DBP-Funded PAFERN Project Kicks-Off

PAFERN was tapped by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to monitor and evaluate its DBP-Forest Projects for 15 months (July 2008 to September 2009). DBP has been financing the implementation of about 22 forest projects all over the Philippines. Through the project "Participatory Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation (PAME)", PAFERN will assess the progress of the overall project implementation, relevancem effectiveness and efficiency of the different DBP-Forest Projects vis-a-vis their project goals and objectives.

PAFERN and DBP formally started the institutional partnership through the signing of the Memorandum of Agreements on July 21, 2008. The project teams have already been organized. Since this project works on the principle of participatory approach and partnership development, the monitoring and evaluation team is composed of the representatives from the PAFERN member-state colleges and universities, project implementors, Area Management Offices of DBP, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and UPLB-based project team. Nine (9) PAFERN member-institutions are being eyed to serve as local partners. Selection of PAFERN member-institutions was based on the strategic location of the said institution to the DBP-Forest Projects.

On August 26, 2008, a workshop was organized to develop the PAME Tools. This workshop, participated by the UPLB-based project team and representatives from the DBP yielded four types of instruments that would be used in the actual conduct of PAME. These include the Compliance Monitoring Instrument, Agro-Biophysical Assessment Instrument, Socioeconomic Survey Instrument, and Guide Questions for the Focu Group Discussion.

These tools were pre-tested from 15 to 18 September 2008 in two of the DBP-forest project sites in Abucay and Bagak, Bataan.