Non-Expendable Property and Office Supplies

(see Checklist section on Finance, Equipment & Supplies).

Non-expendable property

52. Authority to purchase office furniture and equipment is given in the ABOD. Field Offices may purchase locally or regionally if the cost of the item is less than 15% above that available through the Supply and Transport Section at Headquarters².

53. The purchase of computer equipment, vehicles, telecommunications equipment and security equipment should be coordinated with Headquarters in order to ensure conformity with the organization's specifications. Local purchase should be considered and if the cost is within the 15% limit referred to above, the Field Office should forward three pro forma invoices, together with the item's specifications, to the Supply and Transport section at Headquarters for approval.

² Costs of items available through Headquarters are quoted in UNHCR's Catalogue of Most Frequently Purchased Items, UNHCR, Geneva, (updated regularly) and in lAPSO's catalogue of Office Equipment, IAPSO (updated regularly).

Asset Management System

54. The asset management system is an electronic system to track and manage all non-consumable assets owned by UNHCR (with a lifespan of over a year), regardless of funding source or user (including for example all vehicles, telecommunications and computer equipment, furniture and office equipment, buildings such as clinics, office, hospitals, and water purification and construction equipment). The system should be installed into at least one computer at the country office level. A decision should be made at the beginning if the extent of the operation requires that the system be installed in other offices within the country.

The office must also have the system user manuals, bar-code labels and data entry forms (obtained from the Asset Management Unit at Headquarters).

55. Whenever an asset is purchased, whether locally, regionally, through Headquarters, or by implementing partners with UNHCR funding, it must be bar-coded and recorded in the asset management system.

56. Where items are acquired from stockpiles maintained at Headquarters, such as computer and telecommunications equipment, relevant data about the item will be sent to the Field on diskette so that the office can import the details into the asset management system.

57. Where an asset is re-deployed to another location, data about it should be sent on diskette to the receiving office for importation into the asset management system.

58. It is important that all assets are bar-coded and recorded in the asset management system from the beginning of the operation. Failure to do so will result in "lost" assets and in far more work than would originally have been required.

59. Offices maintaining their own asset management database should regularly send their databases to the country office for consolidation.

The consolidated database should be sent to Headquarters every three months.

Office Supplies

60. An emergency office kit (see Catalogue of Emergency Response Resources, Appendix 1) can be used to supply a new office with stationery and small office equipment. The stockpiled kits weigh approximately 120 kg packed in two cardboard boxes. Each kit is designed for an office with five international staff and ten national staff.³

³ Further information is also contained in the Catalogue of Emergency Response Resources (Appendix 1).

1. Office supplies, as well as printed stationery and forms, can be purchased locally, regionally, or if this is too expensive, office supplies and printed forms listed in the UN catalogue may be ordered on a stationery request form (GEN-236/1) directly from Headquarters. The emergency kits are not intended for re-supply, even in emergencies.

61. Orders for items not listed in the UN catalogue⁴ and which are not locally available should be requested from Headquarters, giving all necessary details and specifications.

⁴Office Supplies, Forms and Materials, UN, Geneva, 1990.