MAKATI CITY, Philippines – According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Philippine government will continue to conduct impact evaluation to better inform decisions on the resource allocation processes.
“In developing countries such as the Philippines, impact evaluation is vital in identifying what programs or projects work and what do not,” said Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan during his speech at the Impact Evaluation for Development Effectiveness knowledge sharing held recently at the Asian Development Bank.
“It helps policymakers ensure that public and donor funds are used prudently, and that limited resources are directed towards more efficient development interventions,” he added.
In July this year, the government finalized the National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF) through a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) between NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management. This aims to further improve resource allocation processes for government projects and programs.
“We want to be able to report to our stakeholders that the projects that we support achieve the intended outcomes. With greater accountability and transparency being institutionalized, we hope to continue the progress we have made over the last five to six years,” Balisacan said.
In 2014, a P300-million budget was allotted to the Philippine Information and Development Studies (PIDS) to conduct evaluation studies on key government programs and projects. The budget is also intended for government agencies and selected state universities and colleges for capacity-building programs on impact evaluation.
To date, the PIDS has already completed eight process evaluation studies and six impact evaluation training workshops for 231 technical staff from several government agencies and selected state universities and colleges. In addition, 17 ongoing process evaluation studies are scheduled to be completed next month.
Impact evaluation improves gov’t resource allocation — NEDA
