COVID 19 – BCP (DIGITAL

TOOLS) SUPPORT TO

GOVERNMENTS UNDP Support to Government Business Continuity – Private / Public Sectors UNDP Partnership

Udenrigsudvalget 2019-20URU Alm.del - Bilag 175

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Document Revision History

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April 23 2020 1 Create Business case Submitted to RBA

Director

Contributors

Aboubacar Toure Adama Sanyang Sylvain St Pierre

Bertrand Frot Noni Mafabune Olivier Simah

Jane O Yeboah Diwen XU Nesreen Al-Hebshi

Yerim Fall Jennifer Colville Jarle Herikstad

Jean Luc Stalon Maley Diop Anthony Ngororano

Manish Pradhan Gerald Demeules Moe Kyaw

Shathiso Nyathi Robert Opp Douglas Webb

Ethiopia CO

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Concept Note: UNDP COVID-19 Programme Offer

Business Continuity Support to Government and Partners

1. Introduction

The advent of COVID-19 pandemic on the global stage is causing devastating effects on individuals,

families, communities, economies and nations, threatening the progress on the SDGs, including the pledge

to leave no one behind. Programmes in countries are confronted with a unique set of challenges as they

strive to support governments with emergency responses to contain, mitigate, respond and recover from

the effects of the pandemic, the impact of which is yet to be fully experienced. Preventive and

containment measures involve initially restricted movements of communities, social distancing, self-

quarantine, virtual working arrangements and in some cases a complete closure due to lack of viable

options for business continuity and even reliable and stable internet connectivity to maintain operations.

As more governments and communities implement these preventive measures and recovery policies,

government counterparts in developing countries are confronted with challenges implementing

telecommuting and virtual working arrangements due to limited infrastructure, including information

technology and energy access. Business continuity for governments, businesses and individuals is critical

to support or manage economic and social recovery resulting from COVID-19. The inability of governments

to fulfill their mandates, including to lead and assure national response and coordination is now a stark

reality.

To this end, this document explores the options of extending UNDP s support to put in place business

continuity plans and information technology infrastructure and Digital Tools to support government and

public sector partners in programme countries where UNDP operates. The overall objective is to maintain

core government functions to adequately prepare for and respond to COVID-19 pandemic. A coherent

government response is required to limit and shorten the recovery phase and minimize the impacts on

the SDGs.

This Concept Note fo uses o UNDP s ICT Offe i the immediate term (1-3 months) and a robust proposal

will be presented for the longer-term support which includes advisory services in this area and support

governments to be able to better prepare for and be resilient to future crises.

2. Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives of the offer include:

1. Reduce the impact of COVID-19 on governments by ensuring that governments are able to respond

in a timely manner at the national and sub national levels in the short term for COVID-19 and on

medium and longer term for any other crises,

2. Identify ICT business continuity needs, support, setup, skills and deploy digital tools.

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3. Provide business continuity planning (BCP) and digital tools to support governments to maintain

effective communications between its key personnel and partners in coordinating the COVID-19

response and maintaining its overall full operational capacity

4. Limit the impact of COVID-19 on national institutions and maintain the provision of public services.

5. Build upon COVID-19 BCP to develop a long-term sustainability strategy to inform future disaster

preparedness and overall institutional BCP at central and decentralized level.

To achieve these and given the wide scope of government institutions usi ess eeds a d e ui e e ts, a phased approach to support developing a fully robust BCP will be implemented with the aim to have an

efficient plan in place. Three levels of support have been identified as follows:

1. Immediate Support: This is the first stage during which a quick assessment of existing

infrastructure and capacities and critical requirements and functions would be identified. Based

on the assessment, ICT solutions would be made available to support telework arrangements of

critical government personnel. UNDP will capitalize on existing software and ICT LTAs to fast track

such support. This includes video conferencing applications, DocuSign, etc.

2. Long term-support (3-12 months): conduct in depth needs assessment, business and

infrastructure requirements and develop a comprehensive and complete business continuity plan

that covers all operations aspects and services of the governments who have requested support.

3. On-going Advisory and Technical Support: Existing UNDP expertise in- country and through the

network of Regional ICT Coordinators and HQ will be made available to support countries in need

of advisory and technical support to develop their Business Continuity Plans including the ICT

Service catalogue.

3. Baseline assumptions:

Telecommuting and virtual working arrangements require at a minimum access to energy for productive

use, internet connectivity, communication technology devices, remote access to key files and documents,

systems and user capability/knowledge. The current proposal assumes that the government counterparts

ill dispose of a i i u set of these e ui e e ts to e a le UNDP s o ple e ta y suppo t to assu e business continuity on or off site.

4. UNDP’s Co parative Adva tage

This BCP solution for government uilds o UNDP s global experience in co-ordination and strengthening

of core government functions and service delivery as well as our long time expertise in implementing BCP

in our Country Office.

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This experience is being modified for other contexts, where a long-established and functioning State

machinery requires rapid strengthening in selected areas to deal with a shock.

More specifically, UNDP global offer will bring three major assets to bear on this exercise:

- first, an established corporate practice of risk management and business continuity, underpinned

by robust systems that have been tested and validated in a wide variety of operating contexts in

the world,

- second, a Global Policy Network that will allow UNDP to quickly access information, experience

and expertise from countries that had early exposure to the pandemic and have learnt

enormously about how to handle it at the institutional level, especially those in the Africa, Asia

and the Pacific region;

- third, the longest, broadest and deepest engagement of any development partner with our

government focal points.

UNDP will also explore collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Tony Blair

Foundation, to create a country support platform for the Government that could attract and aggregate

interventions, technical support and financing from other sources.

To kick of this exercise, UNDP will put in place a dedicated team composed of staff resident in the Country

Office and Regional Service Centre, as well as Colleagues in New York and Copenhagen, working remotely.

It ould also d a te h i al suppo t f o UNDP s Glo al Poli y Net o k tea o ki g o o e government functions and responsive and accountable institutions.

5. Expected Outputs and Indicative Activities

The Initiative aims to deliver on three outputs with indicative activities under each. The activities too, can

be clustered under three areas:

(i) essential supplies to contain spread of the virus;

(ii) ICT-based system upgrade (hardware/software) - computers, tables, external disks, anti-virus

software; and

review/development of systems, processes and procedures, design of revamped business continuity

plans, risk management, etc.

Output 1: Need assessment

Information infrastructure in the countries differs greatly. To recommend an effective set of tools to

support a particular context, the programme team will perform a remote needs assessment with focal

points in-country office and government, identify key operational requirements, identify issues in the

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ICT set-up that may be detrimental to business continuity and recommend necessary ICT solutions

and support their implementation. The assessment objective is to quickly assess the following:

Key activities:

What are the key functions and minimum business needs for governments to remotely maintain

their functions?

Do the Government institutions have any existing plans addressing business continuity which

include procedures and succession planning in case of disasters?

How many government officials/personnel are considered essential to maintain key operations?

What is the available government information infrastructure such as internet availability and

bandwidth?

Are there reliable energy sources/supplies including backups for key officials/personnel to

telecommute? e.g solar panels, generators? What is their coverage?

Does the government have collaboration platforms to support telecommuting? If not, can the

internet bandwidth in the country support the following platforms;

Do key officials/personnel have devices, such as laptops, tablets and suitable connectivity in their

homes to support telecommuting? (Inventory detail/survey)

How do Government Officials/personnel work with their documents? Storing them on their

computers in their offices or using cloud services such as OneDrive or Google Drive? Can they

access their documents from home? Do key officials/personnel have remote access to key

documents and files?

What are the specific legal/security needs or requirements for data storage and processing?

Do officials/personnel need to map a situation and to share geo-spatial information?

The assessment team consists of experienced field and HQ personnel who will identify the immediate

se i e li es a d p odu ts as pa t of UNDP s suppo t to the p og a e on information technology and

business continuity planning.

The findings from the above will be prioritized between immediate and medium/long-term

Output 2: Implementation/Operationalisation of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

The needs assessment report will identify existing gaps in productivity and collaborations tools,

infrastructure and training, and make recommendations on immediate operational needs and

infrastructure/platform deployment. This will include platforms that can be deployed within a week.

Key activities:

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Design simple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and applications (e.g. e-governance and e-

service) to maintain minimum service levels even in the worst-case scenario;

Train staff quickly to understand and apply revised procedures and protocols;

Estimate essential resources/supplies required to ensure continuity and secure the safety of

critical staff and equipment [and procure them asap];

Design quick implementation plan including ( Tools, Training, KPI, Capacity development in

government );

Design medium term information technology and business continuity recommendations with

components for a costed programmatic response framework.

Adopt incident management (crisis/emergency/disaster response and recovery) procedures,

including escalation steps so that problems are spotted quickly and resolved at the level best

suited for the task;

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Output 3: Monitoring and Evaluation

The project team will assess the performances with the ultimate goal to improve current and future

management of outputs, outcomes and impact.

Key activities;

Mai tai a li e i pa t a alysis to help Go e e t pe iodi ally efi e a d adjust its itigation

strategies in a dynamic situation [institution-specific and across the whole-of-government];

Assess effectiveness, efficiency and impact of main activities

Rollout of tracking, monitoring, documentation, lessons learning and reporting mechanisms;

6. Possible Tools for Teleworking and Business Continuity

Based on the results of the needs assessment report, UNDP/OIMT will provide the following digital tools

that can be scaled up or made available under contract terms to support programme countries. This

includes:

1. Connectivity for Teleworking in Countries with Poor Internet.

Central Office Infrastructure and Connectivity (*not including local terrestrial ISP/WAN)

UNDP can support local infrastructure readiness based on cloud technology so ICT team in

government agencies can manage their infrastructure remotely

UNDP can support a VPN solution in case if the government staff need to connect back to

central office to use their internal resources (if they are not relying on cloud infrastructure)

UNDP can support rapid deployment infrastructure in all parts of the country (using solution

like OneICTbox-Lite)

UNDP can support a satellite communication solution in case of lack of terrestrial ISP/internet

service

Personal Connectivity

Using 3G/4G/LTE technology wherever available with USB dongle or more professional

gateway such as MX68CW

Using terrestrial infrastructure such as ADSL or other available/affordable internet services

such as WiMAX or Wireless broadband service

Using hardware-based VPN device or software-based client VPN to connect back to central

office data center if needed

2. Power Backup for Critical Staff Places of Residence – portable solar-based power kits for individual

users can be sourced and shipped within a few weeks (depending on availability of air freight). The

UNDP eStore will be updated to enable Country Offices to order online. A typical kit constitutes semi-

flexible or foldable solar PV panel(s), and a lithium battery pack (380 – 460Wh) with relevant output

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ports. Kit size can be increased, particularly battery pack, and additional options included depending

on requirements. Alternatively, staff can reach out for assistance to procure locally, if kits are available

from local suppliers.

3. Teleconferencing: There are 2 main tools, Microsoft Team and Zoom. Microsoft Team is part of O365.

Zoom Teleconferencing – is a web cloud-based video conferencing tool with a local, desktop client

and a mobile app that allows users to meet online, with or without video. The platform allows users

to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share or annotate on one another's screens and

support low bandwidth. SharePoint Online eDocument Sharing - is a web cloud based collaborative

platform, supports enhanced document management, sharing and storage. This platform requires

setup and configuration and can be deployed within a short period of time.

4. DocuSign E-Signature – This is cloud service providers that allows user to sign documents digitally

from their devices. Compatibility with national legislation needs to be verified as to acceptance of

digital signatures.

5. Office 365 eMail and collaboration tools – Cloud base productivity tool including email, word, power

point, excel, Teams, PowerBI etc. applications. The service is subscription base and can be setup and

deployed within a short period of time.

6. Microsoft Azure Storage - It is a cloud-based Microsoft service to provide secured, highly available,

scalable and very cost-effective data storage solution. Data in Azure Storage is accessible from

anywhere in the world over secured connections. The service is subscription base and can be setup

and deployed within a short period of time.

7. GoogleEarth, QGIS or ESRI – Digital Geo-localized information systems to build digital maps, geo-

localizing infrastructures, situations, images and data.

8. Set-up of a Workstation at Home. Regional ICT Coordinators to recommend configuration: docking

station, monitor, camera, headset, etc

9. Ongoing IT helpdesk support will this be provided by UNDP or locally in country? If the GoE is to

provide then there maybe training needs and SOPs required to manage BCP functionality and

operations which need to be considered by the Government.

7. Next Steps

(a) Established project team for 6 months

(b) Launch project Web Site (Including all Support Document and On Line Forms)

(c) Determine if we need some sort of agreement with the coordinating government agency (Lead

Institution), which could be in the form of Letter of Intent or MoU (PMSU to advise); To be discuss

with Legal Office

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(d) Agree on early adopters (Mali, Uganda, Ethiopia) and Identify focal points in each country who

will facilitate implementation in their respective Countries;

(e) Establish a local Task Team in the Country (UNDP CO to facilitate);

(f) Identify, in partnership with the Task Team who will participate in the Training of Trainers sessions

(g) Launch the Need assessment,

(h) Proceed to the acquisition of Tools, Service and Software, based on Need assessment

recommendations,

(i) Decide implementation modality we would like to apply (DIM/NIM) and whether direct financial

transfer to partners is expected as part of the package (UNDP SM/PMSU);

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One Pager BCP Support to Government

Objectives

1. Reduce the impact of COVID-19 on governments by

ensuring that governments are able to respond in a

timely manner at the national and sub national

levels.

2. Identify ICT business continuity needs, support, setup

and deploy digital tools.

3. Provide business Continuity planning (BCP) and

digital tools to support governments to maintain

effective communications between its key personnel

and partners in coordinating the COVID-19 response

and maintaining its overall full operational capacity

4. Limit the impact of COVID-19 on national Institutions

and resume the provision of public services.

5. Build upon COVID-19 BCP to develop a long-term

sustainability strategy to inform future disaster

preparedness and overall institutional BCP

Assessment to be done by CO

1. Key functions and minimum business need?

2. Existing BCP including procedures and succession

planning in case of disasters?

3. How many government officials / personnel

Essential staff?

4. Availability of internet /and bandwidth?

5. Reliable energy source / supply including backups?

6. Existing collaboration platforms to support

telecommuting?

7. Video/audio conferencing such as Microsoft Team,

Skype for Business or zoom?

8. Information/document sharing, e.g SharePoint,

OneDrive, Yammer

9. Digital workplaces for chat and document sharing?

10. Do key officials/personnel have devices, such as

laptops, tablets and suitable connectivity in their

homes to support telecommuting?

11. Do key officials/personnel have remote access to key

documents and files?

12. What are the specific legal/security needs or

requirements for data storage and processing?

13. Do officials/personnel need to map a situation and to

share geo-spatial information?

14. Exiting of any Legal legislation on E-Signature ?

UNDP Comparative Advantages

- Builds o UNDP s global experience in

implementing BCP in our Country Office.

- Established corporate practice of risk

management and business continuity,

underpinned by robust systems that have

been tested and validated in a wide variety

of operating contexts in the world,

- Global Policy Network that will allow UNDP

to quickly access information, experience

and expertise from other countries

- Longest, broadest and deepest

engagement with government counterpart

- Dedicated team composed of staff

resident in the Country Office and

Regional Service Centre, as well as

Colleagues in New York and Copenhagen,

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Digital Solution Offer Step 1

Help/guide to develop local infrastructure

readiness based on cloud technology,

Help/guide to develop VPN ( Virtual Private

Network)

UNDP can help/guide to implement rapid

deployment infrastructure in all parts of

the country (using solution like OneICTbox-

Lite) including domain Name

Help/guide to implement satellite

communication solution,

Po e Ba kup fo C iti al Staff s Reside e – portable solar-based power kits for

individual users

Teleconferencing solution, (Microsoft

Team and Zoom )

SharePoint or Google Online eDocument

Sharing

DocuSign E-Signature. Compatibility with

national legislation needs to be verified as

to acceptance of digital signatures

Office 365 eMail and collaboration tools

Microsoft Azure Storage - It is a cloud-

based Microsoft service to provide secured,

highly available, scalable and very cost-

effective data storage solution.

GoogleEarth, QGIS or ESRI – Digital

Geolocalized information systems to build

digital maps, geo-localizing infrastructures,

situations, images, data...

Workstation at Home. (Double screen

stand, docking station, monitor, camera,

headset, etc)

Next Steps

Established project team for 6 months

Launch project Web Site (Including all

Support Document and Online Forms)

Determine Contractual modality with the

coordinating government To be discuss

with Legal Office

Agree on early adopters (Mali, Uganda,

Ethiopia) and Identify focal points in each

country who will facilitate implementation

in their respective Countries;

Establish a local Task Team in the Country

(UNDP CO to facilitate);

Identify, in partnership with the Task Team

who will participate in the Training of

Trainers sessions

Launch the Need assessment,

Proceed to the acquisition of Tools, Service

and Software, based on Need assessment

recommendations,

Decide implementation modality we

would like to apply (DIM/NIM) and

whether direct financial transfer to

partners is expected as part of the package

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Tools / Options Costing Option Description Prons Cons Requirement Costing

Use Vanity

URL

Use Vanity URL

Example :

https://yourgov.zoom.us

Vanity URL will allow

countries to scale up the

service as needed and

include different

ministries and

department within the

same subscription

More safe.

It also allows you to have

access to features such as

Active Directory and Single

Sign On (SSO) services. Users

can login to their Zoom

account from your Vanity URL.

It allows user deployment

simpler and faster.

Ex

firstname.lastname@undp.org

You are not

anonymous

Availability

on Zoom

$0

Single Sign

On (SSO)

Active Directory

authentication will allow

self-provisioning of the

Zoom service with Active

Directory authentication.

One Password instead of

many.

Centralized management.

Security.

Simplifies username and

password management.

It allows user deployment

simpler and faster.

Ex

firstname.lastname@undp.org

Password change policy will

be same as corporate policy

Only one password to

remember

If an SSO

password is

cracked,

others sites

under the

same

authentication

can also be

endangered.

When SSO is

down, access

to all

connected

sites is

stopped

Need an

Identity and

Access

Management

(IAM) and

directory

integration.

$0

ACTIVE

HOST

model

Payment model only

he it s used. Do a t a ou t does t pay. Pay-

as-you-go

will save cost , only pay for

active users

Deployment can be universal

without discriminating who

gets to use it, but cost can be

low.

Each new user

scale the

price.

risk of often

unnecessary

cost increases

during

subsequent

years

Unpredictable

cost

Need a

custom

domain such

as

UNDP.ORG

Apply

induvial

licenses

table.

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ROOM

CONNECTOR

Some room connector

license in the pool would

help standard based

video conferencing rooms

system like Poly, Cisco

Tandberg can join the

meeting.

Enlarge audience with other

system to join zoom meetings

Additional

price

Need

conference

room and

devices for

the other

parties.

588.00

Large

Webinar

License

10,000

participants

to host

Town Halls

Large Webinar License up

to 10,000 participants to

host Town Halls.

Large audience of 10,00

0

Additional

price

Must

purchase a

Webinar

plan of 100,

500, 1000,

3000, 5000,

or 10000

participants.

Host user

type must be

Licensed and

be assigned

the Webinar

add-on

$77,880