Common Procurement at Headquarters

CPAG - Common Procurement Activities Group (Geneva)

Established 2005, revised 2017

The Common Procurement activities Group (CPAG) is leading efforts towards the simplification and harmonization of procurement practices within the Geneva-based international organizations, with the objective of increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations procurement activities. The aim of the Group is to build more effective, coherent and better-performing business practices and to lower cost of commonly required goods and services for all its members due to volume purchase agreements.

The Group, ""Delivering as One", is effectively collaborating through the process of knowledge sharing, the use of common contracts, conducting joint tenders, and establishing working groups on various procurement-related aspects.CPAG achieves on average an estimated cost avoidance ranging from CHF 16 million to CHF 31 million yearly between 2019 and 2021, including travel services and airline negotiations, electricity supplies, ICT goods and services, office supplies, paper and other goods and services.

CPAG is a successful example of a group-led procurement strategy based on the shared goals of pooling experience and research, exchanging best practices and collaborating on procurement projects. CPAG is achieving these goals through:

Promoting the standardization among member organizations of procurement policies, standards, procedures and procurement training programmes;
Benefitting from economies of scale by pooling procurement requirements in the Geneva duty station;
Promoting the standardization of goods, works and services in use among Geneva-based agencies;
Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of procurement operations by enabling member organizations to benefit from the results of the procurement activities of other members.

The CPAG Statutes and Rules of Procedures were adopted by the United Nations Office at Geneva and specialized agencies, funds and programmes on 22 April 2005, revised on 26 September 2017. Previously, this inter-agency group established on 15 May 1952 was called the Committee on the Coordination of Purchase and Supply services of the United Nations Office and Specialized Agencies at Geneva.

The CPAG Secretariat is managed by the Procurement and Contracts Unit of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Members: UNICC, WHO, UNAIDS, UNESCO-IBE, IOM, The Global Fund, ILO, UNOG, WIPO, ITU, WMO, UNHCR, ITC, UNICEF, WTO, GAVI, UNDP, UNITAR, UNOPS, ICRC

References

CPAG | UN GENEVA

Common Procurement Team of Rome

Established 2010

The CPT of Rome was created in December 2009 and started its operations on 2 January 2010. In 2010, Inter-Institutional Coordination Committee of FAO, IFAD and WFP (IICC), on behalf of the three Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) endorsed the vision of a Common Procurement Team (CPT) operating under harmonized rules and procedures for joint tendering of commonly procured HQ goods, works and services of the three RBAs and agrees to its implementation on a Pilot basis on the basis of the CPT Charter.

Since then, the CPT has conducted approximately 40 joint tenders and numerous joint initiatives.