The fourteen endorsed projects emerged from around two hundred (200) project concepts received by NEDA VIII from November to December 2006. These were chosen after a series of screening activities undertaken by the office.
The first activity was a series of orientation forums held at NEDA in November 2006 attended by local chief executives/representatives of local government units (LGUs) as well as state colleges and universities (SUCs). During the forums, participants submitted project concepts for initial evaluation by the NEDA staff.
Within five working days from submission of project concepts, LGUs who
got positive evaluation on their project concepts were advised to prepare
the full-blown project proposals. Proponents were also asked to present
their proposals orally before a panel consisting of NEDA-KR2 project
management and implementation team members and technical experts from
government agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau
of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Coconut Authority
(PCA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
For projects that scored favorably in the above stages, the NEDA-KR2 teams visited the projects on-site to verify the information in the proposals. Finally, in a plenary session, the NEDA-KR2 teams ranked the proposals based on a Prioritization Criteria crafted by them.
Internally
at the NEDA VIII, the KR2 teams underwent training on project evaluation
with focus on the evaluation of the market, technical, organizational
and financial viability of projects. The preparation of Project Prioritization
Criteria was one of the outputs. Resource persons of the training were
three professors from the University of the Philippines in Tacloban
City.
As
2007 opens, the NEDA-KR2 teams keep the ball rolling by laying the groundwork
for projects that obtained a final nod from Central Office.
Among
the approved projects were:
·
Eucheuma Production, Processing and Marketing – Eastern Samar
State University
· Baybay Delights: LSU Developed Jackfruit Products in the Market
– Leyte State University
· Probiotic White cheese from Caramilk – LSU
· Seaweed and Oyster Culture – LGU Capoocan
Four other projects have conditional approval. While waiting for the final verdict, the selection process for the next round of endorsement is underway.
By: Rosabella Yu
KR2 Samar Island Team Leader