Overview
The United Nations Lesotho Country Team embarked on Delivering as One Process as a “Self-Starter”.
In an effort to make greater progress towards implementing UN Reform, the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Lesotho undertook to embark on a self-starter “Delivering as One” (DaO) process starting in 2009.
The UN Lesotho One Fund is established in response to developments related to UN reform as well as developments in the global aid environment and national development context. The Lesotho UN Country Team decided to work towards Delivering as One in order to increase the effectiveness of the UN system in delivering development results as well as to increase the efficiency.
The Delivering as One initiative in Lesotho is being implemented in a collaborative manner under the leadership of the Government of Lesotho who endorsed the DaO approach in line with the principles of national ownership, alignment, harmonization, results and mutual accountability enshrined in the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. It will be implemented in support of the Vision 2020, which aims to improve the quality of life of all Basotho by the year 2020, by striving to achieve a stable, united, democratic, and peaceful and prosperous nation, with a healthy and well-developed human resource base, a well-managed environment and relying on a well-established technology.
Information on the Lesotho Delivering as One is available by clicking here.
Assistance Strategy
The One joint programme covering the HIV, Human Capital, Shared Growth and Governance was prepared. A Task Force was also set up to draw up the details of the various dimensions of the “One Programme“ component, as well as a comprehensive Concept Note about the full roadmap to DaO in Lesotho.
Guided by the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action, Delivering as One will support the UN system’s strategic role in support of development outcomes articulated in key national frameworks and reflected in the latest United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2008-2012.
The UN Lesotho One Fund allows the UN System in Lesotho to move towards a single financing mechanism for development to manage an increasing share of UN development funds at country level. The One Fund provides a means for consolidation in mobilization, allocation, disbursement and reporting in support of the One Programme in Lesotho and activities related to the five components of Delivering as One.
The UN Lesotho One Fund consists of two funding windows allowing partners to contribute to particular types programming areas. Each window has detailed results matrices underpinning the anticipated results and resource requirements of the results areas of that window.
Window 1: Support to UN Country Programme includes the following components:
- AIDS
- Quality education, health and social services
- Economic growth, food security and environmental management
- Good Governance and gender equality
Window 2: Change Management includes the following 5 components:
- One Office
- One Programme
- One Fund
- One Leader
- One Voice
Governance
The overall management of the UN Lesotho One Fund will be with the UN Country Programme Steering Committee and the UNCT, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator.
The Resident Coordinator will be responsible for:
- Providing strategic leadership of the UN Lesotho One Fund on the basis of the One Programme i.e. UNDAF Action Plan 2008?2012 and the results framework of change management activities;
- Engaging in Joint Resource Mobilization for the UN Lesotho One Fund in collaboration with Participating UN Organizations;
- Ensuring sufficient documentation of the allocation process is available. Implementation of activities funded by the resources of the UN Lesotho One Fund will be the responsibility of the Head of Participating UN Organizations;
- Holding Head of Participating UN Organizations accountable for their agency/organization’s components of the results of initiatives funded through the Fund;
- Ensuring consolidated UN Lesotho One Fund level reporting, based on reports from Participating Organizations and support from the Administrative Agent (ref below) and the RC Office;
The UN Country Programme Steering Committee is responsible for:
- Monitoring overall progress towards achieving results of the UN Country programme;
- Determining programmatic priorities and allocating resources at the component level in accordance with agreed allocation procedures.
The Steering Committee includes the Government of Lesotho (represented by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Development Planning), the Heads of Participating UN Organizations and up to two observer seats for Development Partners. The Committee is jointly chaired by the UN Resident Coordinator and Government of Lesotho. The Resident Coordinator also represents all non-resident Agencies (NRA) in the UN Country Programme Steering Committee.
The Programme Management Team (PMT) is responsible for:
- Reviewing project proposals and allocating resources at this level in accordance with agreed allocation procedures1;
- Provide guidance and advice to project implementation;
- Monitoring overall progress towards achieving results of the UN Country programme;
- Coordinating component level reporting through the One Programme Outcome teams.
The PMT is comprised of the Deputies (or equivalent) of the different UN Agencies in Lesotho and the RC Coordination Officer to represent the non-resident agencies. The Inter-Agency Task Teams may establish ad hoc sub-committees to address emerging issues, as appropriate.
The Administrative Agent will be responsibilities for the following activities:
- Sign standard legal agreements with Participating UN Organizations (MOU) and Donors (SAA);
- Receipt, administration and management of contributions from Donors;
- Disbursement of funds to Participating UN Organizations, in accordance with instructions of the Resident Coordinator, on behalf of the Steering Committee and in accordance with the approved Annual Work Plans;
- Provision of consolidated narrative and financial reports on the UN Lesotho One Fund Account to the Resident Coordinator, Steering Committee, UNCT and Donors, based on progress reports received from Participating UN Organizations, in accordance with the reporting schedule specified in VII.
Decision Making
The allocation process will be carried out through three key phases:
- Prioritization and initial allocation at component level: This ensures that funding is not driven purely by project proposals, but ensures that key national priorities are taken into account for the allocation process.
- Allocation to projects within component areas: Teams will submit project proposals, which fall into various component areas. The amount of funding allocated to projects will be constrained by the initial allocation of resources by component. Funds will be allocated based on the quality of proposals and will take into account the potential impact and risk level.
- Performance review of projects and re-allocation of funds at component level: Whilst the performance review is carried out at the project – level, the reallocation process takes place at a component level. As per the above mentioned performance principle, this creates a positive incentive for Outcome teams to collaborate effectively.
Each phase will include a number of steps for decision-making on the allocation of funds
A. Present the case for a component or specific project proposal: Representatives will advocate the case for allocation to a component. At a project-level, teams will submit project proposals for evaluation by the PMT.
B. Rate on selected criteria and indicators: Allocation at each phase of the process will be based on a number of criteria and indicators, which will have an associated weighting and rating card.
C. Analyze and recommend: The ratings inputted by the Joint Steering Committee (component level) and PMT (project level) will be analyzed and aggregated. These scores will form the basis of a discussion by the relevant parties. Decisions will be made based on consensus.
D. Make decisions on allocation: The UN Country Programme Steering Committee will approve all decisions at the component level, whilst the RC and UNCT will be responsible for decision-making at the project-level (based on recommendation from the PMT). These project-level decisions will be reported to Government during phase 3. Responsibility for the allocation of funds for change management activities lies with the RC and UNCT as well.
