PWB CHAPTER 5: SUPPORT SERVICES

Major Programme 5.1: Information and Publications Support

Achievements

509. This Major Programme, implemented by the Information Division (GII), assists in communicating to member governments, development partners and the general public information about the work of the Organization, including messages about FAO's mandate, priorities and technical programmes.

510. FAO's approach to public information and publications activities are guided by the Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy, which calls for an integrated approach to communication and which emphasizes the involvement of technical departments in planning and implementation. During the 2000-01 biennium, efforts concentrated on increasing FAO's impact in the area of media outreach and on the production of high-quality information materials with an appropriate language balance. Special attention was given to strengthening the communication and publishing planning processes with technical departments.

511. In consultation with technical departments and decentralized offices, GII undertook an assessment of FAO's visual presentation across all media and initiated a corporate visual identity project to improve the visual design elements of FAO's technical publications and other output media.

512. Media relations. The overall impact of FAO's media relations was significant, as evidenced by growing media coverage in local and international print media. Press releases were distributed simultaneously in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. The emphasis of activities shifted from feature and documentary work to "hard" news and was apparent in the reduction in the number of finished documentary productions and the increase in the distribution of video news releases and background footage to global broadcast organizations.

513. Greater emphasis was placed on radio as a vital communication channel, particularly with rural populations in developing countries, and a large number of radio interviews were carried out and distributed. Increasingly, radio distribution was effected through the World Wide Web and a valuable partnership was established with UN Radio. These efforts resulted in a notable improvement in the radio coverage of material on FAO field programmes and projects, including TeleFood.

514. Increased attention was directed towards results-oriented partnerships with television broadcast and satellite operators, with the aim of increasing television airtime for communicating FAO's messages to key audiences worldwide. These efforts resulted in the airing of public service announcements in key markets, international distribution of FAO-produced videos, live broadcasts and satellite broadcasts of awareness-raising TeleFood events, media workshops and FAO participation in prizes for journalistic reporting on development issues.

TABLE 5.1-1. MEDIA OUTREACH (SELECTED INDICATORS)

515. Multimedia production. The number of information materials produced increased significantly, in part because of preparations for the World Food Summit: five years later, but also as the result of increases in the number of products focusing on FAO's programmes and priorities. Production spanned the full multimedia range: videos, CD-ROMs, special features for the FAO Web site, etc. Development of an integrated approach to the presentation of the World Food Day/TeleFood campaign continued with the production of brochures, booklets and interactive multimedia CD-ROMs.

516. The number of Internet pages produced directly by the Multimedia Group declined because appropriate tools and systems developed in collaboration with the Information Systems and Technology Division (AFI) were increasingly used by technical departments to produce Internet pages independently.

517. Special exhibits featuring highly attractive displays were prepared in the FAO atrium to accompany the Committees on Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture (COFO, COFI and COAG). Exhibit support was also provided at meetings organized by the technical departments, and for FAO participation in important international events such as the Salon international de l'agriculture in Paris and the European Parliament in Brussels.

518. The Photo Laboratory and Library supported 362 official events at headquarters and undertook a number of photo missions. There were over 8,000 requests for images, photos or slides from the digital photograph archive.

TABLE 5.1-2. MULTIMEDIA (SELECTED INDICATORS)

519. Publishing policy and support. In accordance with FAO's Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy, which stresses participatory planning and decentralized implementation, technical departments developed and implemented for the first time annual communication and publishing plans aimed at ensuring that FAO information products meet the highest quality standards. These plans are monitored to ensure implementation, in accordance with a corporate perspective.

520. Editorial services were financed directly by Regular Programme funds instead of pool arrangements. However, demand by technical departments for editorial services continued to exceed the internal capacity, resulting in notable increases in outsourcing.

521. The system of categorizing FAO publications was modified to reflect better the needs of FAO's target audiences. The procedures for preparing and producing information materials and publications were streamlined in accordance with strictly enforced corporate guidelines and standards. There was significant growth in the number of publications over the biennium, with particular attention to the simultaneous issuance of publications in all languages. Improvements in FAO's multilingual publishing system are treated in Programme entity 222P5 - Programme for the Improvement of Language Coverage, providing central support for increased language coverage, particularly in Arabic and Chinese.

TABLE 5.1-3. PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED INDICATORS)

522. On the basis of proposals received from technical departments, 19 copublishing agreements were negotiated with commercial publishers, compared with ten in 1998-99. Copublishing allows FAO publications to reach markets that FAO might not be in a position to access and continues to be a cost-effective way of increasing the visibility of FAO titles.

523. Free dissemination to member countries of FAO publications and other information products was implemented during the biennium according to the approved quota distribution system.

524. The sale of FAO's information products through the Information Products Revolving Fund (IPRF) resulted in a deficit. For a number of years the IPRF has been unable to cover its costs from sales revenues. The decline in income from sales is partially due to the increased availability of these FAO publications free of charge through the Internet.

Major Programme 5.2: Administration

Achievements

525. The Major Programme covers the Organization's accounts, financial control and reporting systems; assists programme managers and technical staff in the use of modern information technology; and develops and administers personnel policies, ensuring that FAO is served by competent and motivated staff. Underexpenditure was due to the impact of the positive staff cost variance distribution and the reprogramming of Oracle funds from development to operational costs.

526. A major achievement was overcoming the difficulties experienced in the implementation of the Oracle Financials and Atlas Travel systems which replaced the Budget and Financial Management System (FINSYS) as the Organization's main financial system in 1999. Other achievements included the initiation of a project for a new wide area network (WAN), the establishment of a human resources committee and delegation of a range of establishment (post) authorities to AFH.

527. In connection with the deployment of Oracle Financials, Atlas Travel and other administrative systems to divisional users, the Management Support Service (MSS) was established in the Office of the Assistant Director-General for Administration and Finance (AFD). This restructuring of the management support function resulted in the abolition of departmental Management Support Units (MSUs) and the reduction of 11 professional and 42 general service MSU posts. However, the transfer of work to AFF led to some increase in AFF staffing, albeit of a much small number than the reductions quoted above.

528. The function of the MSS is to provide a range of central administrative support services, advice and management information to divisional directors and departmental managers in the areas of finance, budget, procurement requisitioning, personnel and travel, in accordance with the established rules and regulations of the Organization. The MSS also carries out, on behalf of the Assistant Director-General of AFD, corporate responsibilities in assigned areas of administrative services.

529. The following key indicators reflect the main categories of MSS output.

Table 5.2-1. Management support services (selected indicators)

Programme 5.2.1: Financial Services

530. The programme covers the financial services in support of FAO's Regular Programme and its extrabudgetary operations. It involves maintaining FAO's financial policies, procedures and standards as well as defining and designing the FAO financial architecture and systems used to process transactions, maintain financial records and provide financial information to managers of programmes and projects as well as senior managers and donors. The programme involves the management and accounting for about US$1 billion in funding per biennium.

Table 5.2-2. Financial services (selected indicators)

531. After a challenging transition to the new financial system, the focus has been on regularizing the work processes and procedures, correcting quality control problems and strengthening interface software. In this regard, system enhancements were implemented in the Oracle financial system, the data warehouse, Atlas Travel system, and the field accounting system (FAS). As a result of this work, FAO achieved a fully functioning software architecture that is effectively supporting its financial operations.

532. With the base-level system in place and operating effectively, focus shifted to the required upgrade in the financial system software, providing opportunities to streamline further the business processes in the Organization and enhance its reporting functions.

Programme 5.2.2: Information Systems and Technology

533. Major corporate and complementary technical and administrative systems and databases were developed and enhanced. Support also continued to be provided to the corporate decentralization policy with the start, in the summer of 2001, of a project to upgrade FAO's WAN, expected to be completed by the end of 2003.

Table 5.2-3. Information systems and technology (selected indicators)

534. The biennium saw the consolidation of the Oracle Financials Phase I implementation. Major improvements were achieved with the stabilization of the system interfaces, development of clearing account reconciliation features, and replacement of faulty database replication software with an import export facility in the field accounting area. The euro was successfully introduced in the financial and payroll systems. The project for the upgrade of Oracle Applications to the next major release, 11i, was started with a full business requirements review and a successful test upgrade at the end of 2001.

535. Development and support of the Organization's technical information systems grew substantially in terms of number of systems developed and additional substantive information available for dissemination through the collaborative developments between the Information Systems Service (AFIS) and technical departments. New powerful and flexible development technologies and standards were introduced to meet better the demands of information systems in headquarters, regions and member countries. Significant numbers of technical staff were trained and supported in the use of these new standards.

536. Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure was significantly enhanced with the approval, by the Information Management and Technology Committee and the Director-General, of the new WAN. This was initiated during 2001 and will be progressively implemented during 2002-03 in combination with an upgrade of the e-mail system. As part of the decentralization process and in order to facilitate access to the data warehouse application system, personal computers and local area networks were deployed in all FAO Offices. Other major ICT infrastructure changes included the deployment of a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite communication system, providing both voice and data capabilities, between Rome headquarters and the Regional Office in Accra; the introduction of a new operating system (Windows 2000) both on workstations and servers; and a major update of audiovisual, video conference and closed circuit television facilities.

Programme 5.2.3: Personnel Services

537. The Programme, carried out by the Human Resources Management Division (AFH), covers the development of human resources policies and procedures; position management and control; support to recruitment of staff; management studies and job classification; salaries and allowances administration; social security provisions; staff training; administration of appeals procedures and consultation with staff representative bodies; and overseeing and monitoring the administration and servicing of staff.

538. In 2000 a Human Resources Committee was established to provide policy and strategic advice to the Director-General on human resources management issues and guide and support implementation of human resources reforms. A Medium Term Plan was developed for AFH and adopted by senior management following review by the Committee.

539. The process for establishment, grading and management of posts was streamlined and a range of establishments matters delegated to AFH, reducing the time to process changes to organization structures and posts. The recruitment and establishments groups were restructured into four staffing teams, organized with a client service focus. Improvements were made in the systems and procedures supporting professional recruitment, including increased use of the Internet for advertisement of vacancies. A review of general service job roles and functions was initiated and recommendations on recruitment and temporary assistance policies and procedures were endorsed by senior management. Human resources policies and procedures were streamlined, to support the increasing devolution of responsibility given to line managers for the day-to-day management of staff.

540. The replacement of the Computerized Personnel Management System (PERSYS) continued to be a priority. Based on a study commissioned to evaluate Phase II implementation options and assess the need for changes in the original strategy to implement Oracle HR, the Organization decided to implement the HR/Payroll component of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system based on Oracle and adapted to the specificity of FAO. Requirements definition for this system was initiated.

541. Proactive advice to line managers concerning early resolution of work-related disputes resulted in the number of administrative appeals and grievances being kept at a comparatively low level. Advice was also given to senior management on cases raising fundamental issues of employment law. Coordination was provided for staff redeployment and separation under agreed terms using the US$9 million authority approved by the FAO Conference together with the zero nominal growth (ZNG) budget level.

542. AFH actively participated in the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) review of the UN pay and benefits system and continued to participate in inter-agency consultations, including meetings of the Human Resources Network, the ICSC and the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board (UNJSPB). New contracts were tendered and signed for the staff and non-staff medical insurance plans.

543. Approximately 25 percent of staff development resources were devoted to improving competence in a second or third language and a standardized curriculum and assessment system was developed for all language courses. Computer training continued to support the Oracle system and standardized information technology tools and was expanded to include creation of Web pages and the design of information and documents for Web publishing, although the volume of computer-related training declined compared with 1998-99. An orientation programme for new recruits was launched, aimed at achieving higher productivity for staff during their initial transitional period.

544. A review of training related to the project cycle emphasizing problem identification, formulation and appraisal was conducted, at the request of the Programme Committee. A new project cycle overview course was designed and applied distance-learning tools, including videoconference and distance-learning modules.

545. Gender mainstreaming was undertaken jointly with the Gender and Population Division (SDW), (ref. C 2001/9, FAO Gender and Development Plan of Action), emphasizing a more systematic and comprehensive approach to the mainstream development of technical staff, including:

• facilitating leadership development of professional women through selected specialized programmes;
• using the project cycle overview course to introduce gender analysis at headquarters and in the decentralized offices; and
• introducing the commitment to promote women and diversity in the new orientation programme.

546. The Medical Unit (AFDM), in addition to continuing its normal functions, initiated a new in-house physiotherapy facility, travel clinic services for private travel, a workstation assessment programme and an Integrated Health Information Management System.

Table 5.2-4. Personnel services (selected indicators)