United Nations Project Services Office

Office for Project Services of the United Nations United Nations Office for Project Services
Organization type	autonomous organization within the framework of the UN
Abbreviation	UNOPS
management	Grete Faremo since August 2014
Founded	December 1973
Headquarters	Copenhagen
Upper organization	United Nations
unops.org

View of the UN City in Copenhagen

The Office for Project Services of the United Nations ( Engl. United Nations Office for Project Services , UNOPS ) is an operative organ United Nations (UN), which has the task of projects for the UN system, international financial institutions, governments and other partners around the world to implement. The headquarters of the organization is in the UN-City in the Danish capital Copenhagen .

The UNOPS carries out projects worth more than $ 1 billion for its partner organizations in the field of peace, security, humanitarian aid and development cooperation every year in 80 countries. These include, for example, the building of schools in Afghanistan , the construction of emergency shelters in Haiti and the provision of ambulances to combat the Ebola infection in Liberia .

The UNOPS is a member of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and works closely with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Peacekeeping Operations Department (DPKO) and the World Bank .

history

The UNOPS was founded in 1973 as part of the UNDP. In 1995 it became an independent, self-financing organization. The vision of the UNOPS is to establish sustainable mechanisms for development projects, humanitarian actions and peace-building measures in regions of the world with the greatest challenges. UNOPS focuses its support on areas with a clear mandate and defined competencies: namely infrastructure, procurement, project management, human resources and financial management.

financing

The UNOPS is fully self-financing. It covers its direct and indirect costs through fees that are charged for each supported project. UNOPS is a non-profit organization and is committed to the highest international standards in terms of transparency and accountability.

Mandates

UNOPS is mostly active in post-disaster situations in which peace and security are impaired, usually in countries lagging behind and economies in transition. The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described UNOPS as the leading UN organization for complex infrastructure projects in peace-threatened constellations.

In December 2010 the UN General Assembly confirmed the mandate of the UNOPS as a central resource in the UN system for procurement and contract management, for setting up infrastructures and the necessary process developments. At the official opening of the UNOPS headquarters in Copenhagen in May 2009, former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the UNOPS as the member of the UN Familiemily with a vital role in life-saving, peace-making, humanitarian and development-enabling operations. Support with building roads, schools and hospitals, help with clearing landmines and much more wise countries a way to a more stable future.

The current UN Secretary General António Guterres emphasized the important role of the UNOPS in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement . Providing support to many millions of people in need around the world has helped increase the stability and security of their societies.

services

UNOPS offers implementation, consulting and implementation services in its five core competencies:

• Infrastructure
• procurement
• Project management
• Financial management
• Human resources

With its specialized services, UNOPS addresses a wide variety of partners, including the United Nations with its agencies, funds and programs, international financial institutions, governments, intergovernmental organizations , foundations and the private sector.

In 2016, the UNOPS financed more than three million working days for its partners' projects, including the planning, construction or renovation of more than 3,000 kilometers of roads, 50 schools, 74 hospitals and 278 other health facilities. The projects organized goods and services worth over US $ 900 million.

Transparency and accountability

In its statutes, the UNOPS commits itself to clear and open communication with its partners and interest groups. UNOPS joined the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) in 2011 and was the first organization to publish accountability reports in IATI format. The UNOPS also publishes details of the projects on its website and the data.unops.org platform.

Since 2008, the Executive Director of the UNOPS has submitted regular reports to the UN Secretary General and the UNDP Executive Committee of the UN General Assembly .

Quality standards

In order to ensure that the business practices of the UNOPS meet the highest international standards, external certification of the most important management functions, processes and personnel is sought.

In June 2011 the UNOPS was the first UN organization to be certified according to ISO 9001 for its global quality management. In 2013, the certification for environmental protection management according to ISO 14001 took place .

literature

• Sye, Claudia: Development cooperation - UNOPS and GTZ: an independent evaluation of both organizations , VDM, Müller, Saarbrücken, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8364-1774-7

Web links

• UNOPS.org web presence of UNOPS
• Data collection on the UNOPS projects
• UNOPS video: Building a better world , published on August 6, 2018
• UNOPS in South Sudan , Published June 19, 2012

proof

1. ↑ https://www.unops.org/about/our-story/leadership accessed on December 26, 2019
2. ^ United Nations in Denmark . United Nations. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
3. ↑ UNDG members . AND G. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
4. ↑ Pricing policy . Retrieved October 13, 2015.
5. ^ Information disclosure . Retrieved October 13, 2015.
6. ↑ UN General Assembly Resolution 65/176 . U.N. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
7. ^ Strategic plan 2010-2013 . UNOPS. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
8. ↑ Sustainability Report 2016 . UNOPS. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
9. ^ Annual report of the Executive Director . Executive Board of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
10. ↑ UNOPS first to publish geocoded project information in the IATI format . International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). Retrieved January 8, 2014.
11. ↑ UNOPS Management Response to the Activity Report for 2011 of IAIG and annexes . In: DPOPS2012-5 . UNDP. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
12. ↑ DP / OPS / 2015/5-Annex 2 . In: Strategy and Audit Advisory Committee Annual Report 2011 . UNDP. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
13. ^ Daily Brief . In: UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS Executive Board Second Regular Session 2011 New York, 6 to 9 September . UNFPA. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
14. ↑ UNOPS commits to greening its infrastructure projects . In: UNOPS commits to greening its infrastructure projects . UNOPS. Retrieved September 3, 2014.