Key Principles

Results-Based Management

One major objective of PCOR is to support systematic Results-Based Management of UNIDO activities and allow for more consistent reporting on results to all stakeholders. During the Business Process Reengineering exercise in 2010, the new process for Core Business/TC activities was redesigned in a manner that enables effective Results-Based Management. Accordingly, the PPM module, which was rolled out to all project managers in January 2012, was designed to support Results-Based Management of UNIDO projects and portfolios. The PPM module systematically ensures the definition of outcomes and outputs for each project including indicators on how these are being achieved. This will allow monitoring of progress and achievement of results, the effective management of project risks as well as strategic and holistic reporting on results to stakeholders. Therefore, UNIDO will be in a position to report on qualitative information in addition to quantitative data. The full integration of the SAP system and the single source of data will allow for consistent reporting and will significantly foster transparency. It will be possible for UNIDO stakeholders to access such comprehensive information directly in the online system.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management at UNIDO is being introduced in conjunction with the other Releases of the ERP implementation. As such, the Portfolio and Project Management (PPM) system includes dedicated collaboration rooms for each project as well as other topics. These rooms will also contain the respective documents and are accessible to all staff, both at Headquarters and in the field. Furthermore, the PPM system contains a very powerful search engine which enables targeted system-wide searches.

The global accessibility of the system and its contents will contribute to organization-wide knowledge sharing and better collaboration among various organizational units as well as between Headquarters and the field. It will allow for a more effective involvement of field staff in TC activities at all stages of the project cycle - from project identification, design, implementation to assessment and monitoring.

To ensure a strategic approach to the topic of Knowledge Management, an analysis of the current situation of UNIDO was carried out involving staff from all parts of the Organization. The analysis took into account previous work that had been carried out, for instance an intellectual capital report for UNIDO. Based on that, a Knowledge Management strategy, including a number of recommendations, was developed. It was agreed that the primary focus would be on completing quality logframe information in the PPM system to enable effective Results-Based Management as well as qualitative reporting on results during the next years. During this exercise, staff will start using the Knowledge Management functionalities of the system, for instance the collaboration rooms. Furthermore, initial communities of practice shall be piloted and systematic debriefings of staff and long-term consultants shall be introduced to ensure that knowledge is effectively captured.

Risk Management

Risk Management is being institutionalized as part of the PCOR implementation. Following the identification of top risks and opportunities by management in late 2009 and the identification of risks for each stage of the project cycle during the Business Process Reengineering exercise in 2010, Risk Management is now systematically embedded in the ongoing ERP implementation.

In 2011, workshops were held at the strategic and operational/project management level to re-define the top risks for UNIDO at various levels. Furthermore, Risk Management functionalities are included in the different modules of the ERP system. As such, the Portfolio and Project Management module for Technical Cooperation activities, which was rolled out in January 2012, allows for the systematic capturing, assessment and management of risks during all stages of the project management cycle. Risk Management requirements continue to be included in the other ERP modules (Human Capital Management, Finance, Procurement, etc.) to ensure organization-wide Risk Management at all levels. In addition, the new system will provide a number of tailored monitoring and reporting tools, including specific dashboards for managers at various levels, which will enable managers to better monitor risks and take mitigating actions.