Board in June 2009.

These guidelines cover the use of revised formats for PCAs as a legal instrument for partnership agreements with CSOs by country offices. Revised formats for use by Regional and Headquarter offices will be issued subsequently.

Introduction

UNICEF’s collaborative relationships with civil society organizations – including international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based groups, youth associations and others - continue to extend the reach and effectiveness of UNICEF-assisted cooperation across all areas of its Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) and in different operating contexts.

National and community-based CSOs bring an in-depth knowledge of the local context to partnerships, helping to navigate access to different, and often marginalised population groups, making mobilisation of political and popular support for positive behaviour change possible and appropriate. Working together, UNICEF and CSOs benefit from a better understanding of emerging trends, lessons learned and opportunities for improved practice. In many country contexts, UNICEF-CSO partnerships and collaborative relationships are contributing to the long-term sustainability of child-focused programmes and policy reforms.

Partnerships and collaborative relationships are a central feature of UNICEF's efforts to achieve greater results for the rights of children and women through Country Programmes of Cooperation and humanitarian action, based on its Core Commitments to Children in Emergencies. They are anchored in both the legal platform of the Country Programmes approved by the UNICEF Executive Board and agreed with national authorities through the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP), as well as the legal mandate that serves as the basis for UNICEF’s work in humanitarian crises.

UNICEF has a wide range of partnerships and collaborative relationships in development work and humanitarian action, including those with: other UN agencies; NGOs; international and regional organizations; stand-by partners; private sector and corporate foundations; research institutes; peacekeepers; and donors. Capacity development of partners is frequently an important component and objective of these partnerships.

These revised internal guidelines will help to meet UNICEF’s commitment to develop stronger partnerships with CSOs at all levels, as articulated in the Strategic Framework for Partnerships and Collaborative Relationshipsapproved by the Executive Board in June 2009.

UNICEF currently has the following instruments which operationalise partnership relationships with CSOs:

  1. Memorandum of Understanding. Collaborations that are broadly focused on the joint pursuit of identified common goals using each partner’s existing resources, without the transfer of resources from one partner to the other, will normally be governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). MOUs are agreements in which the parties confirm that they share a common understanding in working towards shared goals. MOUs are well suited to broadly define strategic alliances between UNICEF and a CSO or network, declaring agreement on intent, areas of common interest, spheres of co-operation and operational engagements. An example might be a document in which four NGOs “resolve to work together on girls’ education”, each with defined goals or an agreement where both parties commit themselves to undertake advocacy activities against child abuse, or to exchange information.

An office should only conclude an MOU with a CSO when UNICEF does not intend to transfer funds or supplies directly to the organisation. Where an MOU already exists, and where it is later decided to transfer funds to the CSO, additional Agreements will need to be concluded as a basis for this. Global MOUs with CSOs do not represent pre-qualification/certification for relationships at country level, nor do they do substitute for requirements for capacity assessments at country level.

  1. Programme Cooperation Agreement. Engagements that focus on the collaborative implementation of a jointly-developed programme or set of humanitarian interventions, within the framework of a UNICEF Programme of Cooperation or UNICEF-supported humanitarian response, will be governed by a Programme Cooperation Agreement. In such collaborations, UNICEF will provide support to the civil society partner strengthening its participation in the implementation of the programme, through the transfer of supplies and equipment, or cash, to the partner. Having identified a partnership as being suitable for the Programme Cooperation Agreement modality, UNICEF will then identify which of the two available agreements (Attachment 1) is appropriate for the particular partnership – based on criteria of the nature, duration, and complexity of the partnership and the amount of UNICEF resources being provided to the civil society partner.

UNICEF Headquarters will also pursue discussions with selected CSO partners on the possibility of developing standard global agreements, including standard levels of allowable costs. These agreements would provide a framework for country-level PCAs with those individual partners. More information will be forthcoming during 2010 on this approach.

  1. Small Scale Funding Agreement. Engagements that are similar in scope to PCAs but do not have a value that exceeds USD 20,000 in terms of funding and/or the equivalent value of supplies as a single or cumulative set of transfers related to the partnership to an individual CSO in a calendar year. In addition, the total amount of a Country Office's Small Scale Funding Agreements (SSFA) cannot exceed 10 % of the total programme budget within a year. The SSFA agreement template is found in Attachment 2.

Summary Types of Tools and Agreements

Type / Main Purpose / Other Features
Memorandum of Understanding / Articulate and agree on common goals and interests. / Involves no transfers of cash or supplies.
Programme Cooperation Agreement (2 forms of agreement: “light” and “more complex” - depending on the scale, nature, assessed level of risk and the complexity of the partnership). / Agreement to work for common goals, with share risks and responsibilities, resources and benefits. The PCA is based on a Joint Work Plan and budget. / Resources may be transferred to the partner to assist it in carrying out its roles. The partner is uniquely positioned and has specific capacities or advantages to carry out its roles under the PCA.
Small Scale Funding Agreement / Limited support provided to a local/grassroots organization, or other CSOs, not to exceed US$ 20,000. / Flexible, with highly simplified planning format and reporting requirements.

The substance of this Guidance covers the use of Programme Cooperation Agreements and Small Scale Funding Agreements.

A Note on Special Services Agreements

Distinct from the above partnership agreements, relationships that involve the delivery of services to, or on behalf of, UNICEF, either at cost or at “cost plus” (for a service fee), continue to be governed by a contract for services (referred to in UNICEF as a “Special Services Agreement”). These constitute vendor relationships. The award of such contracts is anchored in the competitive tendering and procurement process and requires compliance with UNICEF’s regulations, rules, and procedures for the award of contracts. Special Service Agreements (SSAs) are legal and binding agreements between UNICEF and Consultants/Contractors used for engaging Consultants, Individual Contractors and Institutional/Corporate Contractors to perform services for UNICEF which are not readily available in the organization and which are expected to be strictly temporary, and possibly intermittent, in nature. Institutional SSAs are applicable when the CSO acts as a contractor for UNICEF. The CSO provides services or goods against payment upon satisfactory delivery. Consequently, a CSO to be contracted as a provider of services should be selected on a competitive basis through the process detailed in Financial Circular 19, Rev.3. Regulations apply which may require the examination of the selection process by the Contracts Review Committee (CRC). Payments to the CSO are made against satisfactory delivery of the product (or stages of completion). An evaluation of the performed services is required before final payment can be made.

The simultaneous use of a Programme Cooperation Agreement and the issuance of an SSA to the same CSO is discouraged, unless the two relationships are clearly distinguished and mutually understood to be entirely separate.

Overview of Changes

This Guideline for PCAs and SSFAs with CSOs reflects and incorporatesa number of changes, based on the principles and considerations described below and in Attachment 3.

Among other modifications, UNICEF is introducing the following key changes to the PCA and SSFA, both through these guidelines and the associated legal Agreements:

  1. The principlesand centrality of partnerships with CSOs are more clearly highlighted in achieving results for children and women;
  1. The capacity development of local institutions is integrated as a high priority strategic focus for cooperation and partnerships, wherever appropriate and agreed. This may involve capacity development objectives in a PCA to benefit the cooperating partner itself, or in favour of other, national/local organizations or groups;
  1. The duration of PCAs is no longer limited to two years. Any time period may be agreed,within the country programme cycle or emergency funding cycle. The length of a PCA should be appropriate to the objectives adopted and programme results to be mutually supported;
  1. In PCAs, a revised approach is taken to funding of both indirect programme costs and direct programme support costs for management and administration of the collaborative programme or activities, or humanitarian response:

- Where UNICEF is transferring funds to a partner to help it undertake its work under a Programme Cooperation Agreement. UNICEF will help to defray the partner’s indirect programme costs[1] through a flat rate addition of 7% to the total amount of Cash Transfer (for programme costs and direct programme support costs) to be provided by UNICEF[2].

- The partner will also be able to capture its identified direct programme costs attributable to management and administration of the programme[3]up to a maximum of 25% of the total amount transferred by UNICEF (including the value of supplies; and net of the indirect programme charge), depending on justifiable local costs as assessed by the UNICEF Country Office and the partner. UNICEF may also agree to exceptions beyond this 25% cap in crisis or other extraordinary circumstances where costs (e.g. logistical, security) are extreme.

  1. Responsibility for the internal review and recommendation of proposed Programme Cooperation Agreements will normally lie with a Programme Cooperation Agreement Review Committee established in each UNICEF Country Office, and no longer with the Contract Review Committee.
  1. Revised forms of Programme Cooperation Agreement are introduced, with a simplified format for different types of relationships, depending on the nature, duration, and complexity of the partnership and the amount of UNICEF resources being provided to the civil society partner.
  1. The existing Small Scale Funding Agreement may now be used for grants (cash plus value of supplies) of up to US$20,000. Such Agreements may constitute up to 10% of the total annual UNICEF programme budget.
  1. The Programme Cooperation Agreement for grants over US$20,000 has been replaced by two instruments: a Programme Cooperation Agreement for more complex collaborations with higher levels of risk (usually indicated by a total value of US$100,000 or more); and, a lighter version of the Programme Cooperation Agreement for simpler, shorter, lower-risk collaborations (usually indicated by a total value of up to US$100,000).
  1. Strategies for phasing out of Programme Cooperation Agreements and supporting sustained results are more strongly emphasized.
  1. Background and Context

The aim of all UNICEF-assisted Country Programmes of Cooperation is to further the realisation of the rights of children and women. Human rights and child rights principles, noted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other internationally-adopted legal instruments, guide programming in all sectors at all phases of the programme process. In situations of armed conflict, the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the two Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 provide the basis forInternational Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the protection of victims of international and non-international armed conflict.

The Basic Cooperation Agreement (BCA)provides a legal basis for UNICEF's presence and operations in a country, its programme cooperation, the procedures of programming, and UNICEF's right to observe all phases of the programme. National entities retain the main responsibilities for planning, formulating and managing the programmes funded by UNICEF.

The Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) is the key jointly- agreed document on programme cooperation for the duration of the approved Country Programme Document (CPD), thereby assuring national authorities’ ownership of the Programme of Cooperation and setting out clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Responsibilities for programme implementation can be given not only to government institutions, but also, with Government concurrence, to civil society and non-government actors. Overall responsibilities and funding of CSOs in programme implementation should be clearly spelled out in the CPAP signed by UNICEF and the Government. UNICEF, as a cooperation partner to governments rather than a donor, remains directly accountable to funding partners for reporting on the use of resources to support the components of an agreed CPAP.

While it is desirable to have a formal government request for assistance in emergency situations, UNICEF can act without this in a government-declared emergency, according toUN General Assembly Resolution 46/182of December 1991. Furthermore, UNICEF partners are likely to include a wider range of non-governmental entities in humanitarian and recovery situations than in stable environments, including international NGOs, national CSOs and a range of UN agencies.

The MTSP 2006-2013 acknowledges the crucial role of partnerships and collaborative relationships for realising children’s rights important to achieving internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and those contained in the Millennium Declaration. The Mid-Term Review of the MTSP in 2008 further highlighted the contribution of UNICEF’s longstanding engagement with NGOs, CBOs and many other civil society partners.

The General Assembly adopted the following resolution in response to the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR): “ that, with the agreement and consent of the host country, the United Nations development system should assist national Governments in creating an enabling environment in which the links and cooperation between national Governments, the United Nations development system, civil society, national non-governmental organizations and the private sector that are involved in development process are strengthened, including , as appropriate, during the United Nations Development Assistance Framework [UNDAF] preparation process, with a view to seeking new and innovative solutions to development problems in accordance with national policies and priorities;”[4]