While the Norwegian SPT has thus been met with many successes , it has also been met with many challenges . One major hurdle was the initial lack of support by the mission for this new concept . Though the team had independent funds , transferring its funds became a major problem as there were many financial bureaucratic procedures which required the SPT to acquire special authorization to carry out its activities , even though the mandate had already been agreed between the DPKO and the Norwegian government . This caused several month delays on project disbursements , which led to the cancellation of one training , overdue payments , and issues with other planned events . SPT team members did not understand the financial procedures and so spent a great deal of their time trying to sort out the UN system instead of focusing on their specialized SGBV police capacitybuilding . Despite these bureaucratic obstacles with procurement , independent funding of the project still proved critical to its success , since it guaranteed that financial resources would be available for the implementation of the project – which totaled $ 1.2 million by December 2015 .
Recommendation :
1 . Continue to utilize the SPT concept in future UN missions to partner with local HN police forces for capacity-building . “ With its defined project , independent budget , and specially selected team of personnel , an SPT is likely to be more successful in achieving its objectives than many independently deployed IPOs ,” ( NUPI , p . 31 ). This model , using 3-5 year project cycles , provides greater coherence and continuity of assistance . Small teams also lead to a greater sense of accountability and solidarity across the contingent . In addition , “ Specialized teams present an opportunity for Western / Northern PCCs to re-engage with peacekeeping , as a modality that arguably represents more effective use of their personnel and resources ,” ( NUPI , p . 33 ).
2 . Form SPTs from team members with a common police culture , as this SPT did by including Canadians and Norwegians in order to advance a coherent policing message to the HN counterparts . “ This stands in contrast to the prevailing UN approach to capacity-building in which host-state police are subject to a plethora of varying national approaches from the succession of individual police officers tasked with capacity-development ,” ( NUPI , p . 30 ). Including police officers with context-specific skills , such as the Canadian police ’ s fluency in French , is also beneficial in terms of connecting with counterparts in the HN .
3 . Ensure that SPTs are “ properly informed about the roles and work of other relevant components and divisions in [ each UN mission ] ( such as justice , human rights , rule of law , gender ) that may overlap or intersect with their project ” ( NUPI , p . 33 ). It is also important to include an administrative focal point within the Specialized Police Team to assist with navigating UN bureaucratic procedures , so that the police personnel can focus on their specialized expertise instead of getting lost in administrative processes . Equip SPTs with independent project funding for planning and procurement so that they are not in competition with other mission elements for resources .
4 . Continue to utilize local ownership approaches in SPTs by consulting closely with HN police departments , not delivering “ widely-used approaches to capacity-building in which external actors tend to deliver externally conceived projects to host populations ,” ( NUPI , p . 30 ). ( In addition to ensuring local HN buy-in , consult with and obtain support for the SPT capability from the UN mission ' s police component .) Strengthen Monitoring & Evaluation ( M & E ) capacities within UN policing projects , such as the SGBV SPT , so as to determine whether the training courses have in fact changed policing mindsets and improved SGBV investigative practices in the local HN .
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