About OICT
Our Vision
- to be solution partners and agents of transformation;
- to be catalysts for innovative technology solutions for organizational transformation;
- to ensure solutions are agile, simple, reliable, innovative and secured;
- to stay client-centric, solution-oriented and business-driven; and
- to lead the UN through a digital journey to support the core work of the UN.
Overall Focus
Flexible and modern ICT is critical as the Organization moves towards a UN 2.0. The Office’s three key strategic goals, therefore, are:
- Accelerate Innovation: to provide access to frontier technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain that UN entities can use.
- Build Cybersecurity Resiliency: to continue building up a robust cybersecurity approach and operational resilience.
- Enable Digital Transformation: to strengthen project and programme management, ensuring all ICT and data-related projects are implemented following prevailing industry methodologies.
The UN ICT Strategy
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy (A/77/489) aims to move the Organization to a higher level of ICT maturity by enabling digital transformation and facilitating continuous improvement. The strategy was developed in consultation with Secretariat entities and external partners to establish a coherent and effective direction for ICT in the Secretariat through a multi-year implementation plan.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in resolution A/RES/78/243, took note of the Secretary-General’s report on the ICT Strategy. The UNGA further requested the Secretary-General to submit refined elements of the ICT strategy no later than the seventy-nineth session.
The Secretary-General’s report, Refined elements of the information and communications technology strategy (A/79/339), resulted in the recently issued A/RES/79/258 B, which took note of the report and highlighted the need to further refine and implement the strategy in line with past resolutions, improve ICT governance and accountability and increase transparency in ICT spending and planning.
The Strategy aims at achieving three main strategic goals while seeking to create the conditions conducive to the effective, efficient, secured, interoperable and innovative use of technology:
- serve the UN entities to help them deliver on their mandates;
- transform the UN by innovating and partnering;
- safeguard and secure the UN Secretariat.
The Strategy outlines five strategic technology areas including components that will solidify the Organization’s infrastructure and systems and facilitate improved user experience, while focusing on a three-layered data-management plan. It will also expand the scope of innovation allowing to scale identified innovative technology solutions and will establish an ecosystem for technology and data. The five areas are:
- Enterprise Infrastructure and Systems;
- Experience and Alignment;
- Data and Information;
- Technology Innovation; and
- Technology and Data Ecosystems
Our Leadership
The Office is led by Mr. Bernardo Mariano Jr., Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) and Assistant Secretary-General (ASG). All Secretariat entities report to the CITO on issues relating to all ICT-related activities, resource management, standards, security, architecture, policies, and guidance. The Office is headquartered in New York City and has a dual reporting line to the UN Department of Operational Support (DOS) and the UN Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC).