Umoja Newsroom

In this issue of the Umoja Times:

1. Umoja reaches key milestone, signing agreement with SAP
2. Solving the process puzzle
3. Umoja hosts workshop for DFS in Brindisi
4. On the road with HR leaders

On 25 June 2010, the United Nations and SAP Public Services, the German-based and world-leading provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, signed a contract for the provision of the core software for Umoja. This achievement was the result of the joint efforts of the Procurement Division (PD), Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), the Umoja team, and the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT). …

The Umoja Team hosted a workshop for colleagues in the Department of Field Support in Brindisi from 24 to 26 May 2010. The goal of the workshop was to prepare participants for their role in support of the implementation of Umoja. Twenty-five participants representing field missions from across the globe became the first group of Umoja Leaders. …

Catch up with Umoja in the May 2010 issue of the Umoja Times:

Umoja forges ahead
Working closely with expert colleagues to design solutions that meet the UN’s current and future administrative...

Umoja on the road to Entebbe
2010 Mercury Conference (22 - 27 March, Entebbe, Uganda)...

Umoja by numbers
A few interesting facts and figures on Umoja from that last 11 months...

Do you know the 'colorful' term that is used to refer to the seemingly endless parade of paperwork that accompanies many bureaucratic matters in governments and organizations? According to some, it started in ancient England where thick legal documents were bound or tied with a cloth ribbon of a specific color. …

The second issue of the Umoja Times provides an update on the Umoja team's participation in two events: the Galileo Conference and the Property Management Workshop, hosted by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). In this issue, we also introduce a new series on how Umoja will contribute to a "greener" UN.

The devastation wrought by the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, ignited a deep sense of compassion in us all, and sparked an immediate, global outpouring of humanitarian assistance for those caught by this unexpected natural disaster. For all of us at the United Nations, our grief encompasses not only the scale of human casualties, but also the loss of dear colleagues whose untimely passing have now become a symbol of sacrifice made on behalf of world peace. …

To mark the end of a year of significant progress, the Umoja Change Management team has launched the Umoja Times, Umoja's community newsletter.

This first issue summarizes the progress and achievements of 2009, enabled, of course, by the expertise, input and enthusiasm of Umoja's stakeholders. It also provides a glimpse into the future - a new way of working together. Let's continue "working in unity"! …

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) hosted a delegation of designers from 12 October to 6 November 2009. No, not fashion designers as you may be thinking, but rather process designers who were very busy taking a closer look at "to be" or future processes for eventual inclusion in Umoja.

As you may already know, …

Umoja, a continuous administrative reform initiative within the UN Secretariat, including Peacekeeping, has entered its Detailed Design Phase. UN offices in Geneva, Monrovia and New York are hosting expert staff members who are working with the Umoja team to design future business processes that will improve the way we work.

In the absence of an integrated solution for managing human, financial, and material resources, …

On 6 October 2009, during a closed meeting of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, an informal briefing on Umoja was provided by Ms. Angela Kane, Under-Secretary-General for Management and Mr. Paul van Essche, Umoja Project Director, in which they introduced the draft report: First Progress Report on the Enterprise Resource Planning Project and Revised Estimates under Section 28A, and under the Peacekeeping Support Account (A/64/380).

Ms. …

The Umoja Project will provide a number of opportunities for improving the way resources are managed in the United Nations. This article will look at some of the benefits Umoja will bring to peace operations. In 2007, Peacekeeping oversaw 114,577 personnel in 16 missions, operated more than 18,000 vehicles and 210 aircraft and ran 20 military hospitals and 230 medical clinics.

Field missions bring people, …

While the external environment has changed dramatically since the United Nations was founded in 1945, many of our internal ways of working are based on practices from the 1940s and '50s, supported, in some cases, by technology from the 1980s and '90s. As a result, we sometimes find it difficult to do our jobs as efficiently and effectively as we could.

As you are aware, …

Ms. Pauline Omondi-Ingabo didn't hesitate for a moment when she read the October 2008 iSeek article announcing the competition to name the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Her entry – the word "umoja" (meaning unity in Swahili) – leapt to mind instantly; she felt it perfectly captured what the ERP was setting out to accomplish.
"When people work together towards a common goal, you get results," said Ms. …

Members of the Umoja project team have embarked on a "world tour" to meet with colleagues at offices away from Headquarters (OAHs) and field missions to wrap up the first major step in Umoja's implementation.

Once in place, the Umoja system will enable more effective management of human, financial and physical resources to support fully the needs of the United Nations. …