(a) Inter Agency Procurement Working Group

The Inter Agency Procurement Working Group (IAPWG)

Annotated provisional agenda for the eighth session of Working Group I (Procurement)

Report of Working Group I (Procurement) on the work of its eighth session

(iii) Including the issue of Diversity of sources of procurement as an agenda item at the annual meetings of the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group

(iii) Including the issue of diversity of sources of procurement as an agenda item at the annual meetings of the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group

The United Nations Inter Agency Procurement Working Group and the International Training Centre have launched an Organization wide procurement certification project to ensure that all United Nations procurement practitioners are professionally certified in their respective disciplines.

(ii) Inviting the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group to hold more meetings in developing countries

The Procurement Working Group of the Task Force on Common Services at United Nations Headquarters

Encourages the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group to continue its efforts to produce comprehensive and generally applicable statistics encompassing the procurement activities of all United Nations entities

The Working Group acknowledged the importance of appropriate procurement planning and contract administration for overall effective functioning of procurement and fulfilling the objectives of the Model Law.

During its twenty ninth meeting, the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group (IAPWG), of which UNFPA is an active member, considered the JIU draft report on procurement practices.

The Working Group noted the advantages of publishing information on forthcoming procurement opportunities, such as transparency in the procurement process through reducing cases of ad hoc and emergency procurements, and, consequently, less frequent recourse to less competitive methods of procurement.

Turning to the question of procurement, he said that, in 2004, Working Group I had begun its consideration of novel issues in the area of public procurement with a view to updating the Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services.

(d) Report of Working Group I (Procurement) on the work of its sixth session (A CN.9 568)

(e) Report of Working Group I (Procurement) on the work of its seventh session (A CN.9 575)

On the sharing of procurement performance benchmarks and best practices (recommendation 1) and the concept of lead procurement agency (recommendation 2), it should be noted that since 2004, the HLCM has incorporated the work of the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group (IAPWG) into the HLCM agenda.

Achievements of the Headquarters Procurement Working Group in the harmonization of procurement related regulations and rules and contracting tools have apparently not yet been replicated at the level of UNON and other field duty stations.

There exists an Inter Agency Procurement Group for sharing information on suppliers and for implementing the Lead Agency Concept, which however does not seek to streamline and pool procurement operations under a single chain of authority.

It decided to entrust the drafting of proposals for the revision of the Model Law to its Working Group I (Procurement).

The background to the current work of Working Group I (Procurement) on the revision of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services (the UNCITRAL Model Procurement Law or the Model Law ) is set out in paragraphs 5 to 34 of document A CN.9 WG.I WP.37.

One of the achievements of the Working Group was the agreement to harmonize procurement related financial regulations and rules and contract documents.

The report recommended the creation of a working group to explore the potential cost efficiency that might accrue from common procurement arrangements.

Procurement

Procurement

Procurement

Procurement

However, the Working Group noted that the accessibility standards should apply to all procurement phases, and that one article should address all phases.

When the Model Law was prepared in the 1990s, the then Working Group worked on the basis that clear and readily accessible laws and regulations relating to procurement would promote transparency and create predictability and confidence in the procurement process.

It also welcomed the focus of the Working Group on Procurement on matters of authentication and registration through the Internet of tender management systems in the context of its revision of the Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services.

Accordingly, the Working Group decided that neither construction nor services procurement in their entirety should be excluded from the provisions governing electronic reverse auctions, pending further deliberations as to which type of procurement would be suitable for electronic reverse auction.

The African Group noted with keen interest the progress made by the Working Groups on Procurement, Arbitration and Conciliation, Transport Law and Security Interests.

The eighth session of Working Group I (Procurement) is scheduled to be held at the Vienna International Centre from 7 to 11 November 2005.

The background to the current work of Working Group I (Procurement) on the revision of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services (the Model Law ) is set out in paragraphs 5 to 33 of document A CN.9 WG.I WP.37, submitted to the Working Group for its consideration at the current session.

Procurement management

Procurement Unit

Procurement planning

Procurement reform

Procurement report

Procurement opportunities

With respect to procurement of services, the Working Group agreed that the Model Law should retain all the various options in methods for the procurement of services currently provided, and that therefore there was no need to revise it in that respect.

While these measures to some extent helped streamline procurement operations at United Nations Headquarters, they are, however, still to percolate down to other major duty stations, including field offices, and to the collective membership of the Inter Agency Procurement Working Group (IAPWG).

Thirdly, it should considerably facilitate procurement reform and the pooling of procurement services.

4. Notes the activities of the Common Services Procurement Working Group on enhancing the transparency and increasing the harmonization of procurement practices, and encourages the Secretary General and the executive heads of the United Nations funds and programmes to continue their work in this regard

The Procurement Goldmine