By 
In August 2022 the Zimbabwe Country Office held its first retreat in three years. The retreat built on the conversations initiated in the earlier Mini-Programme Retreat including exploring what #NextGenUNDP means from an operational and programming perspective to develop a shared understanding (intent statement) on the roll-out of the CPD (2022-2026) in a post-COVID-19, lower middle-income Zimbabwe. Four Thematic areas were identified by the CO Retreat Committee as enablers for the successful realization of the CPD (2022-2026) development results.
- Portfolio programming;
- Resource mobilization and Partnerships;
- Digital, innovation, and data;
- Staff well-being (People for 2030).
Over a period of three days, staff members were engaged in candid discussions and activities facilitated by the FloodTide team who were the consulting firm contracted to facilitate the Retreat program. The Retreat Report which followed celebrated the areas in which the country office had made progress and listed a set of thematic areas in which the country office could improve. The Retreat organizing committee used the report as a foundation to draft a retreat action plan, which outlines 8 thematic areas and proposed solutions to address the challenges identified by staff in respective thematic areas during the retreat.
The first implementation Phase of the Retreat Action plan will run from November 2022 – March 2023, with a review to be conducted at the end that will advise how phase two will be structured.
Thematic areas
The thematic areas identified by the Retreat Committee as part of the Retreat Action Plan together with proposed solutions are tabulated below;
Operational Excellence
Key Issues Raised
• Identify the issues – There is always room for improvement – thus recognize the need;
• Create a Plan – After you have identified the problem areas in your growing organization, you need to find the right solutions;
• Remove the obstacles – Throw away stuff that doesn’t provide value.
Proposed Solutions
- Develop innovative ways of making corporate training and learning sessions more interesting to colleagues in the office;
- Conduct targeted Unit/Team specific Quantum training or a ToT program;
- Incorporate and customize technology in the internal business and operational processes to increase efficiency and transparency eg a process tracker;
- Strengthen the existing inter-unit collaboration and linkages across the outcomes/ programs/ project implementation and reporting obligations.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships
Key Issues Raised
• Continuous engagement with donors;
• Team efforts – drafting proposals for our work;
• Building relationships – raising friends comes before fundraising.
Proposed Solutions
- Develop and implement a country office resource mobilization strategy;
- Enhance the resource mobilisation capacities of staff in the office;
- Create and promote inter-unit resource mobilization and programming partnerships integrating green economy and governance issues;
- Promote synergies and collaboration by breaking operational and programming silos through the use of new programming approaches.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
- Resource Mobilisation Subcommittee.
Elective Topic 3: -Issues and coherence of UNCT
Key Issues Raised
• Identification of potential entrepreneurship opportunities for youth;
• Training on entrepreneurship and business development through partnerships (private sector, government, and other UN agencies);
• Skills development and work placement.
Digital, Data Innovation and Communications
Key Issues Raised
• Lack of measurement frameworks;
• Inconsistency in presentation and analysis in reports;
• Lack of tools for quantitative data collection;
• Too short an implementation period and no data collection after the project ends;
• Limited or lack of knowledge of existing analytic tools within UNDP.
Proposed Solutions
- Standardise and digitalise the country office Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks into a common database for enhanced data-driven decision-making;
- Build the capacity of staff in analytical and collaborative corporate tools (e.g Sharepoint, PowerB, Stream, UNITY, etc.) to strengthen program development, implementation, and coordination;
- Promote inter-unit Digital/Data capture, innovation and knowledge exchange including hosting of learning Brown Bags;
- Improve CO office visibility and internal communications through periodic updates, communications tools and electronic media.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
- Communications/IT and AccLab.
Gender, Disability Inclusion and Empowerment including Youth Engagement
Key Issues Raised
Proposed Solutions
- Develop gender equity and empowerment-focused programs at the country office;
- Make women, youth and disability engagement a cross-cutting enabler in-country programming;
- Increase office appetite for calculated risk and new ideas in women, youth and people with disabilities economic empowerment programming.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
Conflict resolution, team building Openness and Trust
Key Issues Raised
- Constant dialogue and review of workload through proper planning and delegation;
- Enforce mandatory leave plan – succession plan/ handover notes/ in-house capacity building/ coaching/ mentorship.
Proposed Solutions
- Review of office structure and guidelines for clear job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, and allocation of tasks to avoid ambiguity, conflicts and disproportionate workload;
- Create an office environment that is secure and open for addressing grievances timeously without harassment and victimization.
- Engage behavioural science experts on cultural transformation and trust to change organizational culture.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
Elective Topic 8: Life beyond UNDP
Key Issues Raised
Proposed Solutions
- Look at opportunities/ challenges after UNDP;
- Need to manage the transition out of UNDP – entrepreneurship option;
- UNDP needs to walk the talk – “What does UNDP do to ensure staff leave without precarious terms”.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
Work/ Life balance & Career Progression
Key Issues Raised
Proposed Solutions
- Create opportunities for routine team building, health/wellbeing activities, and social events to improve staff cohesion and wellness in the office;
- Develop a culture of emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication skills, and respect for diversity to promote a healthy work/ life balance;
- Create an enabling environment that empowers and promotes staff to take ownership of their career progression and growth.
Proposed Actioning Committee(with the option for volunteers to join committee)
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