UNEP-GEF Biosafety Unit — Geneva Biosafety Clearing House

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

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

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T -IThe Institutional Environment of the BCH project

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Participating Countries UNEP-GEF Biosafety Projects Development of National Biosafety Frameworks Projects on Implementation of National Biosafety Frameworks BCH UNEP-GEF Biosafety Unit Team (Geneva) Programme Section Administration Project Managers Fund Manager Regional Coordinators and Task Managers Technical Officers Administrative staff Travel, Procurement, HR, Programme Support DGEF (UNEP Nairobi) UNON (Nairobi) UNON ASC in Geneva

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Institutional oversight for programme management UNEP 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.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Institutional Environment at Country Level 1. National Executing Agency (NEA) 2. NEA Focal Point (NFP), responsible for BCH Project 3. Biosafety Clearing-House Task Force (BCH TF) 4. Biosafety Clearing-House Focal Point (BCH FP) 5. National Data Entry and/or an Information Technology staff

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T The role of the Regional Advisors To support the effort of countries in implementing respective BCH Mo. U by: 1. Provide, when requested technical assistance prior to finalization of the Mo. U. 2. Advise BCH project team and country on the technically most adequate BCH setup. 3. Advise countries in ensuring technical feasibility of setup and maintenance of equipment. 4. Assist countries in carrying out BCH training workshops.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T The BCH Project Cycle and Regional Advisors Services Assist Country in developing n. BCH and carrying out n. BCH training 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 Advise countries on set -up of the institutional n. BCH framework Assist Country in assessing needs and requirements to become part of the BCH Country Mo. U Assist Country in identifying post project follow up actions Assist Country in selecting the option, setting option, up and testing the n. BCH STEP 4 National Training Workshops on the n. BCH system STEP 5 Closing project / Mo. U

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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 To. T 1), February 2006 (for To. T 2). TOT organization: To. T 1 (Feb. 2005); To. T 2 (May 2006). Final RA selection: March 2005 (post TOT 1), June 2006 (post To. T 2).

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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!

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T The RA Mission Cycle • • Preparation of the mission Undertaking the mission 1. Situation analysis: Data gathering and consultations 2. Training delivery 3. Formulation of recommendations and follow up actions 4. Restitution meeting with n. BCH TF • Mission reporting

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T - II Working Group Assignments

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T 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: 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.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Assignment No. 2: Conducting your mission - 30 minutes Split again into focus groups. Discuss and answer as a group the following questions: 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?

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Plenary Assignment: Helping you organizing your missions Discuss and identify the main administrative tools, instruments and guidelines you would find helpful to prepare and conduct your mission as CPB / IT RA.

UNEP-GEF 2 nd BCH To. T Further preparation for 19 th May 2006 Please have a first lecture of the Operational Handbook and look through the Sample MOU in preparation for tomorrow.

Thank you