United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE)
Mandate
The Regional Service Centre in Entebbe (RSCE) was established in 2010 through General Assembly resolution 64/269 as part of the Global Field Support Strategy (GFSS). The overall objective of GFSS was to transform service delivery to field missions through a fundamental shift in the existing division of labor and a relocation of functions to improve responsiveness and address the needs of the field missions.
The RSCE currently provides a full range of administrative, logistics and information and communications technology services to twenty Client Missions in Africa, representing 77% of all United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions worldwide.
The General Assembly, though its resolution 69/307 decided to give the RSCE operational and managerial independence as of 1 July 2017. The Centre is now governed by a Steering Committee led by the Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support Operations and the Directors from the Department of Operational Support which is responsible for providing strategic guidance and oversight. In addition, the Directors and Chiefs of Mission Support of the RSCE’s Client Board provide expert advice to the Chief RSCE, including strengthening client management and engagement.
Our Resources
During the 2020/21budget period, the RSCE is supported by 404 approved posts, including 127 international staff, 271 national staff and 6 United Nations Volunteers. In addition, the Centre operates on a budget of $37.2 million.
UN Signals Academy
Providing Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) technology training for Peacekeeping
The United Nations Signals Academy (UNSA) was established in 2015 as an outcome of the first Partnership for Technology in Peacekeeping international symposium held in 2014 in Brindisi (Italy) and as a response to address identified gaps in military signals and Information & Communications Technology (ICT) capabilities of Peacekeeping Troop and Police Contributing Countries (TCCs/PCCs). In line with the recommendations of the High-Level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (HIPPO), the project adopts a Triangular Partnership Model of cooperation between TCCs/PCCs, the UN Secretariat, and supporting UN Member States, who provide training expertise, mentoring, instructors, equipment, extra-budgetary funding and other resources.
As highlighted in the Secretary-General’s recommendations on a mechanism to fill existing uniformed personnel capability gaps (S/2017/1079): “More complex and sometimes dangerous operations require strengthened communications, situational awareness, interoperability between units and force protection. Yet, specialized and high performing capabilities for United Nations peacekeeping are in short supply (…)”. In this respect, improving capacity has been identified as one of the critical areas where the UN and Member States must take action.
REGIONAL TELEPHONE BILLING UNIT(RTBU)
REGIONAL TELEPHONE BILLING UNIT (RTBU)
RTBU which is part of the Regional Field Technology Services (RFTS), was established in 2013 in order to centralize, standardize and streamline telephone billing processes and cost-recovery services, coupled with increased internal controls.
Currently RTBU provides non-location dependent telephone billing services to thirteen (13) peacekeeping and special political missions in Africa and location dependent services for the RSCE and UNESB and processes an average of 8739 telephone bills every month and provides accurate and verifiable reports to RSCE Finance Benefits & Payroll Service Line (BPSL) to facilitate the recovery of charges incurred by users for non-official use of commercial communications terminals in the missions’ networks. Approximately US$2m are recovered per year for telephone Bills
OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
ODC was established in 2008/2009 to support UN Field Operations through development and maintenance of Software Applications for various process and service lines operating in the UN Field Operations and in the UN headquarters.
It is comprised from two main teams:
- Software Development and Maintenance, and
- Field Reporting, Business Intelligence and Data Management
ODC Is managed by Department of Operational Support (DOS) Office of Information and Communications Technology’s at UN Headquarters, and it is operated at the Regional Service Centre-Entebbe (RSCE) in Uganda.The teams are globally distributed: located in Brindisi, Entebbe, Valencia and New York. The team in Entebbe is composed of: Business Analysts, System Analysts, Data Analysts, Developers, Quality Control, Release Coordinators and Technical Writer.
Objectives
- Address the common field-specific business needs of all peacekeeping missions by using a centrally hosted, fully integrated set of web-based applications and reporting platforms (including Self Service)
- Employ strong processes to guarantee timely delivery and high quality of products
- Standardize business processes while being flexible to accommodate mission specific needs
Activities:
- Provide Support and maintenance to Field Operations in UN Missions, OAH and HQ for:
- 24 Field Service Suite (FSS) Applications
- Non FSS 16 application
- 5 integration solutions
- Develop support, maintain and implement services related to:
- Master Data Management
- Business Intelligence and reporting
- Self Service Analytics
- Capacity Building and Training
- Project Implementation, management and data component support for regional implementations.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SERVICES (GIS)
Objectives
- To provide Geospatial support to RSCE/UNESB and cooperate and coordinate with other UN entities in Uganda and Regional Missions on all geospatial matters.
- To deliver geographic information training and education programmes such as GIS, Map reading, GPS, and Google Earth, and other pertinent GIS and Web Mapping applications.
- To provide familiarization and/or training on situation awareness tools such as ITEM, SAGE, I2; MCOP, etc.
- To provide assistance to the United Nations Department of Security and Safety (UNDSS) Officers in the development and maintenance of the Zone Warden System.
- To provide assistance to development and implementation teams (ODC) and Project management.
- Coordinate with the field Mission Offices and other UN agencies including the Humanitarian Information Centres (HICs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and regional organizations on collecting and sharing of geographic data.
- Undertake the timely exchange of geographic information between missions and the GIS Section in NY and GSC in Brindisi.
- Assist in the planning and coordination of GIS training for the missions at RSCE and in missions as required.
- To increase awareness on environment through hands-on training and presentations.
FIELD TECHNOLOGY SERVICE OPERATIONS SECTION
FTS Operations Section is the heart of service provision for the RSCE. We have 52 staff members in 6 different Operational units.
- Telecommunications Unit: Is responsible for all telecommunications links and equipment which operate using a Frequency (Radios, Microwave & Satellite links, Telephone links and equipment). They provide operational support to the Tetra radio system which includes a radio tracking system to support the security of staff members. The team also provides support to different Missions, which includes installation of vehicle radios.
- Network & Server Unit: Is responsible for maintenance of the backbone network and server infrastructure – this includes all network connections traversing the telecommunications links and servers hosting mission-critical data/services. All servers, switches, routers and WiFi access points are installed and configured to ensure availability of the applications and services. The team as well provides user support at the Tier 3 level and are also responsible for day-to-day support of the campus network and the two datacenters.
- Infrastructure Unit: Is responsible for installation of all telecommunications cabling on the base. The Unit has certified rigging staff who install telecommunications antennas on UN and third-party towers. The team looks after all base UPS systems and provide Business continuity connections for staff who are required to work from home. Working closely with our UNDSS partners, the team also supports the Physical Security systems (CCTV & entry systems) for the base.
- Technical Workshop Unit: Is responsible for the preparation (ghosting) of all Computers for the base, as well as MONUSCO. They also provide Tier 1, 2 & 3 support for all Computer hardware related issues. The team installs and repairs Copiers and Prints and maintain our HP Safecom printing solution. They also look after the warranty repair, prepare technical reports for write-off of FTS equipment and inspection of new Purchase Orders (PO). Our reproduction service is also a responsibility of the Workshop staff, who can print, copy and bind for our clients.
- Video Teleconference (VTC) Unit: Is responsible for the setup and maintenance of multiple Video Conferences daily, in support of RSCE, MONUSCO and RTCC. Many of these VTC’s are in support of important Conferences and training sessions at the RTCC. The team often assist RTCC with setup of their Public Address (PA) systems for organized training courses.
- Digital Solutions Center (DSC) & Client Support Units: Is the Single Point of Contact for all IT service requests in Entebbe. The teams are responsible for supporting our Clients, which includes support for Field Support Suite (FSS), UMOJA, creation of Network accounts, iNeed service Management, email support, Database & Server management, support for Printing and Scanning services, Active Directory administration and UN Business applications support. The team also administers and manages Data backups, Client computer support to all clients on the base.
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (BRM)
BRM unit provides the ICT liaison for each department in the organization. BRM understands all business processes and provides technology guidance to ensure maximum return on investment for ICT business strategy requirements. A key BRM role is reducing business and ICT barriers. The ultimate goal is to evolve culture, build strategic partnerships and drive business value through the use of information and technology.
What we do
- Drive innovation and shape demand for technology that increases business value.
- Work with senior leaderships to evolve culture and organizational behaviour, elevating ICT into a strategic partner.
- Act as the principal technology advisor to the mission leadership and a champion for identifying, leading and driving information technology transformation.
- They collaborate with business partners such as uniformed personnel, programmatic pillars, mission support division to ensure continuous improvement in value optimization, ICT performance, and business processes where applicable. Work closely with architects to understand new technology trends, and with change management, program and project managers, business analysts, infrastructure teams and others to communicate project requirements, objectives and benefits.
ICTS
What we do
- Create an overall approach to Information Security for the Centre and regional missions in coordination with OICT.
- Guarantee that all required and applicable ICT-based security controls have been properly identified.
- Liaise and assist regional missions to ensure compliance to the organization’s information security policies and standards.
- Assess and report on regional mission compliance with ICT policies, procedures, standards and guidelines.
- Conduct Information Security assessments and advise through reports with findings and recommendations.
- Monitor compliance to the assessment findings of regional missions.
- Organize Disaster Recovery and ICT Security Incident Response Exercises in coordination with UNGSC and local ICT Groups
REGIONAL PROJECTS MANAGEMENT & IMPLEMENTATION UNIT(RPMIU)
RPMIU leads the planning, coordination and implementation of Infrastructure, software, service management and business process reengineering projects as it relates to software systems to the RSCE and on a regional level (Africa), and applies to both internally UN developed systems and off-the-shelf systems.
These tasks involve understanding the business needs and requirements as well as advanced level of subject matter expertise in respective area of work including project management, business analysis, project scope definition, risk identification, project methodology, resource allocation, effective communication and meeting facilitation. In addition to close coordination with cross-functional internal and external teams responsible for planning, execution, and successful implementation of projects.
What We Do
- Manage and coordinate Project Management process by applying strategic planning and systematic coordination of day-to-day project activities and overall responsibility of project outcomes.
- Manage and coordinate the deployment and roll-out of global enterprise systems and technologies for RSCE and client missions.
- Work with Business Relationship Management to define business requirements to enable change in an organizational context, by identifying needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders
- Perform business process mapping activities to define what a business entity does, who is responsible, to what standard a business process should be completed, and how the success of a business process can be determined.
- Manage and coordinate POC & Pilots of software & infrastructure-based Initiatives relating to commercially-of-the-shelf systems to provide efficient, scalable and client-oriented services to both RSCE specific projects and regional or cross-regional projects as required.
- Coordinate, monitor and assure progress of technology deployment projects, involving extensive liaison with diverse organizational units to initiate requests; prepares standard terms of reference; processes and follows-up on administrative actions to resolves issues related to project implementation.
UN DOCUMENTS
- A New Partnership Agenda: Chartering a New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping
- The New Horizon Initiative: Progress Report No. 1
- The New Horizon Initiative: Progress Report No. 2
- A-64-660: Observations and Recommendations on Cross-Cutting Issues Related to Peacekeeping Operations: Global Field Support Strategy
- A-65-743: Observations and Recommendations on Cross-Cutting Issues Related to Peacekeeping Operations
- A-65-19: Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations
- A-65-610: Performance Report on the Budget of the Support Account for Peacekeeping Operations for the Period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010
- A-65-643: Progress in the Implementation of the Global Field Support Strategy
- A-65-644: Report on the Progress of Training in Peacekeeping
- A-65-715: Overview of the Financing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Budget Performance for the Period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 and Budget for the Period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012
- A-65-761: Budget for the Support Account for Peacekeeping Operations for the Period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012
- A-65-827: Report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
- A-66-94: Enterprise Information and Communications Technology Initiatives for the United Nations Secretariat
