Keynote Message
Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, PhD
National Economic and Development Authority
11th M&E Network Forum
“Closing the Loop: Towards M&E Evidence-based Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Midterm Updating”
The Heritage Hotel Manila
December 16, 2024 Pasay City | 8:30 AM
<Salutations>
Her Excellency Australian Ambassador HK Yu,
UNDP Philippines Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran,
Distinguished colleagues in government,
Esteemed development partners,
Members of the academe,
Partners from the private sector,
Members of the Monitoring and Evaluation Network,
Good morning.
Over the years, the Monitoring and Evaluation Network Forum has become the cornerstone of our collective efforts to cultivate a strong culture of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in the Philippines. Together, we have created a platform where ideas are exchanged, insights shared, and collaborative actions inspired—all contributing to advancing evidence-based governance in our country.
For the 11th edition of the Forum, we carry the theme “Closing the Loop: Towards M&E Evidence-Based Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Midterm Updating” to underscore the pivotal role that M&E plays in achieving our development objectives. As we navigate the midpoint of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, we find ourselves at a crucial moment for retrospection and recalibration—an opportunity to assess our progress, identify gaps, and realign our strategies to ensure that our development efforts translate into tangible benefits for the Filipino people.
Monitoring and evaluation are not just technical processes; they are transformative tools. When embedded into our decision-making frameworks, they bridge knowledge, action, insight, and impact, ensuring that every policy and program we undertake is effective and responsive to the needs of the people we serve.
To harness the full potential of M&E, we must commit to strengthening the systems that support it. This means empowering the public sector to conduct evaluations competently and use evidence confidently to drive decisions. It also means embedding a culture of evaluation within our bureaucracy, where evidence-based thinking becomes the norm.
There also exists the need to deepen our engagement with all stakeholders. M&E is most effective when it reflects diverse perspectives, draws from collaborative efforts, and is grounded by the realities at the grassroots. By involving a broad spectrum of partners—from local governments and communities to international development organizations—we can ensure that our evaluations are inclusive and comprehensive.
NEDA’s collaboration with the M&E Network is at the forefront of these efforts. One key initiative in the network is the Strengthening Evaluation for Evidence-based Development (SEED) Project. This partnership with the Australian Embassy’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and UNDP Philippines aims to enhance government evaluation practices through capacity-building and technical assistance, including impact evaluations of critical livelihood and training programs led by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Our partnership with UNDP Philippines through the SEED Project continues to provide valuable insights through the evaluation of key initiatives of the Department of Health, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and the Department of Agriculture. We expect these evaluations to guide updates and improvements to programs that enhance healthcare access and strengthen farm-to-market supply chains.
While producing evidence to inform decision-making, we are also building M&E capacity, focusing on local expertise. In April 2024, we held the second Capacity Development Training on Impact Evaluation, enhancing regional expertise, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). This effort was further supported by a Memorandum of Agreement signed in May between NEDA and the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority to strengthen the region’s capacity for evaluation studies. We will delve into BARMM’s M&E landscape and the results of the School-Based Feeding Program baseline study during the breakout sessions. In addition, we conducted a Training of Trainers Program on Basic Evaluation just last month, to empower NEDA’s Regional Offices to lead evaluation workshops.
NEDA has also partnered with Global Affairs Canada to enhance M&E capacities by developing standardized M&E competencies in collaboration with the Development Academy of the Philippines and the Civil Service Commission. This partnership included validating and refining the M&E Competency Framework and assessment tools, piloted with nine government agencies. Our colleagues from Global Affairs Canada will present the outputs and findings during a breakout session.
From an institutional perspective, the Evaluation Task Force—comprising NEDA, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Presidential Management Staff—convened to update the National Evaluation Policy Framework and align it with current needs and global standards, emphasizing the use of evaluation results for decision-making, defining the evaluation agenda to support development plans, and streamlining responsibilities. Efforts are also underway to prioritize government programs and projects for impact evaluation, especially large-scale national investments.
Our collective goal is to institutionalize M&E as an integral component of our governance processes moving forward. Achieving this necessitates sustained investment in capacity building and the cultivation of robust partnerships. Consequently, our unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability is key to this objective to ensure effective communication that fosters trust and confidence in M&E insights.
With the new year approaching, we commit to generating evidence through comprehensive evaluation studies to inform policy and program decisions, enhancing the public sector’s M&E capacity by providing targeted training and resources to our personnel, and establishing strong institutional foundations that promote an evaluative culture within the government. We shall remain steadfast in ingraining M&E into the core of our governance framework, thereby promoting a culture of continuous improvement and evidence-based decision-making.
As I end, may we use this opportunity to reflect on our collective achievements, share best practices, and explore new frontiers in the M&E sector. Let us challenge ourselves to think boldly and act decisively, knowing that our work today will shape our nation’s development trajectory in the years to come.
I appreciate your dedication to advancing M&E in the Philippines. Let us continue to build a future where evidence drives action and action drives impact.
I wish you all a productive and inspiring forum.
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