UNDP and the Evolving GEF

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UNDP and the Evolving GEF

• A Presentation to the
• Environment and Energy Practice workshop
• Almaty Kazakhstan, October 6-9, 2004
•  

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The Global Environment Facility - GEF

• The GEF was established in 1991 to forge
  international cooperation and finance actions to
  address critical threats to the global
  environment
• It was conceived as a partnership among three
  implementing agencies World bank, UNDP and UNEP
• GEF funding is to meet the agreed incremental
  costs of measures to achieve agreed global
  environmental benefits.

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GEF Governance Structure

• GEF Council meets every 6 months to review and
  approve all projects, Work Programmes, Business
  Plans, policies.
• GEF Assembly meets every 4 years to review
  general policies,operations, and amendments to
  the GEF Instrument.
• GEF Secretariat supports GEF Council and
  prepares work program.

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History of the GEF A Timeline

• GEF Pilot Phase
• 1991-1994 -- 1 Billion US Dollars
• Replenishment
• 1995-1998 -- 2.2 Billion US Dollars
• 1999-2001 -- 2.8 Billion US Dollars
• 2002-2005 -- 2.95 Billion US Dollars
• World Bank is the Trustee of the GEF Trust Fund

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UNDP-GEF Project Approval FY92-FY04
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FY03-FY04 Project Approval
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UNDP/GEF Delivery Rates by Region2000, 2001,
2002, 2003
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Recent policy changes

• The GEF Council has developed a number of
  additional policies and procedural requirements
  to access GEF resources over the past five years
• 2 new focal areas
• 5 new Operational programmes
• 22 new Strategic Priorities
• 7 new Executing Agencies (AfDB, AsDB, EBRD, IADB,
  FAO, IFAD, UNIDO)
• Pipeline entry (project concept approval)
• New co-financing definitions and increased
  ratios, especially in Climate Change
• Performance indicators
• IA/EA Institutional Performance Assessment
• SMPR
• Resource Allocation Framework a controversial
  concept still under discussion

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Adapting to the Evolving GEF

• Enhancing quality of oversight and country level
  services and demonstrating impact
• Increasing programming delivery.
• Reducing project cycle duration and streamlining
  pipeline management efficient
• Strengthening mainstreaming of global environment
  concerns into UNDP national policy dialogue

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Key UNDP/GEF Interventions

• Objective 1 Leverage UNDPs main comparative
  advantage for global environment management the
  country office network
• Objective 2 Complete Phase 2 of UNDP/GEFs
  decentralization process
• Objective 3 Improve implementation efficiency
  and performance of the UNDP/GEF portfolio
• Objective 4 Improve mainstreaming of global
  environment management

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Objective 1 Leverage UNDPs Country Office
Network

• Clarify work distribution between UNDP/GEF and
  COs
• Capacity development of country offices through
  targeted regional training and establishment of a
  conducive incentive framework
• Harmonization and simplification of the UNDP/GEF
  project cycle
• Knowledge products (resource kits, databases) and
  advanced information-sharing tools (Intranet)

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Past Efforts to Develop Country Office Capacities

• Mix of standardized and tailor-made initiatives.
• Standardized initiatives included
• Training of environment focal points and
  government counterparts at UNDP-GEF headquarters
  (late 1990s).
• (Almost 90 people trained through a series of 3
  workshops on GEF mandate, objectives, eligibility
  criteria, and potential for complementarity with
  national development objectives).
• Logical framework workshops (Mexico and Berlin,
  late 1990s).

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Past Efforts to Develop Country Office Capacities

• Tailor-made approaches included
• Visits by RCs to country offices in their
  regions.
• Assistance to country offices in hiring of focal
  points.
• RBA survey of country office staff dedicated to
  GEF matters (can now serve as a baseline to
  monitor change).
• Attachment of key UNDP/GEF CO Focal Points to
  UNDP/GEF Unit for 1 to 3 months
• Mixed approaches included
• Country dialogue workshops (ongoing).

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Deepening Past Approaches

• Create a GEF section in UNDP intranet enabling
  quick access to GEF secretariat website, UNDP-GEF
  programming manual, PIMS, UNDP-GEF knowledge
  management efforts, and UNDP-GEF contacts.
• Simplification and harmonization (AWP, PA rather
  than PDF A, etc.)
• Phase approach providing customized services to
  COs

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Objective 2 Decentralization

• Effective decentralization must be accompanied
  by
• New Organizational Structure
• Six RCUs
• New Policies
• Financial delegation
• Strategic planning by region
• New Skills
• Partnerships
• New hires to reduce fragmentation

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UNDP/GEF Organigramme
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Objective 3 Improve implementation efficiency
and performance of the UNDP/GEF portfolio

• Need to improve the implementation efficiency
  and performance of the UNDP/GEF portfolio by
• Reducing project formulation delays
• Demonstrating Impact

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Reasons for Project Formulation Delays

• Discussion on delays at key stages in project
  cycle
• From pipeline to GEF Council approval (WP)
• From GEF Council approval for project initiation
• From initiation to completion

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Average Delay Between GEF Approval and Project
Signature for All Regions
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Key interventions to reduce project management
cycle delays

• Streamlined project formulation (simplified PDF
  A)
• Upstream co-financing mobilization
• Strengthen cost-recovery
• Enhance pipeline management.

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Pipeline Management and GEF Financial Resources

• There is a pattern of high project approval
  levels during the first two years of a GEF
  funding phase and then of a steady decline as
  funding is exhausted.
• According to the latest GEF financial
  projections, 1.556 billion in GEF resources are
  available for the remaining 2 years of GEF-3.
• This financial situation could drastically change
  arrears occur. For instance, arrears of
  approximately 10 of total GEF-3 commitments
  would wipe-out 40 of resources earmarked for FY
  06.

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Pipeline Management Guidance

• Avoid slippage of projects that are slated for
  approval in FY 05
• Focus on high-quality pipeline
• Conduct a forceful pipeline clean up in FY05
• Adjust pipeline of new EU countries

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Demonstrating Impact

• Leverage Atlas and PIMS III to monitor delivery
  and strengthen result reporting and analysis
• Leverage Atlas for project risk management system
• Project performance indicators
• Partnership with BOM to include program
  management indicators in country office score
  cards.

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Objective 5 Mainstreaming Global Environment

• UNDP leverages its core competences in
  integrated policy design and implementation to
  mainstream environment into national policies.
• MMB, CSD-12

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Mainstreaming levers

• Rationalization of Enabling Activities (NCSA,
  NAPA, etc)
• Incorporation of GEF objectives into CP and CPAP
• Cross-sectoral and cross-unit cooperation (Energy
  Unit and GEF on national energy strategies, BCPR
  and adaptation, etc.)