Final output of the PPMS unveiled

As in any game where winning is determined not by the effort of a single player but of the whole team, the Participatory Programme Monitoring System (PPMS) is a result of the collective endeavor of the key stakeholders of the BRP.

The PPMS User's Handbook is the final output of the PPMS Project derived from the various activities - discussions and consultations - conducted since the project started in November 2003.

The contents of the User's Handbook was presented during the Roundtable Discussions on 4 and 5 May 2004 at Elena Towers, Iligan City and Central Mindanao University, Musuan, Bukidnon, respectively. BRP researchers and research staff attended the activity.

Dr. Levita A. Duhaylungsod, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation (JM&E) consultant and the activity facilitator, described the User's Handbook as a "58-page document containing both the methodological or conceptual discussions and the instrument itself".

The User's Handbook is divided into seven sections, namely: (1) Background, containing the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the BRP; (2) Users of the PPMS Handbook, containing the list of possible users of the document; 3) PPMS as a Monitoring Tool, containing a comprehensive discussion of the significance of monitoring the research process as well as an overview of literature expounding on participatory monitoring and evaluation; (4) Structure of Ideas in the PPMS Form, containing the process by which the parameters and indicators used in the PPMS Form were elicited from the BRP researchers; (5) Instructions on the Use of the PPMS Form, containing the step by step procedure in answering the PPMS forms; (6) Role of the People in the Monitoring Process; and (7) the Iteration Process, which emphasizes the importance of improving or refining the indices of the instrument based on the possible significant changes that the Programme might undertake.

The User's Handbook is hoped to be of use not only in monitoring the BRP but also of other research programs with similar undertaking. Its content, specifically, the methodology by which the indicators were evolved from the programme's goals and objectives can serve as a prototype for developing a monitoring system that is participatory in nature.

Dr. Duhaylungsod has presented and submitted the PPMS User's Handbook as well as the PPMS Project Report to the Netherlands Development Assistance Research Council (RAWOO) during the Special Joint Programme Committee Business Meeting in the Netherlands on 14-15 June 2004.