BCH Administrative and Financial Environment

1. UNEP-GEF Biosafety Unit - Geneva Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) Capacity Building Project BCH Administrative and Financial Environment 2nd ToT for Regional Advisors Bangkok, Thailand 18 May 2006

2. Objectives: • to provide an initial overview of the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Unit and BCH Project; • to present briefly the BCH project cycle; • to introduce basic procedures and conditions for RA input.

3. - I -The Institutional Environment of the BCH project

4. Participating Countries UNEP-GEF Biosafety Projects Development of National Biosafety Frameworks Project BCH Projects on Implementation of National Biosafety Frameworks Programme Section Administration Project Managers Fund Manager UNEP-GEF Biosafety Unit Team (Geneva) Regional Coordinators and Task Managers Administrative staff Travel, Procurement, HR, Programme Support Technical Officers DGEF (UNEP Nairobi) UNON (Nairobi) UNON ASC in Geneva

5. The BCH Team • Project Manager: Jyoti Mathur-Filipp • Overall project supervision, Caribbean & Pacific • Task Manager, Africa: Ingo Piegeler • Task Manager, CEE & Asia: Prakash Bista • Reg. IT Specialist, Latin America: Ernesto Ocampo • RA missions, MOU negotiations, project cycle mgmt • Technical Officer (IT): Frederic Vogel • Support for IT operations, validate country IT needs • Fund Manager Biosafety DGEF: Lydia Eibl-Kamolleh • Financial management, certification, financial supervision and project fund management • Administrative Assistant: Yenny Ezquerro • Team secretarial services, data Entry, admin

6. Institutional oversight for programme managementUNEP DGEF: • is UNEP’s tool for working as one of the 3 implementing agencies of GEF; • is UNEP’s catalyst in environmental analysis and management; • supervises the 3 UNEP-GEF Biosafety capacity building projects.

7. BCH Financial Administration • UNEP’s admin & financial services are under the direct control of the UN Office in Nairobi (UNON). • The UN Office in Nairobi provides all financial, legal and administrative services. • In Geneva, UNON’s Administrative Services Centre (ASC) provides services on behalf of UNON, such as MOU certifications. • In order to streamline & enhance admin and financial mgmt of RA services, UNEP Biosafety developed a new online database and MIS, called ANUBIS.

8. Institutional Environment at Country Level • National Executing Agency (NEA) • NEA Focal Point (NFP), responsible for BCH Project • Biosafety Clearing-House Task Force (BCH TF) • Biosafety Clearing-House Focal Point (BCH FP) • National Data Entry and/or an Information Technology staff

9. The role of the Regional Advisors To support the effort of countries in implementing respective BCH MoU by: • Provide, when requested technical assistance prior to finalization of the MoU. • Advise BCH project team and country on the technically most adequate BCH setup. • Advise countries in ensuring technical feasibility of setup and maintenance of equipment. • Assist countries in carrying out BCH training workshops.

10. STEP 1 Establishing BCH Task Force and Gathering Information for the National BCH system STEP 2 Signing the MOU and receiving funds STEP 3 Setting up national BCH system and testing STEP 4 National Training Workshops on the nBCH system STEP 5 Closing project / MoU The BCH Project Cycle and Regional Advisors Services Assist Country in developing nBCH and carrying out nBCH training Assist Country in identifying post project follow up actions Advise countries on set-up of the institutional nBCH framework Assist Country in assessing needs and requirements to become part of the BCH Country MoU Assist Country in selecting the option, setting up and testing the nBCH

11. The set up of RA service coordination Where do we currently stand? 1. RA selection process by BCH Project • Call for Regional Advisors in IT and CPB: October 2004. • Analysis of RA CVs: Dec. 2004 (for ToT1), February 2006 (for ToT2). • TOT organization: ToT1 (Feb. 2005); ToT2 (May 2006). • Final RA selection: March 2005 (post TOT1), June 2006 (post ToT2).

12. The coordination of RA service How does a country select RA? 2. Selection process • Country chooses RA for mission / advice from CVs posted on www.unep.ch/biosafety; • Country may choose different RA for different assignments; • BCH RA may be asked to assist countries to make a choice but does not make the choice for country.

13. The coordination of RA service 3. Contracting process • Contract preparation with UNOPS: June 2006. • Nature of contract: “SSA retainer” for up to 70 work days over 2 years, based on country demands. • Status of consultant/contractor, not UN staff. • Contract issuance: mid-July 2006. Although contracts will be prepared by UNOPS, we welcome any issue you may wish to bring forward to be considered. Please contact us, comments welcome!

14. The coordination of RA service 4. Assignment process • Once contracted, be available for country assignments; on 2-4 weeks notice. • Countries select RA based on our lists of profiles posted on the BCH Project Website. • Number of countries within your region requesting your services may vary. • In addition, some activities may need to be carried out (a) from home, and (b) on request by the BCH Project for Regional Workshops as well as additional trainings.

15. The coordination of RA service 5. Payment Process • Elements • Ticket: Provided by travel agency • DSA: Provided (bank transfer) by travel agency before start of mission • RA Fees: Payment by UNOPS upon receipt of: • Approval by BCH team and country of RA mission report • Completed evaluation by country on RA’s mission • Satisfactory performance of RA

16. The RA Mission Cycle • Preparation of the mission • Undertaking the mission • Situation analysis: Data gathering and consultations • Training delivery • Formulation of recommendations and follow up actions • Restitution meeting with nBCH TF • Mission reporting

17. II -Working Group Assignments

18. Explain how you would prepare your mission in chronological steps from the moment you receive your Mission Order to the moment you arrive in the country. Assignment No. 1: Preparing your mission- 30 minutes - Country “Freelandia” has recently joined the BCH and is requesting for RA assistance. Split into your focus groups. Using a Flip Chart, discuss and answer as a group the following questions:

19. Formulate the general outline of the activities schedule of your first mission in the country: a) What are the main objectives of each of the meetings? b) What kind of problems / constraints / obstacles may likely occur? c) In what way would you deal with those difficulties? Assignment No. 2: Conducting your mission - 30 minutes - Split again into focus groups. Discuss and answer as a group the following questions:

20. Discuss and identify the main administrative tools, instruments and guidelines you would find helpful to prepare and conduct your mission as CPB / IT RA. Plenary Assignment: Helping you organizing your missions

21. Further preparation for 19th May 2006 Please have a first lecture of the Operational Handbook and look through the Sample MOU in preparation for tomorrow.

22. Thank you