As the final project milestone of the “Developing technology-based innovation platforms at provincial level: Supporting Bottom Up Budgeting (BuB) projects for 2015 in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to identify context specific tech-based innovations to support with making the BuB reporting and monitoring more feasible and information accessible to civil society organizations, provincial government and communities at large” project, made possible through Making All Voice Count (MAVC) and HIVOS, ULAP conducted the Lessons Learned Session (LLS) on May 3, 2016 from 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM at the 8th Floor DILG Napolcom Center, Quezon City.
During the activity, attended by members of the National Poverty Reduction Action Team (NPRAT), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and other National Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on BuB, the project team presented two (2) main project outputs. Both aimed to resolve issues and concerns on BuB reporting, as identified by the local stakeholders. The said project outputs are:
The BuB Almanac - A consolidation of all reporting checklists and templates for BuB projects for 2015-2016, that aims to streamline all the information into one list that can be easily accessed by local governments and CSOs through local and national platforms, both online and offline, which in turn improve their reporting of project implementation.
The Creation of the BuB Hotline - A common prototype which serves as an initial feedback platform for the LGUs and CSOs with regard to their issues and concerns on BuB, especially on reporting. Although this is the main objective of the Hotline, what is more innovative is that the prototype is different from each sites, taking in consideration different factors, such as the availability of internet infrastructure, and concerns and issues of the municipal/city governments and CSOs.
Other discussion points during the session included: (1) the project’s assessment of BuB reporting and monitoring gaps for further policy actions; (2) project prototypes developed by local BuB stakeholders to troubleshoot identified reporting and monitoring problems; (3) BuB Almanac as an innovative solution to reporting and monitoring problems; and (4) key points forward for policy and program integration for BuB.
MAVC Philippines Country Engagement Developer Ms. Vivien Suerte-Cortez gave the closing remarks and mentioned the possibility of a scale up project that will build on the learnings of the newly and successfully completed project.
For a more comprehensive discussion on what was discussed during the Lessons Learned Session, the White Paper is available for download here.