CODE-NGO Consulted CSOs on its Civil Society Report Card (CSRC) and on Building Regional Development Agenda to Address Poverty

Between the months of August and October 2013, the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) – in partnership with the Central Visayas Network of NGOs (CENVISNET), the Coalition for Bicol Development NGOs (CBD), the Cordillera Network of Development NGOs and POs (CORDNET), the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (BMFI), and the Mindanao Coalition of Development NGOs (MINCODE) – held regional orientations on the Civil Society Report Card (CSRC) along with consultations on the Regional Poverty Reduction and Development Agenda (RPRDA) Building.

These orientations and consultations made its way through Camarines Sur, Bicol on August 5-6, 2013; Cebu City, Central Visayas on August 21-22, 2013; Davao City, Southern Mindanao on Aug 29-30, 2013; Cagayan De Oro City, Northern Mindanao on September 28-29, 2013; and Baguio City, CAR on October 23-24, 2013.

These consultations were a joint series of events organized under two of CODE-NGO’s projects: Sustained Participatory Local Governance (SPLG) and Decentralized Governance (DG). The SPLG Project focuses on the promotion of good practices in participatory local governance through the CSRC’s replication in new areas and the dissemination of its results. The CSRC is a tool which helps Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) measure the performance of their respective Local Governance Units (LGUs). The report card is derived from an assessment of LGUs by leaders of CSOs – the results of which will then be presented to the concerned local chief executive and other government officials. Through this process, engagement by CSOs with local government is grounded on evidence-based and constructive review of LGU performances. The DG Project, on the other hand, aims to strengthen decentralized development efforts that would better respond to the needs of local communities by empowering civil society organizations (CSOs) and networks in influencing and participating in the conversations at the regional development councils (RDCs).

CODE-NGO also facilitated a process by which a broad representation of CSOs per region visited was able to define their regional poverty reduction and development agenda (RPRDA). Three reference materials were presented to guide the RPRDA formulation process: (1) regional baseline research that focused on the local poverty situation and identified constraints and development concerns, as well as the development resources, opportunities and potential of the region; (2) study on the poverty reduction and inclusive growth in 2nd tier areas prepared by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); identifying poor areas but with significant economic potentials that will be useful to define the “essentials” of the RPRDA in addressing poverty; and (3) Development and Reform Agenda (DRA) 2013-2016 made by CODE-NGO and other partner CSOs.

In coming up with the RPRDA, the local CSO leaders underwent a series of workshops, including identifying priority issues in the region, formulating wildly important goals (WIGs) to address these issues and planning for CSO strategies and actions for the next three years based on the set goals. The resulting RPRDA would hopefully aid in addressing poverty in their respective regions over the period of the next three years, which marks the final half of the current Aquino administration. – Dan Christian E. Ramos, Project Monitoring Officer – DG Project