The FAO Conference approved the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) for the 2016-17 biennium in July 2015. The Council, at its session of November-December of the same year, endorsed adjustments to the 2016-17 PWB. In doing so, it urged the Secretariat to undertake an independent assessment of the technical capacity of the Organization. The Secretariat has subsequently commissioned this assessment by a team of independent experts. Its purpose is to address the question of how FAO’s technical capacity has evolved between 2012 and 2016.

The methodology used for the assessment is rooted in the definition of technical capacity as FAO’s “capacity to mobilize the knowledge, and expertise that are necessary to meet its strategic objectives and the needs and priorities of its Members.” The assessment covers technical capacity at FAO Headquarters (HQ) and in decentralized offices (DOs), provided through all sources of funding, including consultants, project personnel, and other technical non-staff human resources (NSHR). FAO classifies its staff into three categories of functional capacity: core technical capacity, enabling technical capacity, and administrative or support capacity. The methodology of this assessment considers the first two categories: core technical capacity and enabling technical capacity. In line with the definition of technical capacity, in addition to the human resources dimension, the assessment seeks to cover the delivery of FAO products, services and outputs in support of its strategic objectives.

In 2012, FAO launched a process of “transformational change” consisting of reorientation of the strategic direction of the Organization, undertaking targeted institutional strengthening in an evolutionary fashion, and pursuing greater efficiency and value-for-money. Five new strategic objectives, and a sixth objective on technical quality, knowledge and services, were approved by the Membership of FAO following a consultative Strategic Thinking Process. Iterative organizational changes aimed at enhancing delivery of the Organization’s objectives were brought in during 2012-16; capacity for work in nutrition, food safety and standard-setting expertise was enhanced; and a matrix management set-up was introduced. The latter was consolidated following endorsement of the Council in 2015 of internal management arrangements aimed at strengthening programme delivery.

Recognizing the critical importance of technical capacity, the transformational changes agreed to by the Secretariat were “proposed within the context of full preservation of the expertise and capacity at headquarters for technical work on norms, standards, and global public goods.”1 The broad range of FAO’s normative work and its relation to programme delivery was outlined in November 2015 in an information note2 to the Council. Efficiency gains and savings were pursued, centered around the principle of reducing administrative burden and increasing technical expertise within the PWB, to enable delivery of the normative work and related programme within the context of a flat nominal budget. Specific efficiency measures included an increase in the ratio of professional (P+) to General Service (GS) positions, and a shift of positions from the administrative support and enabling technical categories to core technical positions.