UNICEF has launched theUNICEFProcedure for Country Office Transfer of Resources to CSOswhichwill apply to all PCAmoving forwardfrom April 1, 2015. They will be replacing the previous rules from 2009.
Country offices have until June 1st2015 to transition to the new rules.

These new guidelines will apply to allnewagreements signed after April 1st, or to current agreementsifa budgetary revision is signed (not for NCE for example).

Complete procedures can be found inUNICEF Procedure. Many of these documents are guidance from UNICEF HQ to Country Offices, so not really addressed to CSOs (for example the Working with CSO toolkit, or how to select a CSO, etc.), but they can be of interest to understand the way UNICEF works.

The aim of UNICEF with these new guidelines is to reduce administrative burden and fast track processes.

Processes are also standardized now and include benchmarks, which are good news for us.

Types of agreements with UNICEF:

- Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) = this is a legal agreement of cooperation between UNICEF country office and the partner (CSO)

A specific project will need to have a Programme Document as well. It is the programme document which will specify the specific conditions of a grant, the duration, the amount of funding, etc.

-SSFA – Small Scale Funding Agreement -> up to 50,000 USD or 3 months supplies for emergencies for immediate distribution.

-Memorandum of understanding (MoU) = agreements with no transfer of resources (whether financial or in kind)

MoUs are not affected by these new guidelines.
See Agreements templates.

-Differences for UNICEF in defining what isprocurement vs. partnership:

_A partner has to contribute something to the project, not necessarily funds. CSO contribution will be captured in the Programme document. There is an expectation that both partners share risk and resources for achievement of jointly planned results.
_In ACF, we are usually working through partnership agreements.
_Note that if the CSO is going to sub-contract/sub-grant most of the program, UNICEF will reconsider signing an agreement with the CSO as they could partner directly with the sub-grantee. Sub granting could be used however when the CSO is identified as a partner of choice to build capacities of smaller NGOs/CSOs.

There are 2 types ofselection processes: open or direct selection. UNICEF HQ encourages open selection (through a call for expression of interest) but the decision is made at county office level.

_The criteria for the selection should be mentioned in the call for interest.
_In both case selection process of partners by the Country Offices should be documented.

Due diligenceprocess has been clarified:
- There is only 1mandatoryassessment = Core Values assessment (on mandate & values).
This is done by UNICEF HQ for INGOS (ICSOs) and done at country level for local partners (and based on a partner declaration -see Annex E in CSO Guide Annex.
From what I understood during the Webinar, this is fine for ACF – we have already been vetted by UNICEF.

- Micro-assessment = needs to be done for PCAs above 100,000 USD per year. It can be done before or after signing the agreement. This assessment defines the level of risk for an organization in financial management. It isvalid for up to 5 yearsunless major changes occur in the situation or the entity.See Reference Doc 2 in CSO Guide Annex. You can also find more information about the micro-assessment at:

Proposalstage/ Programme document:See Annex C Part 1 in CSO Guide Annex
- focused on the results framework
- reduced narrative
- results based workplan & budget based on activities (not input).
Note: There is a simplified programme document for rapid onset (maximum 3 months) of humanitarian response

Thebudgethas now been standardized across countries.
It only includes 2 costs categories = Program Costs + HQ support costs (overheads or indirect costs).
The HQ support costs are still 7% maximum. However there are no more constraints on ratios for program costs (ie. no more cap of 25% on Direct Program Support Costs vs. 75% of Program Costs).
There is also a detailed guidance now on budgeting, and on eligible costs. See Reference Doc 3 in CSO Guide Annex
Note: There are no overheads on SSFAs, and usually no overheads for local CSOs. This is mainly for ICSOs.
Payments of overheads is done upon reporting and not paid as an advance.

Newbenchmarksfor partnership:
- Process should be maximum 45 days between proposal and signature
- 20 days maximum for initial disbursement of funds
- Then 10 days maximum for funds disbursement upon reception of properly completed FACE forms + itemized cost estimate.

Reporting:
- Quarterly (or monthly in humanitarian emergency responses – in this case there is a simplified report as well)
- Performance report + FACE form. See annexes C Part 2 as well as Annex J in CSO Guide Annex
Guidelines to fill in the FACE can be found in this document:
There are no more requests for certified annual financial statements.
Additional reports are strongly discouraged by UNICEF HQ. If any, they need to be agreed upfront with the partner and be mentioned in the Program Document.

Review:
There will be Joint partnership reviews on a yearly basis as well as at the end of a programme document for partners receiving more than 100 K USD per year. This means that the CSOs participate in reviewing the partnership.
See Annex I in CSO Guide Annex