UN Office for Project Services strikes deal with Accenture arm
The United Nations Office for Project Services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Accenture, through which the global consulting and technology firm will leverage its capabilities to improve aid and development programme outcomes across several global locations.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), founded in 1973, is the operations arm of the United Nations (UN). Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, the UNOPS today has more than 7,000 employees supporting the implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.
The organisation provides an array of services; including project management, procurement and infrastructure, for governments, donors and other UN organisations. To execute its development agenda, the UNOPS works together with dozens of partner firms, mostly corporates that offer their services pro-bono as part of their wider CSR strategies. In February the UN arm announced that it had struck a deal with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consultancy, and two months later another consulting firm has joined its social ranks.
The collaboration with Accenture, signed in the form of a non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding, will see Accenture Development Partnerships* (ADP) – the firm’s international development unit – provide the UNOPS with a range of expertise and provisions in the areas of business, technology and digital experience – from strategy to execution – to support development roll-outs and solutions. The consulting firm will, in particular, deliver supply chain management, digital technology and the creation and management of cross-sector partnerships.
Nikolaj Gilbert, UNOPS Director of Partnerships, says that the organisation is “delighted” to be forging the new relationship with Accenture. The combination of the core competencies, Gilbert notes, “will enable us to provide new and impactful advisory and implementation services that can help address the complex operational challenges encountered on the ground. Together we will be able to undertake new projects for the benefit of people in need.”
Marty Rodgers, Accenture’s Global Client Account Lead for the United Nations, says that Accenture is “honoured to support the United Nations”, from the Secretariat to various programmes, funds and specialised agencies, to help solve some of its most complex and mission-critical strategy, technology and operations challenges. “We are proud to have the opportunity to extend this relationship further into the field with UNOPS and its partners through our Accenture Development Partnerships business model.”
* The stated mission of Accenture Development Partnerships is to provide solutions to development issues that contribute lasting positive changes with social, economic and environmental impact. In its 13 year history, the unit has supported more than 640 projects of more than 140 organisations.
