outcome are not suitable to contrast against the achievements, the assessment has been based mostly on the remaining most significant one, i.e. indicator 3, the ‘level of compliance with obligations under the UNCAC’. Indicator 1, Government Accountability Score (taken from the Global Integrity Report), has been discontinued by Global Integrity, an NGO responsible for maintaining the indicator.158 Indicator 2, Government Effectiveness Index, maintained by the World Bank, is acknowledged by the Bank itself as inadequate for measuring changes over short periods of time159 (such as the period covered by the regional programme). Efficiency The portfolio provides efficient support by integrating inputs from regional projects, advisory services and knowledge products, despite the constraints posed by limited funding. The portfolio directly related to this outcome160 is rather compact and composed of eight projects, with a 2011/2012 combined budget of USD 3.3 million. Most of the outcome’s resources have been allocated to advisory services that provide ad hoc support to the outcome (approximately USD 1.6 million, i.e. 49 percent of the 2011/2012 combined budgets). The portfolio includes the project Regional Cooperation on Public Administration Reform (RCPAR) with a USD 640,000 budget in 2011/2012. Main interventions included the National Human Rights Protection Project (USD 600,000), and two projects in the field of anti-corruption (USD 350,000).
Noteworthy in terms of managerial efficiency is the portfolio’s gap between funds requested and those available at project start. Generally, the projects in this outcome are not funded to the extent originally estimated for the set of activities envisaged in the respective project documents. The funding allocated to regional projects included in the portfolio is covering some 60 percent of the resources deemed required (and indicated in the project documents), with no evidence of the shortfall being met in succeeding years.161 Another issue that has affected efficiency is the Greek Government’s decision to withdraw its financial support to the RCPAR project, a large initiative (USD 7 million for five years) that ensured good visibility and positioning to UNDP and BRC vis-à-vis public institutions from the ECIS region. The decision taken in 2010162 led to the suspension of the activities and in 2011/2012 only USD 640,000 has been spent. To ensure the sustainability of some project components such as the Western Balkans Human Resources Management CoP, the activities continued under the auspices of the EU-funded Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), including the transfer of website and knowledge products. According to data available, projects started in a timely manner and there are no indications of specific delays/issues (apart from those with RCPAR) hindering the portfolio’s implementation. This aspect was reflected in the RBEC ROAR and the 2012 BRC IWP, recording all projects as on track or achieved. At mid-September 2012, the average rate of financial disbursement
Global Integrity decided to discontinue with the indicator <http://www.globalintegrity.org/blog/future-gir>. It changed the methodology and the sample of countries, after which the baseline data for the ECIS countries considered by BRC could not be matched with the new data at the end of the regional programme in 2013.
158
Worldwide Governance Indicators, <http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/resources.htm>.
159
See UNDP RBEC, ‘Results-Oriented Annual Report 2011’.
160
For example, the project Strengthening Corruption Prevention Capacities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with an estimated budget of USD 1.3 million, has been funded with only USD 0.8 million, but the 2011/2012 IWP/RBEC ROAR data indicate a combined budget of USD 0.28 million. For the project Promoting Human Rights and Access to Justice for Social Inclusion and Legal Empowerment, USD 0.5 million was allocated out of USD 0.85 million required.
161
See Regional Centre for Public Administration Reform in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States website <http://www.rcpar.org/contents_en.asp?id=8>.
162
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CHAPTER 3. CONTRIBUTION OF THE UNDP REGIONAL PROGRAMME TO DEVELOPMENT RESULTS