48 . MOPAN 2017-18 ASSESSMENTS . UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST Box 5: Areas for improvement identified in the MOPAN 2017-18 assessment Areas for improvement in 2018 l Advance the delivery of a protection agenda, a core area of UNRWA’s work, in ways (including practical reporting) that suit an environment of very limited programme budget allocation for staffing and resources and in which the protection agenda to date has been largely “projectised”. l Address the lack of strategic evaluations, which has resulted in limited independent evidence that the Agency can use to demonstrate the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of its interventions and overall approach in relation to the humanitarian-development nexus in protracted crises. l Work towards greater consistency of the location of gender in the organisation with matching structures and further strengthen the gender architecture needed for delivery within a resource-constrained environment. l Create an explicit policy and/or strategy regarding the Agency’s approach to addressing environmental sustainability and climate change; there is limited evidence that analysis in these areas informs interventions at a programmatic level. l Ensure a systematic application of the staff performance management and appraisal system; develop a strategic human resources strategy that remains considerate of the uncertainties and increasing security risks faced by staff, but also is more forward-looking on the need to reconfigure staff resources and the changing skills mix to enable UNRWA to best navigate the uncertain path to deliver on its mandate. l In pursuing impact from the inter-dependent strategic outcomes of the MTS and building on the strategic approach on resource mobilisation, seek ways to take a more deliberate and visible stance to the blending of the strengths of UNRWA’s staff capacity and organisational advocacy with the exploration of new horizons on partnering, including openness to new ways of working. l Work within the limited space provided by current constraints of available resources and capacity to take results-based management to the next level; consolidate the emerging practices of data analysis and reflection at different management levels within core programme areas and build on these to examine and guide UNRWA’s progress on more multi-faceted challenges such as poverty reduction and effective targeting of vulnerability. Through this, sharpen external communication on how effectively and efficiently the organisation is working against its own internal standards and in terms of the results it is and is not achieving. UNRWA in 2018 is an organisation that is competent, resilient and resolute. Its way of working and the results it is achieving in a resource-constrained environment reflect a well-managed organisation that delivers. Overall, its organisational performance remains on a positive trajectory of improvement, and UNRWA is making progress in each of the performance areas of organisational effectiveness. However, the persistent funding crisis has had a significant impact on UNRWA’s ability to invest in its services, development and systems beyond the “essentials” of delivering education, health, relief and social services, and camp services. The funding crisis is pervasive and is consuming of staff time and efforts in financial management and necessary resource mobilisation. This constrains the ability of UNRWA management to capitalise on the strengths of the Agency, more actively engage with new challenges and start to explore where and how a more coherent approach across the Agency can deliver added value. The funding crisis also constrains the Agency’s ability to meet the mandated humanitarian, human development and protection needs of Palestine refugees in ways that provide an effective platform for the international effort to segue openly to a sustainable development solution for the time when relief to Palestine refugees is no longer needed.