Hundred and sixty-fourth Session ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE USE OF CONSULTANTS BY THE SECRETARIAT SUMMARY

Transcription

1 ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and sixty-fourth Session PARIS, 17 April 2002 Original: English Item 6.5 of the provisional agenda ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE USE OF CONSULTANTS BY THE SECRETARIAT SUMMARY In accordance with 134 EX/Decision 7.3, as subsequently modified by decisions adopted during the following Executive Board sessions (the latest being 161 EX/Decision 7.6), the Director-General submits his annual report on the situation regarding the use of consultants. The detailed list of consultants employed in 2001 (over 200 pages) is available with the Secretariat for consultation. Decision required: paragraph 22.

2 I. INTRODUCTION 1. This document is presented in pursuance of 134 EX/Decision 7.3, as subsequently modified by 141 EX/Decision 5.1 and 144 EX/Decision 6.6, requesting the Director-General to provide the Executive Board once a year (at its spring session) with a list of consultants engaged by the Secretariat. During the previous spring session (161st), the Executive Board invited the Director- General to provide qualitative and quantitative information on one-dollar consultant contracts and fee contracts. 2. As an intergovernmental organization, UNESCO must benefit from stable and institutional memory of a group of core staff members who are responsible for the major activities of the Organization. Although it cannot replace the employment of core staff members, the use of consultants and fee contractors services on a temporary basis may be required to meet the diversified expertise and flexibility to respond effectively and rapidly to evolving needs in UNESCO s various fields of competence. 3. Consultants are used for specific short assignments requiring expertise that is not available among staff members whereas fee contracts are used to hire individuals or legal entities with specialized skills, in order to obtain special goods or services in return for a lump sum and by a specific deadline. These services are provided by contractors working mainly at the latter s usual place of residence or work. By means of these contracts the Organization does not purchase the contractor s time but a finished product delivered on a specific date. 4. Some examples of how consultants and/or fee contractors are most useful for solving specific well-defined tasks are: for activities that require a combination of expertise, such as in the preparation and implementation of extrabudgetary operational projects; preparation of training courses and conferences; editing major publications where interaction is needed with the Secretariat, etc. Annexes I and II set forth some principles concerning the employment of consultants and fee contractors, and give some information related to each of these categories. 5. In the light of the decentralization policy, the selection and hiring of consultants and fee contracts are the responsibility of Sectors and Bureaux. The Bureau of Human Resources Management (HRM) is mainly responsible for providing advice and monitoring. In the absence of an integrated system, the various files and applications are maintained manually by different services. Thus, the relevant information in relation to consultant and fee contracts is extracted from the computerized Obligation File maintained by the Bureau of Documentation, Informatics and Telecommunication (DIT). II. USE OF CONSULTANTS DURING 2001 A. Consultants contracts 6. In 2001 UNESCO employed 684 consultants under a total of 948 contracts against regular programme and extrabudgetary funds; of these, 477 contracts (356 consultants) originated from Headquarters and 471 contracts (328 consultants) from field offices. In 2001, 25.8% of the consultant expenditure was financed under the regular programme and 74.2% under extrabudgetary funds. Tables 1 and 2 in Annex III provide detailed statistics on consultants, contracts and consultant expenditure in The total number of consultants contracts administered at Headquarters has decreased by 10.7% in 2001 (477) compared to 534 in 2000 and by 24.3% since 1999 (630 at that time). The

3 page 2 total number of consultants hired at Headquarters in 2001 has decreased by 13.0% compared to 2000 (356 against 409). 8. The breakdown of consultants by regional group of origin (Annex III, table 1) shows that they belonged in majority to Group I (42.4% in 2001 against 44.9% in 2000). For consultants administered at Headquarters, the corresponding figure in 2001 was 61.5% (59.9% in 2000). However, in the case of consultants administered by field offices, nationals from Group I accounted for 21.6% in 2001 (against 25.7% in 2000), nationals from Africa represented 32.0% (against 13.5% in 2000). The comparative table below shows the evolution of the number of consultants hired in 2000 and in Number of consultants in 2000 and in 2001 by administrative location and consultant s geographical group of origin all sources of funding Headquarters Field offices* Total (Headquarters + field offices) Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Group Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % consultants consultants consultants consultants consultants consultants I II III IV V(arab) V(afr) not specified TOTAL * Including consultants with mixed location. 9. An overall analysis of the above table shows that the situation has slightly improved: less consultants (684 in 2001 against 728 in 2000) and more balanced distribution between the regional groups (42.4% for Group I in 2001 against 44.9% in 2000, 22.7% for Group V (Africa) in 2001 against 14.3% in 2000). 10. This relative improvement results from UNESCO s continuing efforts to achieve a more balanced geographical representation among the staff in general and among the consultants in particular. The Sectors/Bureaux are requested to ensure cost-effectiveness and maintain expenditures within approved budget provisions as regards recruitment and management of consultants. The active cooperation of Member States is also needed to achieve the desired improvement towards a more equitable geo-cultural consultants representation. In this regard, Member States are encouraged to propose qualified specialists in UNESCO s various fields of competence for employment as consultants. B. Consultancy costs and derived indicators 11. Total expenditures (Headquarters and field offices, all sources of funding) for consultant services in 2001 amounted to $10,846,364, of which $5,881,882 concerned consultant contracts administered at Headquarters and $4,964,482 contracts administered by field offices. Expenditures for consultant contracts administered at Headquarters have decreased by 0.83% (from $5,930,870 in 2000 to $5,881,883 in 2001). Compared with 1999 when expenditures totalled $7,481,779, there

4 page 3 has been a 21.4% reduction. Tables 2 to 4 in Annex III show consultancy costs in 2001 by source of funding, location and regional group of origin of the consultants. 12. Table 2 (Annex III) shows the preponderance of extrabudgetary funding for consultant services: 74.25% of overall expenditure (or $8,053,209), against 25.75% (or $2,793,155) incurred from the regular budget. This preponderance is especially evident for consultant contracts administered by field offices: 40.33% of overall expenditure (or $4,374,435) against 5.44% (or $590,047) expenditure incurred from regular budget. The ratio for Headquarters during the same period was 33.92% (or $3,678,774) against extrabudgetary sources and 20.31% (or $2,203,108) against regular programme. 13. The aggregated average produced on the basis of three main parameters (number of consultants, number of contracts and cost) is as follows: Headquarters costs Field offices costs Per consultant $16,522 $14,501 $15,136 $10,673 Per contract $12,331 $11,106 $10,540 $8,576 It appears from the above figures that the fluctuation during the last year was less significant for Headquarters, whereas there was an increase in the per consultant cost for field offices. 14. Total Headquarters consultancy expenditures, if translated into standard staff cost figures, would be equivalent to 45 person/years at P-5 level, of which 17 person/years are obligated under the regular programme. If the same standard staff cost 1 was applied to field offices consultants, the corresponding figures would amount to 38 and 5 person/years respectively. C. Consultant contracts on one symbolic dollar 15. Tables 5 and 6 in Annex III present a summary of the most relevant elements of information. It appears from these tables, that the number decreased significantly (21 contractors in 2001 against 60 in 2000). 16. While the consultants on one symbolic dollar work without remuneration, they might be asked exceptionally to carry out a mission involving travel. In such cases, the Organization bears the related cost (travel and daily subsistence allowance). As may be seen from tables 5 and 6 in Annex III, the total expenditure under this heading in 2001 was $55,132. III. FEE CONTRACTS 17. The definition of fee contracts is given in Annex II. The information was synthesized into statistical tables 7, 8 and 9 of Annex III. 18. In 2001 UNESCO established 5,412 fee contracts, of which 4,070 (or 75% of total) with individuals for a total cost (Headquarters and field offices, all sources of funding) of $50,713,074; of which $24,330,485 (or 48% of total expenditure for fee contracts) concerned contracts with 1 However, in view of differences in cost of living, the post adjustment differs from one duty station to another.

5 page 4 individuals. The table below presents the breakdown by contractor type and by administrative location. Fee contracts in 2001: number and expenditure breakdown by contractors type and by administrative location Headquarters Field offices Total Type of contractor Number of contracts Expenditure Number of contracts Expenditure Number of contracts Expenditure Non-Governmental Organizations 15 $362, $242, $604,734 National Commissions 17 $206, $501, $708,138 Individuals* 2,381 $10,741,552 1,689 $13,588,933 4,070 $24,330,485 Institutions 361 $16,847, $8,222,154 1,225 $25,233,863 Total 2,774 $28,158,350 2,638 $22,554,723 5,412 $50,713,074 *For detailed information see tables in Annex III 19. Lack of data for the previous years 2 does not allow an analysis of the evolution. However, an important part of UNESCO s activities has been carried out by means of fee contracts (4,070 contracts amounting to a total of $24,330,485) while, during the same period, 948 consultant contracts were established for a total of $10,846, The average cost per fee contract has been analysed: $4,511 for Headquarters, $8,046 for field offices and $5,978 for Headquarters and field offices together. For the same period per consultant contracts costs are respectively as follows: $12,331 for Headquarters, $10,540 for field offices and $11,441 for Headquarters and field offices together. IV. CONCLUSION 21. Given the nature of UNESCO s work, the use of consultant and fee-contract services will continue to be one of the effective and important means of responding to the short- and mediumterm commitments of the Organization. UNESCO will continue to monitor the use of various contractual arrangements in order to assess current and future requirements against the definitions outlined in the UNESCO Manual. 22. Bearing in mind the informative character of the report, the Executive Board may wish to adopt a draft decision along the following lines: The Executive Board, 1. Having examined document, 2. Takes note of the information contained therein. 2 This part of the report is carried out for the first time.

6 Annex I ANNEX I BASIC PRINCIPLES GOVERNING CONSULTANT CONTRACTS Consultant contracts (UNESCO Manual Item 2435) A consultant is a high-level specialist employed by UNESCO for a specific short period of time in order to provide on-the-spot advice to Member States, intergovernmental or international non-governmental organizations or to the Secretariat at Headquarters or in the field. A unit of the Secretariat may employ a consultant only to carry out specialized short-term assignments which: are of great importance, clearly affecting the smooth execution of the biennial Programme and Budget, a request under the Participation Programme, an extrabudgetary project or a specific decision of the governing bodies of UNESCO, or the proper administration of the Organization s property and resources; require expert knowledge which is not available in the unit concerned or, more generally, in the Secretariat; and require the permanent presence of a specialist assigned either to a Member State away from his or her normal place of residence or place of work, or to an international organization or also to the premises of UNESCO at Headquarters or also in the field. Duration of consultant services The total duration of the periods of service of a consultant on the basis of the contracts, including extensions, concluded with him or her by all units of the Secretariat should not exceed six months of full-time work within a period of 12 consecutive months. This limit also applies to former staff members, whatever their previous grade, drawing benefit from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. This six-month limit applies to consultants working for the Secretariat whether at Headquarters or in the field, except when they receive a nominal fee of one United States dollar, and no subsistence allowance is added to that nominal remuneration. These restrictions do not apply in the case of extrabudgetary funds, however. Remuneration The amount of a consultant s remuneration depends on the nature of the advisory services expected (in particular, the complexity, length and results of the work) and the duration of the services. In the case of a consultant contract, the Organization purchases the time of the contractor, who is accordingly remunerated for time spent. The amount of the remuneration should be the lowest amount, which ensures that the required tasks are performed in a fully satisfactory manner and should not, as a rule, be determined by the professional reputation of the specialist. The duration of the consultant s services must be calculated with the utmost care in order to avoid numerous amendments to the contract with regard to its duration. Monthly rates are shown below in United States dollars for each of the seven levels of remuneration. These rates are calculated on the basis of the net base salary for staff members in the corresponding grade, increased to take account of certain benefits granted only to staff members, such as annual leave.

7 Annex I page 2 (With effect from 1 September 1996) Equivalent Grades Monthly rate III $3,499 IV $4,157 V $4,908 VI $5,479 VII $6,100 VIII $6,700 IX $7,300 In the case of a national consultant employed locally in the field, the level of remuneration is established on the basis of prevailing local conditions. Comparable local salary rates are obtained by field offices from the UNDP Resident Representative. All consultants in receipt of regular or nominal remuneration must be assigned to a remuneration Group. No consultant contract can be established outside a Group. When the consultant s place of work is at Headquarters or in a UNESCO field office, a daily subsistence allowance, when applicable, shall be payable for a maximum period of one month in any continuous 12-month period, whatever the duration of the consultant s contract or total period of service. Budget for consultants The budget for consultants is indicated in the Draft Programme and Budget (C/5). Based on past experience and careful analysis of anticipated needs, each sector/office includes in the draft C/5 document the provisions for consultants (to the Secretariat and to the Member States) considered necessary for the implementation of the approved programme. In addition, the Secretariat makes adequate provisions for consultant services in the respective project documents of approved extrabudgetary operational projects.

8 Annex II ANNEX II FEE CONTRACT DEFINITION AND SPECIAL PRINCIPLES Definition of a fee contract: A fee contract is concluded by UNESCO with an individual or legal entity hereinafter called the contractor having a specialized skill, in order to obtain special goods or services, such as the preparation or assignment of an unpublished manuscript or original work, the development of a new or improved product or process, or the provision of other services specially suited to the Organization, in return for a lump sum (which includes the contractor s remuneration) and by a specified deadline. Special conditions governing the use of fee contracts: A unit of the Secretariat may conclude a fee contract only for the purpose of obtaining, in the short term, a manuscript, work, product, process or specialized service which: is of great importance, clearly affecting the smooth execution of the biennial Programme and Budget (C/5 Approved), a request under the Participation Programme, an extrabudgetary project or a specific decision of the governing bodies of UNESCO, or the proper administration of the Organization s property and resources; requires expert knowledge which is not available in the unit concerned or, more generally, in the Secretariat, and constitutes a special service that is original, unprecedented, new or improved in character (a fee contract may not be used to purchase a product, process or standard service already available on the market); can be provided by the contractor working mainly at the latter s usual place of residence of work Duration of fee contracts and of the contractor s period of service: In principle, these considerations of duration do not apply to fee contracts. A fee contract contains a specific delivery deadline. By these contracts, the Organization does not purchase the contractor s time but a finished product delivered on a specified date. Contractors must scrupulously observe all delivery deadlines, but are not bound to work full time or continuously. In the conclusion of fee contracts, the Secretariat is not, at least in principle, bound by any maximum duration, as it is the case of the appointment of consultants, supernumeraries and temporary staff. However, work must begin before the end of the biennium and be completed not more than one month after the end of the same biennium, except when the special provisions apply. Fees: The amount of the fee, the currency or currencies of payment and the methods of payment must be negotiated with the contractors before the conclusion of the contract in accordance with the provisions set out below and must be indicated clearly and in full in the contract. (a) Principles: The amount of the fee must correspond to the minimum payment needed to obtain the intellectual or material services required. It is expressed as a lump sum, which includes the contractor s remuneration and a margin to cover his or her obligations and general expenses. Contractors bear all expenses incurred in the execution of fee contracts. (b) Currency of payment: Fees are normally payable in the currency of the country where the contractor resides or maintains a headquarters, unless the work is to be done outside that country and/or the contractor has related expenses payable in other currencies.

9 Annex II page 2 (c) Methods of payment: Fees are paid in one or more instalments after delivery by the contractor and approval by UNESCO of the manuscript, work, product, process or service commissioned, either in its entirety or an agreed portion thereof. Advance payments and/or staggered payments are authorized only for contracts where the total fee is equal to $1,000 or more; moreover, no single payment may amount to less than $200. Travel: When contractors are required to travel in the course of the execution of their contract, the specific details of such travel should be mentioned in the contract and a lump sum included in the amount of the fee to cover daily subsistence allowance and, if travel tickets are not provided by UNESCO, the cost of such tickets. For the purpose of calculating travel costs, contractors are treated on the same basis as staff members of equivalent rank. Place of work and leave: Contracts must in principle be executed at the place of residence/work of individual contractors or in the offices of contracting bodies. Contractors may, however, need to visit UNESCO offices, a country outside the country of their official residence or office or the premises of an IGO/NGO for consultations or in order to procure documents. No provision for leave is made in fee contracts.

10 Annex II page 3 FLOWCHART OF OPERATIONS 1. Choice of the appropriate kind of temporary assistance and external expertise NATURE OF THE WORK WHICH CANNOT BE DONE BY THE SECRETARIAT YES Does this work appear in the POST DESCRIPTIONS of the permanent staff? NO WHY THIS WORK CANNOT BE DONE? WHY THIS WORK CANNOT BE DONE? Lack of EXPERTISE Lack of TIME Lack of EXPERTISE Lack of TIME Lack of TIME + EXPERTISE Lack of TIME + EXPERTISE Training, transfer or separation Reorganization of staff and work DURATION OF WORK NATURE OF WORK Less than six months Six months or more Finished product supplied from the contractor s usual workplace and paid by the job (lump sum) Advice given on UNESCO premises or in country/igo/ngo visited and paid by the day (time spent) SUPERNUMERARY TEMPORARY STAFF MEMBER FEE CONTRACTOR CONSULTANT See Item 2431 See Item 2432 See Item 700 See Item 2435

11 ANNEX III Table 1 Number of consultants and consultant contracts in 2001 by administrative location and consultant s geographical group of origin, all sources of funding Headquarters Field offices* Total (HQ + Field offices) Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Consultants in 2000 Consultants in 2001 Group Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % Number of % consultants consultants consultants consultants consultants consultants I II III IV V(arab) V(afr) not specified TOTAL * Including consultants with mixed location. Annex III

12 Table 2 Consultant expenditure by source of funding and consultant s geographical group of origin All consultant contracts in 2001 (administered at Headquarters and by field offices), in US $ Annex III page 2 Headquarters Field offices Total HQ + FO group RP Exb total RP Exb total RP Exb total I $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ II $ $ $ $1 200 $ $ $ $ $ III $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ IV $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Varab $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Vafr $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ not specified $50 $50 $50 $50 total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ % as of total

13 Table 3 Consultant expenditure by sector and consultant s geographical group of origin Consultant contracts in 2001 administered at Headquarters, all sources of funding together, in US $ group ADM CII CLT CRL* ED ERC SC SHS Total I $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ II $ $3 565 $ $ $ $ $ III $ $ $ $ $ IV $ $ $ $50 $ $ $ Varab $ $6 510 $ $ $ $ Vafr $7 880 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ not specified $50 $50 total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ *CRL: AFR, BB, BFC, BPI, BSP, CAB, HRM, IOS, LA, SCG, SCX Annex III page 3

14 Table 4 Consultant expenditure by consultant s geographical group of origin and field offices locational group Consultant contracts in 2001 administered by field offices, all sources of funding together, in US $ Annex III page 4 Field offices' locational regional group consultants' origin Western Europe & Latin America & Asia & Total group North America Eastern Europe the Caribbean the Pacific Arab States Africa I $ $ $ $ $ $ $ II $ $ $954 $ $ III $ $ $4 000 $ $ IV $ $ $ $ $8 165 $ Varab $ $7 201 $ $8 650 $ Vafr $ $ $ $ $ total $ $ $ $ $ $ $

15 Table 5 One-symbolic-dollar consultants by geographical group of origin by administrative location and contractual cost* Headquarters Field offices Total HQ + FO group number cost* number cost number cost* I 13 $ $1 14 $2 543 II 3 $ $ III IV 5 $ $ Varab Vafr not specified total 21 $ $1 22** $ * synthetic data taken from HRM/DCO records. ** of which 7 ex staff members. Annex III page 5

16 Table 6 One-symbolic-dollar consultants by occupational sector by administrative location and contractual cost* Annex III page 6 Headquarters Field offices Total HQ + FO sector number cost* number cost number cost* ADM $0 CII $0 CLT 6 $ CRL 3 $3 3 $3 ED 6 $ $1 7 ERC 1 $50 1 SC 2 $ SHS 3 $52 3 total 21 $ $1 22** $ * synthetic data taken from HRM/DCO records. ** of which 7 ex staff members.

17 Table 7 Number of fee contracts with individuals in 2001 by administrative location and fee contractors geographical group of origin, all sources of funding Headquarters Field offices Total (HQ + Field offices) fee contracts fee contracts fee contracts Group Number of % Number of % Number of % contractors contractors contractors I II III IV V(arab) V(afr) not specified TOTAL Annex III page 7

18 Table 8 Fee contracts expenditure by sector and contractors geographical group of origin Fee contracts with individuals in 2001 administered at Headquarters, all sources of funding together, in US $ Annex III page 8 group ADM CII CLT CRL* ED ERC SC SHS Total I $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ II $ $ $ $3 635 $ $ $ $ $ III $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ IV $2 461 $ $ $ $ $ $ $9 343 $ Varab $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Vafr $ $ $ $ $3 868 $ $ $ not specified $7 319 $ $ $ total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ *CRL: AFR, BB, BFC, BPI, BSP, CAB, HRM, IOS, LA, SCG, SCX

19 Table 9 Fee contracts expenditure by contractors geographical group of origin and field offices locational group Fee contracts with individuals in 2001 administered by field offices, all sources of funding together, in US $ Field offices' locational regional group consultants' origin Western Europe & Latin America & Asia & sta Total group North America Eastern Europe the Caribbean the Pacific Arab States Africa I $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ II $ $ $300 $3 000 $ III $ $2 000 $ $2 400 $ IV $8 049 $4 405 $4 600 $ $ $4 800 $ Varab $220 $ $2 250 $ Vafr $ $1 360 $ $ not specified $ $4 800 $ $ total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Annex III page 9