TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS
COMMUNICATION GROUP (UNCG) – GHANA
Accra, March 15, 2011
1.0 BACKGROUND
Set up in 2002 at the initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General, the
United Nations Communications Group (UNCG) has emerged as a strong
unifying platform for dealing with common communications challenges facing
the United Nations
UNCG Ghana was established based on a Basic Operating Model agreed on in
March 2006. Following a recent Government request in 2010 for the Ghana
UNCT to “Deliver as One” (DaO) in line with the good practices and experiences
gathered from the Delivering as One pilot countries in Africa and other regions.
The UNCT is seeking to further strengthen the DaO principle of “One Office”
and “One Set of Business Practices” backed by a strong Joint UN
Communication Strategy and System. Communications tasks and actions are
essential to support and convey UN system-wide coherence both within the UN
and to external audiences.
1.1 Objectives
The UN Communications Group (UNCG) Ghana seeks to strengthen interAgency cooperation in the field of communications and to increase the visibility
the United Nations in the country by:
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providing communications support for the UN Country Team;
identifying new and creative ways to show how UN programmes are
delivering results
promoting a coherent image of the United Nations in Ghana
create awareness and understanding of the UN’s support to national
priorities through the use of innovative activities
promote partnership with the media, Government, civil society, young
people and other stakeholders
ensure reliable flow of accurate information to all stakeholders
2.0 MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
For a successful and sustainable communication system, that would be
transparent, accountable and would employ a consensual approach to its
operations, the following structure and management framework needs to be
established and/or strengthened:
 UN Country Team (UNCT). The UNCT role to provide strategic direction and
decision-making in the implementation of joint communications. The UNCT
is the process owner responsible and accountable for the entire process,
from initial inputs to final outcomes.
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Task Forces: In line with the “Division of Labor” principle, key results of the
UNCG annual work plan should be assigned to Task Forces comprising two
or more agencies whenever necessary. Specific results requiring a Task
Force need to be identified at the beginning of the year and the agencies
comprising the Task Force need to be identified in the responsible parties
column of the work plan. Task Force members remain responsible
throughout the year/duration of the work plan unless they have achieved
their planned results prior to the end of the year. They are collectively
responsible for achieving their results and need to report back regularly to
the Chair and the full UNCG.
External consultancies: Any consultancies proposed by the UNCG to achieve
results under the annual work plan need to be brought to the attention of
the RC Office, especially when RCO funding is expected to contribute to
funding the consultancy.
1. QUORUM: The minimum quorum for holding meetings is to get
participation from at least six agencies. All decisions will be made on a
consensus basis and those that cannot be taken by the UNCG will be
referred to the UNCT.
3.0 COMPOSITION AND ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK
The UNCG-Ghana is composed of Communication/Information/Advocacy
Officers or information focal persons of 14 United Nations agencies in Ghana.
The Group deals with common communication tasks of the UN System in the
country. The group is mandated to explore means for increasing internal and
external communications to support greater coherence and effectiveness in
country operations. Among other responsibilities, the group is tasked with
determining the ways and means of communicating for development.
Responsibilities of the Communication Focal Persons
UNCG focal person is responsible for:
i. Ensuring coherence within the individual agency vis a vis the operations
of the group
ii. Ensuring inclusion of activities of UNCG FP into his/her individual the
annual work planning of individual agencies for purposes of mobilising
funds
iii. Ensuring the implementation of the UNCG annual work plan
iv.
Monitoring the implementation of the UNCG work plans
UNCG Chairperson
The substantive chair of UNCG Ghana is the Resident Co-ordinator. For
purposes of commitment and complementarity, chairmanship of the UNCG will
be rotated among the UN agencies on an annual basis.
Responsibilities of the Chairperson
The Substantive chair is responsible for:
i.
Implementing the rotational chair agenda.
ii.
Mobilising funds for UNCG activities
iii.
Liaising with HoAs and RC Office in the framework of delivery as One UN
iv.
Monitoring the participation of individual members and providing
feedback to individual HoAs
UNCG Secretariat
UNIC Accra is the national Secretariat for the UNCG. Nonetheless, there will be
a UNCG focal person in the RC Office who will support the Chair and UNCG
members with guidance and examples from other countries. The RCO focal
point will also serve as an inter-face between UNCG, the RC and the UNDG, in
particular UN DOCO.
Responsibilities of the Secretariat
The secretariat is responsible for:
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Maintaining communication channels among members;
Collating meeting agenda items on an on-going basis;
Preparing UNCG minutes of retreats and meetings;
Supporting the organization and media coverage of joint UN and agencyspecific events
Reporting
UNCG-Ghana reports to the Resident Coordinator. An annual review and
evaluation of the Group’s activities is conducted and this forms the basis of an
annual progress report. The report is then shared with UN HoAs in the country
and forwarded to the UNCG secretariat at UN Headquarters for sharing with all
UNCG members and for posting on the UNCG global website
UNIC Accra (the secretariat), under the guidance of the chair shall provide a
concise Summary of Action Points of each meeting, limited to decisions and
action points, and highlighting any issues preventing the achievement of the
annual work plan, with copy to the UNCT.
4.0 FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT
RC funds are used as seed funds for UN communication activities. In addition,
agencies are asked to contribute to joint activities under the UNCG work plan
as required, including DSA for agency participants to workshops, trainings and
other events.
In addition to RC funds and agency cost-sharing, the RC will look for
opportunities to raise additional funds from other sources.