UNCLAS ROME 002743

SIPDIS


USDA FAS FOR DUS BUTLER, MCHAMBLISS, LREICH, RHUGHES;
STATE FOR IO DAS MILLER, IO/EDA, OES/E, E, EB;
AID FOR EGAT, DCHA/OFDA, DCHA/FFP

FROM THE U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC EAGR EAID KUNR FAO
SUBJECT: RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT AT FAO


1. Summary: In light of a long history of continued
calls for UN reform, the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) over the past seven years has
implemented a Results Based Management (RBM) reform
initiative. The process proceeds in three planning tiers.
Supporting the Program of Work and Budget (PWB), a two-
year budget plan, is a six-year Medium Term Plan (MTP)
and a 15-year Strategic Framework that was adopted by the
FAO Conference in 1999. Measuring the progress of these
planning processes is an extensive independent evaluation
program accompanied by oversight and inspection units.
Although long-term planning can enhance transparency and
is a right step forward, utilization of too many planning
tools could potentially overburden the system and stymie
the overall goals of reform measures. The September
Program and Finance Committee meetings will continue a
discussion on how RBM can be improved. End Summary.

Strategic Framework
--------------


2. In 1999 FAO introduced a Strategic Framework intended
to structure a program approach to long-term goals.
Twelve strategic objectives became the basis of all
program planning within the FAO. The Strategic Framework
also defined key cross-organizational strategic issues
that needed to be addressed in order to ensure that the
Organization had or acquired the capacity to provide the
services sought by Members. In addition, the Strategic
Framework included criteria for priority setting, with a
view to their application in the Medium-Term Plan.


3. Since that time the results-based planning and
accountability framework laid out in the Strategic
Framework has aimed to ensure that actions achieved
desired results in a cost effective manner. The model
uses logical framework planning, including establishing
rationales, objectives and outputs, and an evolving suite
of planning and post-factum reporting documents for the
comprehensive review of programs by the governing bodies
with an emphasis on accountability, evaluation and
oversight.

Medium Term Plan
--------------
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4. The strategic framework was accompanied by medium and
short-term planning. The six-year Medium Term Plan (MTP)
played a central role as it proposed programs that
addressed each strategic objective in the Strategic
Framework. These would be accompanied by information on
the planned results, including outputs, effectiveness
criteria and indicators. It was a rolling plan, updated
every two years by deleting completed program entities
and including the new ones for the upcoming planning
period. The revision would also take account of the
outcome of evaluations and implementation performance
reporting.


5. The program entities constituting the MTP fell into
three categories: Technical Projects, Continuing
Programme Activities, and Technical Service Agreements.
The latter two concerning outputs and services to be
provided on a fairly constant or continuing basis. As
Technical Projects have a duration of up to six years,
only one-third were new in any one biennium, thus
reducing the volume of work involved in reviewing the
Plan.

Program of Work and Budget
--------------


6. The Program of Work and Budget (PWB) has become more
of a budget document that represents the detailed
implementation plan for a two-year slice of the MTP. As
such, it is a vehicle for fine-tuning agreed activities
to match available budgetary resources. The MTP and PWB
documents improved the basis for appraisal, evaluation
and performance reporting to both management and
governing bodies. Fundamentally, however, it was only in
the two-year PWB where member states decided resources
levels.

Evaluation and Oversight
--------------


7. Evaluation, a core feature of the RBM process, covers

both normative and technical cooperation and compares the
needs of FAO member countries to program priorities.
Evaluations have an accountability function in terms of
results, but the emphasis is on organizational and
program improvement. The Program Committee supervises
the evaluation routine and an internal evaluation
committee advises the Director General on evaluation.


8. The FAO has been conducting evaluations with steadily
increasing rigor for more than twenty-five years. In 1999
FAO shifted to more independent policy-oriented
evaluation, with less emphasis on the evaluation of
individual small programs. Two to three major evaluations
are carried out by FAO each year. Since 2001 there have
been twelve evaluations. One of the most recent, for
example, is the 2004 evaluation on decentralization that
provided a comprehensive assessment of decentralization
and tabled recommendations to enhance the future benefits
of decentralization to member countries. The Evaluation
Service manages evaluations constitutes teams to conduct
them. The teams always include external consultants and
generally have members from the Evaluation Service. In
addition to a core evaluation team, the external input
and independence are normally strengthened through a
wider panel.


9. Oversight in the FAO is carried out by both internal
and external audit committees. The internal audit
committee advises the Director-General and the Office of
the Inspector-General on internal audit matters. The
Office of the Inspector General, in turn, conducts
comprehensive audits comprising financial, compliance,
and management or value-for-money audits, and
investigates waste, abuse of authority, fraud,
presumptive fraud, and undesirable activities. The
External Audit is the independent oversight tool, which
reports directly to the Governing bodies. The financial
audit is the most important aspect of external audit as
it provides assurance that the financial statements are
free from material inaccuracies. While the Joint
Inspection Unit (JIU) also functions as an oversight
mechanism, it falls outside of the FAO RBM process but
has the broadest powers of investigation in all matters
having a bearing on the efficiency of services and the
proper use of resources and may make inquiries and
investigations. The JIU enhances the efficiency of the
administrative and financial functioning of the overall
United Nations system.


10. Within its RBM framework, FAO therefore enjoys a
sophisticated goal-oriented management process that may
be more extensive than that found in many UN
organizations. In addressing RBM systems within the
United Nations the Joint Inspection Unit report of 2004
cited FAO for a good practice examples amongst UN
agencies that had implemented an effective evaluation
system.

Comment
--------------


11. While the FAO has made great strides in improving
its programming and evaluation functions, discussions
have begun on the feasibility and redundancy of having
three planning documents. More specifically, many in
both the Secretariat and among the permreps are coming to
the view that the 15-year strategic framework presents
too long a horizon and should be replaced by a more
comprehensive MTP. In this instance FAO would continue to
use the two-year PWB as the major implementation and
budgetary plan that is updated on a biennial basis and
the MTP would be the more strategic planning document.
This discussion will continue with a paper being
developed by the Secretariat for the September Program
and Finance Committee meetings. Nevertheless no change
is likely to be proposed before the Fall 2005 Conference.


12. An inherent shortcoming in FAO's (as well as any
other) RBM process, however, is that it works only within
the context of priorities established by the governing
bodies. It is aimed at achieving and measuring progress
within existing parameters. In a situation where the
size of the budget is determined in the short-term PWB
process, the Medium Term Plan has tended to be
unrealistic in assuming the availability of resources,
and RBM, in turn, has measured effective management of
resources only within the PWB set of assumptions. At

least as applied, the RBM process is ineffective in
reestablishing priorities so that resources can flow to a
more optimal mix of outcomes.


13. The Independent External Evaluation (IEE) agreed at
the 127th Council session launched an evaluation organized
directly by the governing members of FAO, itself. The
goal is to establish an objective independent baseline of
programmatic strengths and weaknesses in order to
facilitate what ultimately should be a re-definition of
the organization's structure and programs. If
successful, the RBM process could provide a streamlined
process toward a more modern and responsive FAO.

HALL


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2005ROME02743 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED