290.     The provision of technical assistance is an important part of the Organization's mandate, specified under Article I 3 (a) of the Constitution, which states: "It shall also be the function of the Organization to furnish such technical assistance as governments request". Technical assistance is provided from the Regular Programme – as for TCP and SPFS – or from extrabudgetary resources under the GCP, UTFs, UNDP or other arrangements for voluntary contributions to the field programme. The Organization makes a further significant contribution to technical assistance through its support to all extrabudgetary activities through: i) technical support services (TSS), generally provided directly to Members; and ii) administrative and operational support services (AOS) provided to ensure the delivery of all activities defined through projects, whether funded from Regular Programme resources (such as TCP projects) or voluntary contributions (extrabudgetary-funded projects).

291.     The Organization has made a consistent effort since 1992 to measure and report in a transparent manner the cost of supporting the field programme (and other extrabudgetary-funded activities) under these two rubrics. This is achieved through the Work Measurement Survey which involves the completion of a detailed questionnaire by close to 1,000 staff each year. This data has been used in a number of ways:

• in the case of TSS, to provide an estimate of the extent of staff time and cost under the Regular Programme dedicated to the provision of these services; and
• in the case of AOS, to provide a basis for the establishment of project servicing cost (PSC) reimbursement rates, as well as to help direct actions aimed at reducing such costs or improving cost recovery.

a) Technical support services (TSS)

292.     The overall level of TSS²⁸ is outlined in Table 14, which compares the 2006-07 results with those in the previous biennium.

Table 14: Technical support services (TSS) (USD million)

293.     Total extrabudgetary support, TCP and SPFS delivery increased by nearly 20% in 2006-07 from USD 748 million to USD 898.3 million, while the cost of technical support services increased by USD 4.9 million to reach USD 81.5 million. As a result, TSS costs as a percentage of total delivery decreased from 10.1% in 2004-05 to 9.1% in 2006-07.

294.     Reimbursement for technical support services totalled USD 17.4 million in 2006-07, compared to USD 19.9 million in 2004-05. The decline reflected a 50% reduction in TCP delivery and a corresponding decline in TSS reimbursement from USD 12.7 million in 2004-05 to USD 6.0 million in 2006-07. Reimbursements from extrabudgetary projects increased by 57% from USD 7.2 million in 2004-05 to USD 11.4 million in 2006 -07, as the result of a nearly 40% increase in extrabudgetary funds and increased efforts to budget for TSS in such projects.

295.     TSS is mainly delivered by headquarters technical divisions and decentralized offices. A major portion of TSS is in the form of staff time. On average, 29% of total staff time is devoted to TSS in 2006-07, the same as in 2004-05.

296.     In the past, the contribution of FAORs to technical support services was minimal and not reported in the PIR. In 2006-07, consistent with the new decentralized model, FAORs and subregional offices devoted an increased part of their time to TSS, while professional staff time devoted to TSS in the regional offices declined from 50% in 2004-05 to 42% in 2006-07.

297.     The distribution of support across the programme structure is shown in the table below. While TSS is evident in most programmes, during 2006-07 staff time devoted to TSS was particularly important in programmes 3A: Leveraging resources and investment (54%), 4A: UN cooperation, integration and monitoring (39%), 2M: Rural infrastructure and agro-industries (38%) and 3G: Rural livelihoods (38%). Chapter 2: Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems had the highest proportion of professional technical staff time spent on TSS (31%), but 25% or more of the professional staff time in both Chapter 3: Knowledge Exchange, Policy and Advocacy and Chapter 4: Decentralization, UN Cooperation and Programme Delivery, was also devoted to technical support services.

Table 15: Proportion of professional staff time devoted to TSS to the field programme, 2006-07

298.     The regional distribution of support is shown in the figure below. Generally, the highest proportion of staff time for TSS was spent in the subregional offices in Africa and Europe where the new decentralization model was implemented. The highest level of TSS by FAORs was in the Near East and North Africa (33%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (32%), which were the regions with the lowest proportion of TSS provided by the subregional offices (22% and 35% respectively).

Figure 15: Percentage of professional staff time devoted to field programme support, 2006-07

b) Administrative and operational support (AOS) services

299.     Administrative and operational support costs consist of variable indirect costs that can be associated with the delivery of direct project inputs²⁹.

300.     In the 2006-07 biennium, total AOS costs reached USD 123 million, with an increase of USD 17.4 million compared to 2004-05, but as a percentage of total project delivery, AOS costs declined from 14.1% to 13.7%. Key factors in the rise in AOS costs were the devaluation of the US dollar versus the Euro and other Euro-linked currencies which have affected staff costs in decentralized offices, together with the increase in headquarters staff costs, in particular of support staff. The decline in AOS as a percentage of total delivery is largely due to the sharp increase in the delivery levels, and somewhat to a decreasing share of TCP projects (given the small size and relative complexity of TCP projects, which require proportionally more AOS).

301.     The table below shows the emergency operating costs (incurred in TCE Division) increase from USD 16.1 million to USD 21.4 million. However, as a percentage of emergency project delivery AOS decreased from 6.5% to 5.6%. This is mainly attributable to the fact that costs incurred in TCE units are partly charged as direct costs to the projects and to a lesser extent to efficiencies of scale on account of the project delivery increase by over USD 145 million to USD 385 million.

Table 16: Administrative and operational support costs (USD million)

302.     AOS cost is partially covered by reimbursements from projects through charges for project servicing cost (PSC). The table below shows the extent of reimbursements received for AOS services in total including from emergency projects and TCP/SPFS projects funded from the Regular Programme.

Table 17: Administrative and operational support costs and extent of reimbursement received from field programme and other extrabudgetary-funded activities (USD million)

303.     The gap in cost recovery increased from 26% to 37%, on account of the increase in costs. Reimbursements remained constant at around USD 79 million. This is to be considered an achievement, considering that 2004-05 reimbursements included the project support costs income credited to the Organization for support provided in 2003 during the closure of the Oil-for-Food programme. Reimbursements from projects, therefore, reflect the positive impact of increased support cost rates for emergency projects and of extrabudgetary funded activities in direct support of Regular Programme.