PBRME Project holds 2nd National Workshop

Representatives from the CBCRM Resource Center and other organizations involved with the Participatory Baseline Research for Monitoring and Evaluation (PBRME) of SL projects convened at Batangas City, Philippines last 31 August 2005 for the 2nd National Workshop. The project team from CBCRM RC and local researchers presented the research results during the first day of the workshop. The rest of the four-day national workshop was devoted to in-depth discussions on the research results as well as to formulation of plans for integrating the baseline research process into existing project monitoring and evaluation systems of the participating organizations.

Begun in February 2005, the PBRME Project was jointly conceptualized and undertaken by the CBCRM Resource Center, Oxfam Great Britain, Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya (SIKAT), Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), Philippine Network of Rural Development Institutes (PhilNet), and the Fair Trade Foundation-Panay (FTFP). It aimed to generate useful baseline information on selected communities that could help OGB and the partner communities and organizations in monitoring and evaluating sustainable livelihoods projects.

"But, as with other participatory researches and activities, the real benefits from the project are expected to stem from the actual conduct of the study itself," explaines Prof. Tata Polotan-de la Cruz, CBCRM RC Deputy Center Coordinator and PBRME Research Coordinator. "Such benefits would include enhanced people's capacities for research and developed site-specific research tools and methods." Since February, the project has conducted field-based visits, workshops, interviews and focused group discussions among identified communities and organizations in Zambales, Palawan, Iloilo and Panay in the Philippines.

The six-month project is expected to end by August 2005. The research results will be used as inputs into the initial process of reviewing the SL approach and OGB pilot projects in the Philippines. With such a process, it is hoped that the concerned communities will be able to strengthen efforts towards bridging the gaps between research and decision-making. go back to CBNRM LC homepage