Regular Programme |
|
US$000 |
|
Programme of Work |
92,457 |
||
Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers |
(400) |
||
Final Programme of Work |
92,057 |
||
Expenditure against Final Programme of Work |
92,039 |
||
Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work |
18 |
||
Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work |
(0.4%) |
600. The Major Programme responds to urgent and unforeseen requests for assistance from member countries, in close association with other components of the Regular Programme. It aims at providing a rapid response to requests for Technical Assistance that fill a critical gap and are specific and practical in nature. Emphasis is given to increasing production in agriculture, fisheries and forestry and increasing the incomes of small producers. TCP-supported projects typically:
601. TCP assistance is provided in the areas of:
602. All projects funded from TCP resources must satisfy the criteria established by the Governing Bodies and stated in the Programme of Work and Budget 2002-03 (C 2001/3, paragraph 737). The achievements of TCP assistance are reviewed through a system of theme-oriented evaluations of a sample of projects in the same field (e.g. programme or sub-sector), which are reported to the Programme Committee through the arrangements for handling evaluation reports.
603. During the biennium, the Organization received 1,226 requests from governments for possible TCP support, a 52% increase from 2000-01. 53% of these requests were approved for TCP funding during 2002-03. 25% of the requests received did not qualify for TCP assistance, and 22% are still under review by technical departments and may be considered for approval in 2004-05. During the last three biennia, on average, approximately two-thirds of the requests received were found eligible for TCP support and resulted in the approval of projects, although not necessarily in the biennium during which they were submitted.
604. The number of projects approved is shown in Table 4.1-1. During any single biennium the resources available for new project approvals include both the TCP appropriation concerned and the return-flow, i.e. the total of unspent balances of approved projects, consisting of the difference between approved project budgets and actual delivery of projects during the preceding biennium. Within this framework, against the biennium 2002-03, 541 projects with a total value of US$ 111.9 million were approved, which was US$ 19.9 million higher than the US$ 92 million of the approved Appropriation. This significantly increased approval resulted from the need to respond rapidly to the increase in the number of eligible requests for TCP assistance. This level of approval will help in limiting the return-flow in 2004-05 and in stabilizing the deliveries of TCP projects.
605. The increase in the number of projects results in part from the TCP facility introduced since 2001. The facility enables the FAO Representatives to readily respond to government requests through the mobilization of local expertise (national consultants) to address particular technical problems, identify and formulate project ideas and conduct small scale sectoral or basic studies. Another innovation is the development of standard templates for technical assistance projects that were made available to governments and FAORs to facilitate the formulation of project requests and proposals.
TABLE 4.1-1. NUMBER AND VALUE OF TCP PROJECT APPROVALS AND REVISIONS
Biennium of approval |
Number of projects |
Total value of projects (US$ million) |
Average cost per project (US$) |
|
1992-93 |
605 |
89.3 |
147 600 |
|
1994-95 |
496 |
92.6 |
186 700 |
|
1996-97 |
422 |
93.3 |
221 100 |
|
1998-99 |
430 |
92.1 |
214 200 |
|
2000-01 |
463 |
100.1 |
216 200 |
|
2002-03 |
644 |
143.2 * |
222,300 |
|
* Total approvals in 2002-03 amount to US$ 143.2 million of which some US$ 31.3 million were approved against the previous biennium to absorb the return-flow resulting from 1998-99. Approvals in excess of the appropriation of US$ 92 million, therefore, stand at some US$ 19.9 million. This amount is funded from 2000-01 return-flow of some US$ 6 million and, in line with past performance, forecast under-delivery of about US$ 14 million. | ||||
606. The utilization of TCP resources by project category continued to evolve during 2002-03 (Table 4.1-2). The share of advisory services in the number of overall approvals increased to 56%, following declines in the previous two biennia. Emergency assistance, after increasing to 27% in 2000-01, declined to 16% in 2002-03. Training also declined to 11% of total approvals during 2002-03, as compared to 15.6% in 2000-01. Other areas of increase were investment support and formulation missions, mainly in support of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS).
TABLE 4.1-2 PERCENTAGE OF APPROVED TCP ASSISTANCE BY PROJECT CATEGORY
Type of project |
1994-95 |
1996-97 |
1998-99 |
2000-01 |
2002-03 |
|
Advisory services |
57.8 |
62.4 |
50.0 |
45.4 |
55.6 |
|
TCDC/ECDC |
0.8 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
|
Development support |
0.8 |
0.2 |
9.7 |
7.3 |
6.2 |
|
Emergency assistance |
15.3 |
20.3 |
24.7 |
27.4 |
15.9 |
|
Formulation missions |
2.8 |
1.9 |
1.4 |
3.0 |
3.9 |
|
Investment support |
2.4 |
1.7 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
6.6 |
|
Training |
20.1 |
13.5 |
13.3 |
15.6 |
11.3 |
|
Total |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
|
607. The regional distribution of the value of TCP project approvals is shown in Table 4.1-3. The share allocated to Africa (46% of the total) increased during the biennium, while the resources allocated for Asia and the Pacific returned to 21%, down from 25% in 2000-01. The share of TCP assistance allocated to the European region declined below 1996-97 levels, after a temporary peak in 1998-99. 80% of the TCP non-emergency assistance is implemented at the country level, through the Organization’s network of FAO Country Offices (56%) and the Regional Operations Branches (24%).
TABLE 4.1-3. SHARE OF APPROVED TCP PROJECT RESOURCES BY REGION (PERCENTAGE)
Region |
1996-97 |
1998-99 |
2000-01 |
2002-03 |
|
Africa |
42.4 |
42.9 |
36.8 |
45.8 |
|
Asia and the Pacific |
19.6 |
17.3 |
25.0 |
20.7 |
|
Europe |
8.9 |
10.2 |
7.7 |
6.9 |
|
Latin America and the Caribbean |
18.4 |
18.9 |
18.8 |
15.3 |
|
Near East |
10.7 |
10.1 |
11.3 |
10.1 |
|
Interregional |
0 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
1.2 |
|
Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
|
608. The share of project budgets used for expertise in TCP projects approved increased from 29% in 2000-01 to 35% in 2002-03 (Table 4.1-4). Within the amounts allocated for expertise, their composition changed significantly since 1998-99, when the decision was taken to utilize more cost-effective means of providing expertise, including national consultants, partnership arrangements (TCDC/TCCT and retired experts) and FAO staff. During 2002-03, the share of national experts/consultants and partnership expertise within the expert component was 57%, a modest increase from the 54% during 2000-01. The share of FAO staff also increased slightly to 26% of the expert component, while the share of international consultants further declined from 22% during 2000-01 to 17% in 2002-03.
TABLE 4.1-4. COMPOSITION OF EXPERT SERVICES IN TCP PROJECTS
|
1996-97 |
1998-99 |
2000-01 |
2002-03 |
| ||||
|
US$ million |
Percent share |
US$ million |
Percent share |
US$ million |
Percent share |
US$ million |
Percent share |
|
International consultants |
25.9 |
72 |
11.0 |
39 |
6.2 |
22 |
8.8 |
17 |
|
National consultants |
5.0 |
14 |
6.5 |
23 |
7.2 |
25 |
14.0 |
28 |
|
Partnership experts |
3.0 |
8 |
5.7 |
20 |
8.5 |
29 |
14.4 |
29 |
|
FAO expert services (excludes general backstopping) |
2.2 |
6 |
4.9 |
17 |
7.00 |
24 |
12.8 |
26 |
|
Total expert component |
36.1 |
100 |
28.1 |
100 |
28.9 |
100 |
50 |
100 |
|
Total approvals |
93.3 |
|
92.1 |
|
100.1 |
|
143.6 |
|
|
Share of project budget used for experts |
|
38.7 |
|
30.5 |
|
29.0 |
|
34.8 |
|
609. Total expenditure on TCP projects, excluding direct operating costs, is presented in Figure 4.1-1. As anticipated, delivery has increased by 49%, from US$ 68.5 million in 2000-01 to US$ 101.9 million in 2002-03. Delivery against the current biennium appropriation also increased significantly, from 12.7% in 2000-01 to 33% in 2002-03, the balance being from delivery of projects approved during/against the previous biennium which completed their activities during the current biennium.
610. The unique attribute of TCP, wherein two appropriations are necessarily available in any one biennium, adds some complexity to performance measurement. The following table develops a simple indicator of percentage expended based on the average of the two applicable appropriations. The statistics show a major upturn in expenditure for 2002-03 as a proportion of the appropriation, signalling an end to the problems which were mostly related to the settling in of decentralization.
TABLE 4.1-5. INDICATOR OF TCP EXPENDITURE RATE
|
1992-93 |
1994-95 |
1996-97 |
1998-99 |
2000-01 |
2002-03 |
|
Biennial Appropriation (US$ millions) |
77.4 |
82.3 |
85.5 |
87.3 |
89.1 |
89.2 |
|
Average of the Biennial Appropriations for the last two biennia (US$ millions) |
|
79.9 |
83.9 |
86.4 |
88.2 |
89.2 |
|
Biennial Expenditure including direct operating costs (US$ millions) |
|
78.2 |
79.4 |
72.9 |
76.0 |
107.7 |
|
Biennial Expenditure as a percent of the average appropriation |
|
97.9% |
94.6% |
84.4% |
86.2% |
120.8% |
|
611. The indicator should tend to average at 100 over time and therefore a somewhat lower figure should be expected as the result for 2004-05.
612. The dramatically improved delivery in 2002-03 is the result of actions taken as a consequence of internal management reviews starting in late 2001 with a view to addressing potential procedural and operating constraints which could be limiting project approvals and delivery. Measures taken during the biennium include:
613. The increased capacity to deliver, when coupled with improved quality of proposals, has set the stage for the TCP programme to be able to deliver on an increasing proportion of the current appropriation within the given biennium.
Regular Programme |
|
US$000 |
|
Programme of Work |
2,738 |
||
Adjustments to Programme of Work arising out of Budgetary Transfers |
100 |
||
Final Programme of Work |
2,838 |
||
Expenditure against Final Programme of Work |
2,857 |
||
Variance of Expenditure (Over)/Under Final Programme of Work |
(19) |
||
Budgetary Transfers as percent of Programme of Work |
3.7% |
614. The TCP Unit is charged with the management and coordination of the Technical Cooperation Programme. It continued to ensure that approved projects adhered to TCP criteria and to coordinate the appraisal and processing of requests for TCP assistance by decentralized and headquarters units, as described under Major Programme 4.1 above. It was also directly involved in formulating and implementing the improved internal management measures aimed at alleviating constraints on project approvals and delivery.
615. The Unit reviews and monitors individual projects, through its participation in Project Task Forces, the examination of backstopping mission reports as well as the assessment and processing of requests for budget revisions. This monitoring is performed in close cooperation with the concerned FAO technical services and the Field Programme Monitoring and Coordination Service, which may also alert the Unit on specific problems arising during project implementation which require ad hoc response. As a further check, the appropriate FAO units can, at any time, inspect, evaluate and audit projects funded under the TCP.
616. Contact with governments to coordinate and prioritize requests for TCP support was maintained. The monitoring of follow-up action and evaluation of the impact of TCP projects continued to be an important component of programme management. In this respect, the Evaluation Service (PBEE) undertook thematic evaluations in the field of animal health (2002) and crop production (2003) and included the results in their reports to the Programme Committee.
