Outcome ETH_O_1

Assuring an accountable organization through principled performance

UN-Women is an accountable and trustworthy development organization that manages its financial and other resources with integrity and in line with its programmatic ambitions and fiduciary obligations. UN Women timely communicate results to all donors including Strategic Note on timely manner as part of accountability. Moreover, outcome harvesting is being implemented to document high level result of the strategic note in 2024. The CO had within the available resources a staff work force to deliver its programmes. Project implementation reports were shared monthly and as required to programme and CO leadership teams for decision making. Business Continuity systems were kept up date to respond to any emergencies and ensure business continuity. n 2024, Ethiopia Country Office demonstrated exceptional diligence and efficiency in donor engagement and accountability, achieving a significant milestone in donor report submissions. Throughout the year, the office successfully prepared and submitted 21 high-quality donor reports to partners. Notably, 91% (19 out of 21 were submitted on time: 2 delayed reports for Ethiopia Country Office) of these reports were submitted on time, marking a commendable performance in adherence to deadlines. The timely and quality reporting practice of UN Women ECO is a testament to its dedication to transparency and accountability. It plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy and productive relationships with donors, ensuring continued support for our initiatives in gender equality and women's empowerment. This achievement sets a high standard for donor communications and exemplifies the office's ability to meet and exceed the expectations of its valued partners. As a part of its annually scheduled commitment on strengthening the capacities of partners in Results-Based Management (RBM), Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and financial management, aligning with the Strategic Note 2021-2025 goals, the 2024 four days comprehensive training involving diverse partners, including government bodies, NGOs, academic institutions, and corporations, the focus has been held on enhancing understanding and application of RBM, financial management, and the Outcome Harvesting methodology. Also, the M&E unit collaborated with Women Peace & Security & Humanitarian Action team to provide RBM training for all Women`s Peace & Humanitarian Fund/WPHF partners ito enhance the capacities of Women Led Organizations/WLOs & Women Rights Organizations/WROs. UN Women Ethiopia extended the Outcome Harvesting methodology as part of routine monitoring. This initiative marks the first institutionalization of Outcome Harvesting, aimed at enhancing result-oriented monitoring and reporting. Following three successful Outcome Harvesting sessions have been conducted, yielding reported outcomes for two key programs: Ending Violence Against Women & Girls. This comprehensive approach to learning, planning, and outcome measurement reflects UN Women ECO's dedication to operational excellence, stakeholder engagement, and impactful results in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. ?

Assuring an accountable organization through principled performance

In 2023, UN Women senior management actively engaged in national and international forums to reinforce UN Women's mandate, ensuring rigorous accountability to various stakeholders in the area of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE). This involvement facilitated strategic oversight of programme implementation and delivery, offering essential guidance to the country office teams. The Operations Unit was pivotal in maintaining a safe and conducive working environment, implementing robust security measures in collaboration with UN Women Regional and local UN System security teams. Information security protocols were rigorously followed, aligning with corporate standards. Additionally, the office was instrumental in auditing partners and diligently following up on the implementation of audit recommendations, including those from UN Women Internal Audit Service. The Operations Unit also managed procurement services essential for program implementation. Despite facing challenges like limited capacity of implementing partners and delays in fund disbursement due to the introduction of the Quantum system, the Country Office (CO) successfully achieved a 67% overall delivery rate, highlighting its commitment to operational efficiency and result-oriented approaches in challenging circumstances." UN Women ensured effective financial oversight and support for its implementing partners through a structured approach comprising four key components: Risk-Based Assessment: This involved a preliminary evaluation of potential risks associated with each partner, such as fraud, corruption, mismanagement, or non-compliance. Assessments were conducted prior to finalizing partnership agreements, guiding decisions about engagement, cash transfer methods, and the necessity for capacity building. Monitoring and Reporting: A dedicated team jointly overseeing programme and operations tracked and evaluated the financial progress and performance of partners in fulfilling the agreed programme activities. This process included scrutinizing financial reports, receipts, invoices, and verifying narrative reports from partners. Capacity Building and Project Audit Support: UN Women proactively supported partners in enhancing their financial and programme management skills. This was achieved through two face-to-face workshops focused on financial management, programme management, and outcome harvesting, complemented by webinars on risk management and reporting. Further, partners received tailored coaching and technical assistance. In terms of audit support, the country office facilitated partner project audits by reconciling reported expenditures, providing contacts for auditors, briefing partners on audit processes, and following up on audit recommendations. In the 2022 financial year, 18 partners were audited, and all financial findings were resolved by the end of December 2023. Audits of government partners concluded in December 2023, with follow-up on recommendation. The UN Women Ethiopia Country Office's Performance Monitoring Framework (PMF) has been recognized by corporately by UN Women HQ as an exemplary model of effective performance monitoring of Strategic Notes. This distinction underscores PMF's success in providing a robust and comprehensive tool for tracking and evaluating programmatic outcomes. Building on this achievement, Ethiopia Country Office played a pivotal role in sharing their valuable insights and methodologies with the global UN Women community. This collaborative effort aimed to enhance the overall performance monitoring and reporting systems across various UN Women initiatives worldwide. This initiative not only highlights the Ethiopian office's commitment to continuous improvement and accountability but also positions it as one of leading offices in innovative monitoring strategies within the UN Women globally. In 2023, Ethiopia Country Office demonstrated exceptional diligence and efficiency in donor engagement and accountability, achieving a significant milestone in donor report submissions. Throughout the year, the office successfully prepared and submitted 32 high-quality donor reports to partners. Notably, 84% (27 out of 32 were submitted on time: 3 delayed reports for Liaison Office and 2 for Ethiopia Country Office) of these reports were submitted on time, marking a commendable performance in adherence to deadlines. The timely and quality reporting practice of UN Women ECO is a testament to its dedication to transparency and accountability. It plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy and productive relationships with donors, ensuring continued support for our initiatives in gender equality and women's empowerment. This achievement sets a high standard for donor communications and exemplifies the office's ability to meet and exceed the expectations of its valued partners. As a part of its annually scheduled commitment on strengthening the capacities of partners in Results-Based Management (RBM), Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and financial management, aligning with the Strategic Note 2021-2025 goals, the 2023 4 days comprehensive training involving diverse partners, including government bodies, NGOs, academic institutions, and corporations, the focus has been held on enhancing understanding and application of RBM, financial management, and the Outcome Harvesting methodology. These initiatives have led to the identification of key areas for future focus, such as project management training and continuous online learning sessions, ensuring that both UN Women staff and partners are well-equipped to deliver high-quality, impactful programming in gender equality and women’s empowerment, Building on feedback from implementing partners and responsible parties, gathered through an online survey during the physical training on Results-Based Management (RBM) and Financial Management, the Ethiopia Country Office initiated the “Learning Fridays series” There were about 30 partner organizations on average who participated. This innovative initiative on enhancing skills in impactful communication of results, while also provided a refresher on data collection tools and digital monitoring and evaluation (M&E) techniques. This initiative underscores ECO's commitment to continuous learning and capacity building among its partners. In a groundbreaking move, UN Women Ethiopia piloted the Outcome Harvesting methodology in collaboration with the Kenya Country Office. This initiative marks the first institutionalization of Outcome Harvesting, aimed at enhancing result-oriented monitoring and reporting. Following two successful Outcome Harvesting sessions have been conducted, yielding reported outcomes for two key programs: Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) & Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE). This comprehensive approach to learning, planning, and outcome measurement reflects UN Women ECO's dedication to operational excellence, stakeholder engagement, and impactful results in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.

Assuring an accountable organization through principled performance

UN Women Ethiopia Country Office had undergone internal audit by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the Independent Evaluation and Audit Services (IEAS) in 2021 with the report issued in quarter 1, 2022 and while the overall result was satisfactory, there were a number of recommendations on strategic priorities, programme planning and implementation, governance, risk management and internal control and operations. In addition, partner project audits were conducted in 2022 with recommendations on programme/financial management. The key changes done following implementation of some of the audit recommendations include strategic focus on programmatic issues for the country office with the delinking of the liaison function from the country office, strengthened result-based management and streamlined key outcomes, outputs and indicators in the new Strategic Note 2021-2025, enhanced coordination within the UN system on gender equality and enhanced partner programme oversight. The deployment of temporary country representative coupled with the filling of the position of the deputy representative have retained confidence from donors as evidenced by resources mobilized for the new Strategic Note 2021-2025 and continued support from the key donors. Most of the audit recommendations are still in progress hence the full impact/results of the changes will be realized in 2023. In line with the audit recommendations and the vision of the Strategic Note 2021-2025, UN Women continued to ensure the effective and robust results-based management (RBM), financial management controls, internal and external transparency of financial data, timely and accurate donor reporting, responsive and secure information systems are in place. As evidence of strengthened strategic planning and RMB practices, a first ever comprehensive Performance Monitoring Framework (PMF) for the Strategic Note 2021-2025 has been developed to guide monitoring, reporting, data collection and learning. The Performance Monitoring Framework has been highlighted as one of good practices by the UN Women Eastern and Southern Africa region and shared with country offices in the region as one of results-based management tool for new cycles of Strategic Notes. In 2022, a key programme UN Women staff has also enhanced the programme planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting skills as a result of several capacity building sessions and orientations. In addition, UN Women continued to enhance capacities of its implementing partners and on the same. The office continued to engage and participate in UN system business operations strategy including UN common premises and shared services on a number of operations services. With the security risks in the country, the office has maintained engagement with UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and UN Women security team for the security and safety of its personnel and property during programme implementation.