Intramuros, Manila ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. _7f Series of 2011 OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES ON THE DOLE INTEGRATED LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM TOWARDS COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT In line with the thrust of the Aquino Administration of generating community employment and transforming Philippine society so that every Filipino can enjoy a better and dignified quality of life. the Department shall implement the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) consistent with the national goals of inclusive growth poverty alleviation and job creation. The DILP is designed to organize and focus services delivery of various government agencies and private organizations to achieve systematic and rational convergence of such services and assistance to the community. 1. OBJECTIVES The overall objective of the Program for the medium-term is to assist community groups in developing sustainable enterprises or undertakings right in their communtiies thereby providing opportunities for generating incomes through wage and self employment. Specifically. it aims to: 1. enhance and transform existing livelihood projects in the barangays into community enterprises and / or set up community enterprises to be managed by community groups: and 2. put in operation a convergence scheme of related programs and services of government agencies and private organizations that will effectively assist and provide complete support to the community enterprise. I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES 41. The provision of decent and productive employment, whether in the formal or informal sector, is essential in community development. 2. Livelihood activities that have the potential to graduate into micro, small and medium-enterprises capable of generating jobs must be supported adequately, not only as income-augmenting activity but also as an ‘employment-generating strategy. 3. Enhancement of public and private partnerships (PPP) in the delivery of programs and services is essential to effectively meet the needs of the Recewen ar: oarcommunity groups. Thus, assistance from the private sector will be encouraged and tapped as part of their corporate social responsibility towards community growth and development. Ml, DEFINITION OF TERMS As used in this Guidelines: 4. Community ~ is a barangay or group of barangays contiguous to each other targeted for interventions under the DILP. 2. Community Group (CG) - is an organized group of workers (e.g., workers’ organization/ association! cooperative/ organization of OFWs! OFW family circles) to act as catalyst and implementer of the community enterprise/undertaking and related projects of the community in the pursuit of its goals. 3. Community Enterprise - is any kind of legitimate economic activity that will serve as a stable source of income for the members of the community groups. This may have started from a livelihood or self-help welfare project that has been assisted and transformed to become continuously income- generating, so that the basic needs of the community and its individual members will be met. A community enterprise becomes legitimate by obtaining a business permit from the local government unit. 4. Convergence — is the act of integrating and collaborating related programs and services of DOLE, other government agencies, business and labor groups and the civil society to effectively assist and support the community groups. 5, Accredited Co-Partner (ACP) — is the program partner, which may be a workers’ organization, trade union, association, federation, cooperative, people's organization, business association, church-based organization, non- government organization, organization of OFWs, OFW family circles educational institution, private foundation or a local government unit that has been accredited by DOLE in accordance with Department Order No. 35-02 and Commission on Audit Circular 2007-01 IV. MAJOR INTERVENTIONS The DOLE-Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) shall take the lead to make available to each identified community, the following interventions: 1. Enhancement of capability of the community group, in terms of entrepreneurial attitude and skills, including retooling in vocational and other skills that could be utilized for the entrepreneurial undertaking, towards improved production and productivity 2. Partnership and alliance building with other government agencies and private organizations/institutions that will provide relevant services, such as but not limited to: value formation, workplace health and safety. work environment improvement, productivity enhancement, product development, marketing assistance, product diversification and other relevant social services.V. OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES The DOLE RCC shall collaborate with partners and stakeholders in carrying out ali of the following procedural phases. The steps under Phases One and Two are not strictly sequential and may be done simultaneously depending upon the situation in the Region. Phase One - Preparatory Activi 1 s Creation of, or designation of an existing structure as, a DOLE Regional Focal Team which shall inciude the Field Office Heads among its members. The RFT shall be responsible for the implementation of the DILP projects by all field offices in the region Identification by the Field Office of its target community/ communities, where most of the following are present: a. an active workers’ organization or group with marketable producls or service/s, which will be selected as the CG: priority should be given to DOLE-funded rural workers associations that need enhancement and strengthening to effectively compete in the market; b. strong support from establishments to assist emerging micro enterprises: ¢. strong support and willingness of the local government, academe and civic organizations to partner with DOLE; and d. the community has access to adequate, if not abundant, sources of raw materials and/or humanpower skills for its product/s or service/s DILP projects should consider the DOLE-identified key employment generators, DOLE “seven big winners’ and TESDA nine priority sectors. Identification of an ACP in Project Implementation The ACP shall be the conduit and valuable partner in project implementation, an active and willing stakeholder who can make a significant push and impact on the project. As determined by the FO and RCC, an ACP may be the identified or selected CG. ‘Community profiling and baseline study to identify the priority needs, issues and problems and existing resources The community profile shall provide a clear overall situation of the community's income, employment and living or working conditions. The Field Office / ACP may utilize the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the LGU and the Countryside in Figures of the National Statistical Coordination Board as reference. The baseline study shall be participatory and guide the Field Office/ ACP in the determination of relevant services that the DOLE and partner agencies! organizations will provide. Orientation meetings and other advocacy activities for the CG social preparation 36. Organizational Diagnosis and Needs Assessment The CG members shall participate in the determination of the real strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the group in relation to the task of community mobilization. They shall formulate the group's Vision, Mission and Goals (if not yet done or not in place) and translate them to Specific Objectives and Plan of Activities to make the CG responsive to the individual and community needs, issues and concerns. The CG should formulate its Organizational Plan that defines the necessary interventions to strengthen its competence in undertaking a community development. These interventions may involve the conduct of trairings, workshops, seminars and consultancy sessions for skills development. Phase Two ~ CG Capability Building 4. Strengthening activities of the organization as a CG - The RFT shall faclitate the development of the structure and processes of the CG based on the beneficiaries’ self-determination, actionable prioritized needs, issues and concerns. 2. Developing a self-reliant CG - For this purpose, the DOLE-RCC services shall include or be in relation to the following: a. Facilitation and/or conduct of trainings and related interventions such as seminars, workshops and hands-on consultancy services in the areas of planning, problem solving, decision-making and _ organizational entrepreneurship including project development and management b. Enhancement of skills in networking, alliance building and advocacy to enable the CG to mobilize the community to undertake collective action on their needs and concerns as well as to access and manage verious production extension and social services not only from the DOLE but from other relevant agencies/ organizations/academe. ©. Continuous and regular assessment of the capability of the CG and provision of necessary extension and consultancy services 3. Formulating the RCC Convergence Plan for the CGs and appropriate corresponding structure and procedures in the delivery of the DOLE’s various services. — The plan shall spell out the scheme for intervention phasing and continuous monitoring, assessment ang, if necessary, redesigning of the plan. It shall also specify the role of other external relevant agencies/ organizations/ institutions, e.g., LGU, DSWD, DTI, DOST, DOH, DA, BFAR. DENR, TRC, DAR, industry chambers and associations, the church, academe and others, as may be applicable. 4, Establishing partnership with the agencies/ organizations/ institutions that can respond to the needs, issues and concerns of the CGs. - A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) shall be entered into to formalize these partnerships and spell out the roles of partner agencies/institutions that willa. Provide an enabling business environment at the regional, provincial and local levels through coordinated formulation and implementation of policies, programs and projects appropriate for enhancing the growth of the CG's livelihood/enterprise into viable and sustainable businesses, b. Direct their respective local offices (Regional, Provincial, City and Municipal) to actively participate in the Inter-Agency Support Network and in the formulation and implementation of the RCC Convergence Plan: and c. Provide relevant assistance needed by the community within their respective expertise and mandates to make the livelihood/enterprise of the CGs grow into microenterprises resulting in increased income and employment generation. Phase Three - DILP Development and Implementation 1 The RFT shall assist the CGs in community development, through enterprise project's, among other undertakings, and sustaining or enhancing their operation. The convergence plan or scheme shall be put in operation in order to provide the CGs complete assistance to make their project profitable and sustainable. In case the project would require the acquisition of tools, machineries and equipment, the DOLE-RO has the option to purchase the same subject to existing accounting and auditing rules and regulations and subsequently turn them over to the concemed CGs. The CGs shall tap microfinance institutions (MFls) to sustain the socio- economic projects that were developed and thus ensure continuity of project implementation even after phase out of assistance by the DOLE. Phase Four - Project Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Replication 1 ‘The DOLE-RO shall undertake regular monitoring, preferably with assistance from partner non-government organization, throughout the duration of the DILP project/s as well as process documentation of all critical interventions, and submit documented experiences to the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns. DOLE’s major involvement in each of the communities shall be phased-out when the following conditions are met: a. At least, majority of workers in the community has been mobilized, participated and benefited in the implementation of the CG's Organizational Plan or project. b. The DOLE-RCC and partners have implemented their commitments to the CG as reflected in the RCC Convergence Plan. ©. The CG has manifested a satisfactory level of competence in managing and expanding the various undertakings as a result of 5Vil. vill, converging interventions: likewise, in expanding the scope of its networking, alliance building and advocacy activities, 3. The BWSC shall ensure that its Monitoring System shall be put in operation immediately and be able to measure DILP outputs at any given period using such indicators as number of employment created and number of entergrises established, and after three years of operation, evaluate program impact on improvement of per capita income. access to services, sustainability of the community project / enterprise and capacity to reach other commurities. Using the RO documented experiences and practices as reference, the BWSC shall develop a DILP Guide for better, future replication of the community projects! undertakings RESPONSIBILITIES AND SUPPORT OF DOLE OFFICES 1. The BWSC shall be responsible for the overall management and supervision of the DILP and shall update the Secretary. through the Undersecretary for Labor Standards and Social Protection, on a quarterly basis on the progress of the program implementation. Specifically, it shall: a. Collect, consolidate and analyze the progress reports from the DOLE- ROs’ b. Provide technical assistance to DOLE-ROs pertinent to problems, issues and concerns arising from their respective program implementation; c. Render recommendations for a more efficient and effective implementation of the program; d. Facilitate the conduct of semestral and annual planning and monitoring of Program implementation; and e. Conduct an assessment of the whole Program after one year of operation of the various projects in the communities. 2. All Bureaus, Services, Attached Agencies and other Offices of the Department shall provide support to the DOLE-RCCs for the smooth implementation of the DILP. 3. The DOLE Regional Director, who is the RCC Chair, shall be responsible for the implementation of the Program within his or her respective region. SUBMISSION, EVALUATION, APPROVAL AND FUNDING OF PROJECT PROPOSALS 1, Submission of Project Proposal - The ACP shall submit the Project Proposal to the DOLE-RO for funding support of DOLE services and facilitation/delivery of inter-agency convergence of support services.2. Project Proposal Evaluation and Approval - All DILP project proposals will be evaluated based on the four (4) aspects of business operation (Production/Technical Aspect; Marketing Aspect; Organization Management Aspect: and Financial Aspect) The DOLE-RO shall evaluate and approvelendorse the project proposal based on the level of approving authority as indicated in Administrative Order No.260 of 2008. 3. The following activities of the DILP project shall be funded under the COLE Capacity Building Services for Livelihood, which are directly released by the DBM to the DOLE-ROs, a. Provision of the necessary technical and administrative secretariat services pertinent to the overall management and supervision of the project; b. All preparatory activities necessary and prerequisite for the formulation of the CG organizational plan and RCC convergence plan in every region; and c. Provision of working capital (in the form of raw materials, equipment, tools and other inputs /interventions) that will support the establishment and/ or enhancement of the community undertaking, 4, If the DILP project will be funded out of the special funds for the local and overseas displaced workers (DOLE-Adjustment Measures Program Fund and NRCO Reintegration Fund). then the proposal shall be evaluated by the DOLE-Regional Office and forwarded to DOLE Central Office for funding based on the existing guidelines and criteria of the said Funds 5, The Undersecretary for Labor Standards and Social Protection ano the BWSC shall endeavor to make representations with local and international donors, organizations and institutions for their participation, involvement and contributions in the DILP. For guidance and compliance of all concerned DOLE offices and agencies. ROSALINDA DIMAPIES-BALDOZ Secretary 1 March 2011