PLAN - Section 7: Resources and Management Plan
Overview
The resource and management plan provides a comprehensive and evidence-based overview of the resources required to achieve the results outlined in the strategy. It shows the resource needs associated with each impact and outcome statement and area.
The costs of what UNHCR can implement, in line with its mandate, accountabilities, and comparative advantages reflect the multi-year strategy and are needs-driven. These costs are called operations plan (OP) requirements.
The High Commissioner endorses the global OP, also known as the “programme budget” under UNHCR’s financial rules (see Financial Rules for Voluntary Funds Administered by the High Commissioner for Refugees) by the end of June. This budget is then reviewed by governance committees and approved by the Executive Committee (ExCom). Once approved, the High Commissioner has the authority to engage in the activities reflected therein, within the appropriation. Fundraising must be undertaken against the approved programme budget to finance the identified needs. This process allows UNHCR to determine the maximum spending authority against which commitments and payments can be made.
In a nutshell
- The resource and management plan details the resources needed to achieve the strategic outcomes and impacts. It includes the costs associated with UNHCR’s mandate and the multi-year strategy, referred to as operations plan (OP) requirements.
- Strategic risks and opportunities are identified and analysed throughout the development of the strategy. Key risk treatments or mitigations are implemented to manage these risks, making the plan more coherent, realistic, and adaptable to changing circumstances.
- The multi-year strategy involves engaging with donors, partners, and other stakeholders to mobilize resources. It includes analysing past funding trends, donor commitments, and future opportunities for resource mobilization.
- It also includes reviewing office structures, workforce planning, position management, and budgeting for administrative costs.
- The OP budget reflects UNHCR’s global commitments and is developed using a multi-functional team approach. Costs are apportioned to results, ensuring that ABOD and STAFF costs are clearly connected to the results framework.
A resource and management plan presents a credible, defensible, and coherent picture of the resources needed for the implementation of a multi-year strategy. It includes:
- Summarizing the strategic risks identified during strategy development.
- Designing the resource mobilization strategy.
- Explaining operational management, resources, capacity, and presence.
Costing the operation plan (OP) budget, preparing resource requirements, and considering operational management needs are integral parts of UNHCR’s strategic planning. They comprise the first step in setting up a credible resource and management plan.
In developing its resource requirements, the operation considers the roles and anticipated contributions of national and local governments, UN organizations, humanitarian and development actors, international and regional financial institutions, the private sector, forcibly displaced and stateless people, host communities, civil society, academia, and media.
The development of the resource and management plan begins with a context-specific results framework for the strategy’s duration. Once the specific outcomes and outputs are defined, the operation prepares an operation plan (OP) budget, which defines the cost requirements for these results. This budget is needs-driven and considers UNHCR’s comparative advantage, and the importance and feasibility of activities each year of the strategy to achieve desired results. It covers all requirements under the multi-year strategy for UNHCR’s activities including operational presence, management structures, positions, and other requirements to implement the strategy.
Correlation between the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless people and budgetary requirements in UNHCR:
| Type of Needs | Description | Budgetary Requirements | Description |
| Total needs | They represent the total needs to fully realize rights and ensure the well-being of forcibly displaced and stateless people. These needs are reflected by all stakeholders involved, in line with inter-agency and government plans and may be appealed to the international community. | UNHCR does not express its total needs in budgetary terms. | |
| Priority needs | These refer to the prioritized activities from the total needs of forcibly displaced and stateless people and host communities that UNHCR is able to address. | Operation plan budget (OP) | It reflects all activities that are important and feasible to undertake each year if the necessary funding is available. |
| Activities selected for UNHCR’s annual implementation | UNHCR’s prioritized requirements, based on funds and total available resources. | Operating level (OL) | It represents the maximum spending authority based on funds available from the UNHCR programme budget and guides further prioritization of activities, outcomes and outputs that UNHCR can deliver in line with the available resources (see GET – Section 1). |
Reflecting strategic risks and risk management
Throughout the development of the situation analysis, vision, strategic priorities, theory of change and multi-year results framework, operations identify and analyse strategic risks and opportunities that impact the overall achievement of the strategy. They then identify the most important risk treatment or mitigation actions to manage these high-level strategic risks and opportunities in line with the Enterprise Risk Management Policy.
Understanding these risks and opportunities informs the selection of the right outcomes and outputs in the operation’s results framework to achieve the desired impacts (see PLAN – Section 5) . This process makes the plan more realistic, responsive, and adaptable to changing circumstances. The risk analysis summary is included in the risk management narrative in COMPASS.
Key questions to ask include:
❓ What are the most important strategic risks and opportunities (up to five) to the overall achievement of the intended results of the strategy?
❓ What risk treatments or mitigations can the operation implement to manage these risks and opportunities?
The identification of strategic risks during planning is complemented by the annual risk review, where risks are recorded in the operational Risk Register Platform (see GET – Section 1).
💡 KEEP IN MIND The objective of risk management is not to eliminate risks altogether, as this is impossible and attempting to do so could prevent the delivery of important results. Instead, it aims to increase the likelihood of achieving results by anticipating and mitigating threats and capitalizing on opportunities. Often, this means accepting risks when the benefits outweigh the costs. |
Designing a resource mobilization strategy
Operations mobilize resources for UNHCR to contribute to protection and solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless people. They engage with donors, partners, and other stakeholders to seize local and regional resource mobilization opportunities. The multi-functional team (MFT), led by the representative, planning coordinator and donor relations function, analyses the overall outlook of resource availability and prospects for future resource mobilization opportunities for the duration of the strategy and summarizes it in the narrative in COMPASS.
The analysis may consider past funding trends, donor commitments, and future resource mobilization opportunities. It highlights the planned mobilization of resources, including technical and material assistance, from public and private sources, including local, regional, government and development sector funding.
Key questions to ask include:
❓ What is the overall resource outlook for the strategy and expected resource mobilization opportunities?
❓ What local/regional actions are planned to mobilize resources by engaging with public and private actors?
Operations may also consult donor relations focal points in the bureau under the overall coordination of the Donor Relations and Resource Mobilization Service (DRRM) of the Division of External Relations (DER).
Defining operational capacity
Operations analyse the required operational presence and OP-level staffing plan and profiles. This analysis is part of the broader strategic planning discussion and involves the MFT. They review office structure and presence, leading to detailed human resources processes including workforce planning, position management, and ABOD budgeting. They then confirm and validate office structures, the workforce plan, and reporting lines aligned with the strategy’s duration. Once the office structure is completed in COMPASS, it is possible to update the data on positions and enter the ABOD budgeting.
The key question to ask is:
❓ What are the planned changes in operational presence, resource levels and staff numbers and profiles during the strategy to achieve the results?
Changes to the organizational structure are usually made at the time of approving the OP budget and positions. Operations need to be consistent when designing presence, including office designation, structure type and job titles.
Operations may:
- Continue operating through the existing offices and presence: No action is required.
- Create a new office using UNHCR’s standard designations: This requires a start date (normally the first day of the month) and must be planned for a minimum period of one year. A previously closed office that is planned to be re-opened is considered a new office. Each office has at least one regular UNHCR position, which may be supplemented by other regular or affiliate workforce positions.
- Close an office: The operation must designate an effective closure date (normally the first day of the month).
- Modify the type of office: Any change in office designation requires an effective date (normally the first day of the month).
During workforce planning, the MFT can discuss the following key questions:
❓ How well does our current workforce, office presence, and structure align with our objectives?
❓ What are our strengths and weaknesses in terms of technical expertise?
❓ What turnover can we anticipate (rotation, retirement, resignation, external opportunities)?
Based on these discussions, the human resources officer assists results managers with workforce planning and budgeting. This process is detailed in the section on the OP requirements. Operations justify changes to the structure and workforce, summarizing their operational management, resources, and capacity in the relevant narrative in COMPASS.
💡 KEEP IN MIND Asset planning takes place during strategic planning. It includes the resource and management plan for UNHCR office infrastructure and other assets, as well as assets required for partners via transfer of control/ownership and/or on loan. This ensures that adequate assets in good condition are available. |
Workforce planning
To ensure that UNHCR’s vision is executed within available resources, an operation prioritizes its workforce needs, types and structure. Considerations for prioritization decisions include staff-to-affiliate ratios, whether some roles are no longer necessary, and shifts in strategy or operational context.
Office structure
When an operation submits a proposal for the creation of a new office, closure of an existing office, change of office type or any other change in relation to operational presence, in the multi-year strategy submission, it decides on the office planning and structure based on available resources. All offices and other offices they are connected to, as per the approved strategy, are replicated in COMPASS and serve as a starting point for office planning for the implementation year.