The Role of United Nations Country Offices
United Nations Country Offices in the sixteen target countries have an important role to play in the implementation of the Joint Initiative, particularly in regards to the facilitation of projects to be funded under the Call for Proposals. A Focal Point for the Joint Initiative exists within each UN Country Office. A full list of Focal Points and their contact details can be accessed here.
Focal Points are: responsible for servicing an inter-Agency Technical Committee in each country; disseminating information about the Joint Initiative to potential stakeholders; supporting the Technical Committee to undertake a pre-selection of proposals to be forwarded to the Evaluation Committee in Brussels for further consideration; and for supporting the monitoring and evaluation of funded projects.
Focal Points will assist the Programme Management Unit in assessing capacities of applicant groups to deliver projects proposed, and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in each country will liaise as necessary with the Government and with the European Commission Delegation locally to ensure that all proposals are deemed to be in line with national development priorities.
During the period of project implementation, Focal Points will facilitate an online remote training event in each Country Office, to be organized and delivered by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), a partner organisation responsible for capacity building under the Joint Initiative.
Stage payments to implement projects will be made by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in each United Nations Country Office, following verification that project milestones have been achieved.
