Building a Fit4Purpose BDT
Change Management
In the past four years BDT embarked on a journey of transformational change, becoming a ‘fit for purpose’ ITU Development Bureau delivering high impact services and products.
People are at the centre of BDT’s transformational vision and strategy.
Adopting strong internal control and accountability mechanisms, BDT leadership prioritized strengthening performance management and development and invited all staff to challenge traditional and outdated structures and processes and become champions of change. Half of BDT staff undertook certifications in change management and project management. Furthermore, results-based management has been mainstreamed through all programmes delivering BDT services.
BDT undertook key organizational diagnostics to establish a baseline and clear goals for their performance transition. The UN Leadership Culture Assessment engaged staff across headquarters and the regional offices in determining their pathway to building robust and high-performing teams. All BDT supervisors and managers participated in a 360 assessment and coaching programme – accelerating management and team development across the senior staff in alignment with the ‘fit for purpose’ strategic priorities.
Dedicated teams have led on key organizational strengthening initiatives. First, communications for new approaches to connect a global team and their diverse stakeholders, have been tested and refined. Second, cross-functional collaboration with a focus on integrated programming across BDT interventions at the country level and as a member of UN Country Teams, contributing to country development alongside other specialist UN agencies. Third, continuous process improvements to strengthen BDT results delivery. The implementation of a new ERP system has transformed project management and operational functions across BDT, creating critical efficiencies, tracking programme implementation and enabling improved real-time decision-making.
Projects
ITU Projects: a key vehicle to advance digital development
2022 has been an important year in the implementation of ITU projects. With over 70 on-going projects and close to CHF 30 million in available funds, ITU projects continue to provide an instrumental role in implementing the mandate of the Telecommunication Development Bureau in the promotion of digital development and the provision of technical assistance to ITU Member States.
In 2022 alone, ITU signed close to 20 new agreements for new projects, project extensions as well as voluntary contributions for a value of close to CHF 7 million in areas such as digital policy and regulation, school connectivity, smart islands, as well as in capacity development in digital skills, amongst others.
A special milestone achieved during the year was the signing of two project agreements linked with the Smart Islands initiative in the Asia and the Pacific region with funding from the UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG Fund). Established in 2014, the SDG Fund is an international multi-donor and multi-agency development mechanism created by the United Nations system to support sustainable development activities through integrated and multidimensional joint programmes. Projects funded through the SDG Fund are implemented in partnership with other UN agencies with presence on the ground, and are aimed at bringing together UN agencies, national governments, academia, civil society and business to address the challenges of poverty, promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve SDGs.
Consolidating robust project management practices
During 2022 BDT has continued to reinforce project management practices across all ITU projects, with special emphasis on strengthening project monitoring and project management practices across BDT, building capacity of BDT project managers, as well as on setting up information systems in support of the oversight and management of ITU’s project portfolio.
Some of the activities implemented by BDT during 2022 include the organization of a third certification programme on project management for ITU staff and the continuation of the BDT Projects Board, which reviews and approves projects before they are agreed on with partners and provides oversight on project implementation and closure where issues arise. In its first year of operation the Board held 11 meetings, with a rate of 85% of its decisions being implemented.
These activities were complemented with the continuation of the work in the “Community of Practice of BDT Project Managers”, an online platform with 100 active staff members aimed at reinforcing peer to peer support from project managers.
Finally, voluntary contributions have also been reinforced with the introduction of a pilot to introduce new reporting mechanisms for voluntary contributions. The new mechanism, tested in BDT during the last year includes the preparation of an annual report on the status of implementation of voluntary contributions managed by the Bureau, the introduction of an annual report per voluntary contributions and the introduction of a formal closure process for voluntary contributions that have utilized all their resources. This mechanism will be extended across ITU during 2022–23.
The combination of these activities has allowed BDT projects to show a strong implementation track during 2022 across all ITU regions. Despite the continuation of some of the restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of the projects in ITU’s project portfolio have continued to stay on track, delivering the expected activities on time and within the expected budget.
More information about ITU’s project portfolio is available at the BDT Projects website.