Republic of the Philippines

Pangasinan State University

OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS
Lingayen, Pangasinan

DM 216 PUBLIC POLICY AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Dr. Ma. Jasmine J. De Guzman - Professor
Master in Development Management
Midyear Class 2020

Lecture Series 4

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
_______________________________________________________________

I. What this lecture series all about?

_______________________________________________________________

This lecture series discusses planning, implementation and evaluation of programs

intended for general welfare.
_______________________________________________________________

II. What are the content of this lecture series?

_______________________________________________________________

Planning encompasses defining an organization’s goals, establishing an overall strategy

for achieving goals and developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and
coordinate activities (Robbins, 1991). It defines and directs the efforts of the agencies. The goals,
strategies, and activities indicated in the plans enable all concerned to focus their efforts on a
desired direction. Planning answers the questions: Where are we now? Where are we going? How
do we get there?

Planning is essential to other functions of management. An institution must adapt its

unique resources and objectives to different and changing international situations. This is the
essence of planning. Without planning, an institution lacks long-range goals and means to achieve
them. Without planning, it is only by luck that an institution picks the best sequence and method
of delivering services to its clientele. Without planning, it is also by chance that an organization
sets policies and practices in a given locale that result in the desired performance (Daniels and
Radebaugh, 2000).

Since organizations exist to achieve some purpose, someone has to define that purpose
and the means for its achievement. Management is that someone. The planning process combines
all aspects of the organization. It is a mental process of determining what is desirable and how it
can be achieved. The process is continuous to assure effective organizational management.

Types of plans
1. According to Breadth
a. Strategic plans. These plans are designed to meet the broad objectives of the
agency – the mission that provides the unique reason for the agency’s existence.
One typical example of the strategic plan is4 the Medium-Term Philippine
Development Plan of the government, which is the basis of the agency plans
(COA, 2002).
b. Operational plans. They provide details of how the strategic plans will be
accomplished. In other words, strategic planning focuses on doing the right thing
(effectiveness), while operational planning focuses on doing things right
(efficiency). Although these two types of planning overlap, both are necessary.
Operational plans can be seen as single-use and standing plan as illustrated in
Figure 1.

Goals

Strategic plans

Operating plans

for non-recurring activities for recurring activities

Single-use plans Standing plans

B Policies and rules

Programs u
d
g Standard procedures
Projects e and methods
t
Figure 1. Relationship between goals, strategic plan, and operational plan

b.1. Single-use plans. These are developed to achieve specific purposes

and are dissolved when these have been accomplished. These plans
are utilized if the activities involved are non-recurring. These are
detailed courses of action that probably will not be repeated in the
same form in the future.
 Programs. These cover relatively large sets of activities. It
shows the major steps required to reach an objective, the
organization unit or member responsible for each step and
the order and timing of each step. It may be accompanied
by a budget or a set of budget for the activities required.
The nutrition program implemented by the Department of
Health, as lead agency is an example of a program. It
comprises of a number of projects such as backyard
gardening project, a sanitation project, Barangay Nutrition
Scholar project, etc. Another example is the livelihood
 program of a local government unit consisting of several
projects with corresponding budgets.

 Projects. These are smaller and separate portions of

programs. Each project has a limited scope and distinct
directives concerning assignments and time. Examples of
projects under the government’s livelihood program are
backyard swine fattening project, pottery-making project,
and fruit preservation project.
 Budget. This is a statement of financial resources set aside
for specific activities in a given period of time. Budget is a
device to control an organization’s activities and are
important components of programs and projects.

b.2. Standing plans. These are standardized approaches for handling

recurrent and predictable situations. These are plans that allow
managers to conserve time used for planning and decision-making
because similar situations are handled in a predetermined,
consistent manner. The major types of standing plans are policies,
procedures and rules.
 Policy. This is a means of encouraging discretion and
initiative, but within limits.
 Procedure. Policies are carried out by means of more
detailed guidelines called standard procedures of standard
methods. A procedure provides a detailed set of
instructions for performing a sequence of actions that
occurs often or regularly. Procedures are chronological
sequences of required actions. They are guides to action,
rather than to thinking.
 Rules. These are statements that define how specific
actions must or must not be taken in a given situation. they
are the most explicit plans and are not guides to thinking
or decision-making. Rather, they are substitutes for them.
The only choice a rule leaves is whether or not to apply it
to a particular set of circumstances.

2. According to time frame

a. Short-term plans. These are plans carried out within one-year time.
b. Long-term plans. These cover a period in excess of five years.
3. According to specificity
a. Specific plans. These are clearly defined and leave no room for interpretation.
b. Directional plans. There are times when management prefers to use directional
plans to facilitate flexibility. When uncertainty is high, which requires
management to maintain flexibility in order to respond to unexpected changes,
then it is preferable to use directional plans.

Principles that guide development planners in formulating a plan

1. Equity
2. Effectiveness
3. Efficiency
 4. Environmental and ecological stability
5. Empowerment and gender equity in development
6. Accountability and transparency (R&D Manual)

Processes in government planning

1. Assessing of needs and problems. The national or state planner considers the initial task
of assessing and determining the problems of the country such as unemployment, low
income or lack of social services. In any case, it may be stressed that there should be a
development orientation to solutions of these problems.
2. Coherence with national philosophy or aspiration. Do the needs and problems
identified relate to country’s aspiration for better life? Aspirations could mean
nationhood, political sovereignty, gainful labor market or economic power.
3. Formulation of policies. Appropriate policies need to be formulated since they function
as guidelines in terms of what are the best approaches, the desirable and advantageous
applications of resources, the interpretation of public interests and the statements of
developmental priorities.
4. Programming. The functions of programming answer the following:
What is to be done? What is its scope or magnitude?
Who is to do the job? What kinds of skills and competencies are needed?
When is the job supposed to be done?
What resources and how much of each are necessary?
What institutions and organizations are needed and responsible for carrying out the job?
5. Setting of goals and objectives. The entire organization and its units must establish
goals and objectives. A goal is a broad statement of an image of the future the
organization seeks to achieve. Objective, which emanates from the goal, refers to
medium-range expectation which is pursued to satisfy the goal. It is the desired outcomes
for individuals, groups or entire organization. It specify the expected results and indicate
the end points of what is to be done, where the primary emphasis is to be placed, and
what is to be accomplished by the network of strategies, policies, procedures, rules,
budget and programs. Objectives should be S.M.A.R.T., specific, measurable, attainable,
result-oriented and time-bound.
Management by objective is also an approach in goals and objective setting. It is
a system in which subordinates jointly determine specific performance objectives with
their superior, progress toward objectives is periodically reviewed, and rewards are
allocated on the basis of this progress. Management by objective makes objectives
operational by devising a process by which they cascade down through the organization
(Robbins, 1991).

Needs assessment
One of the activities in program or project planning is the conduct of needs assessment.
Needs assessment examines the nature of the problem that the program is meant to address. This
includes evaluating who is affected by the problem, how wide-spread the problem is, and what
effects stem from the problem (edgov.html).
Conducting a needs assessment prior to project development provides a means of
establishing consensus around the project needs and consequent goals. Needs assessment also
help identify the distance between the real and the ideal so that participants have a measure
against which to frame appropriate expectations. Expectations are more likely to be shared when
built from information available to all participants, even where partners are coming together from
different organizations and with different motives for participation.
INSERT NEEDS ASSESSMENT from dissertation
PROBLEM TREE BY NEDA – insert here 00000

Steps in problem analysis

1. Brainstorm all problems in the situation and write them on cards

2. Identify a common agreed core problem
3. Divide the other cards into causes and effects of the core problem then put them below
and above the core problem
4. Form a problem tree diagram showing the cause-and-effect relationship
5. Review the diagram as a whole and verify its validity and completeness

Project Plan

A project plan is a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and
project control. The purpose of project plans are to document planning assumptions and
decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and document approved scope, and
schedule baselines. Project plan is a statement of how and when a project’s objectives are to be
achieved by showing the major products, milestones, activities and resources required on the
project. It also contains information that will help complete the project successfully
(wikipedia.html).

Project tools
In order for the organization efforts to be effective and efficient, government officials as
well as employees must know what they are expected to accomplish. There is a realization in the
government sector about the importance of planning in a sense that all government organizations
have planning departments or offices. It is through planning that the objectives of an organization
and the means for achieving them are determined. In order for the organization to achieve their
goals, it is necessary to use planning tools such as work breakdown schedule, project network,
Gantt chart or program evaluation and review technique.

Work breakdown schedule

A work breakdown schedule is a fundamental project management technique for defining
and organizing the total scope of a project, using a hierarchical tree structure. The first two levels
of work breakdown schedule define a set of planned outcomes that collectively represent 100% of
the project scope. At each subsequent level, the children of a parent node collectively represent
100% of the scope of their parent node (wikipedia.html).

Project network
A project network is a graph or flow chard depicting the sequence in which a project’s
terminal elements are to be completed by showing terminal elements and their dependencies.
Work breakdown schedule shows “part-whole” relations while project network shows the
“before-after” relations.

Program evaluation and review technique

Program evaluation and review technique or PERT is used to schedule and control
project whose completion cannot be precisely determined. It is a technique for scheduling
complicated projects comprising many activities, some of which are interdependent. PERT was
developed in the late 1950s for coordinating more than 3,000 contractors and agencies working
on the Polaris submarine weapon system. Using PERT, the project cut two years off the
completion date.
 To compute a time estimate for completing each activity, one must identify the weighted
average that employs an optimistic time estimate (to) of how long the activity would take under
ideal conditions, a most likely estimate (tm) of the time activity normally should take, and a
pessimistic estimate (tp) represents the time that an activity should take under the worst possible
conditions. The formula for calculating the expected time (te) is:

te = to + 4tm + tp
6

Gantt chart
A Gantt chart illustrates the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary
elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown
structure of the project. Some Gantt chart also shows the dependency relationships between
activities. It can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shading and a
vertical “today” line.
Using this tool, each task takes up one row. Dates run along the top in increments of
days, weeks, or months depending on the total length of the project. The expected time for each
task is represented by a horizontal bar whole left ends marks the expected beginning of the task
and whose right end marks the expected completion date. Tasks may run sequentially, in parallel
or overlapping.

Mainstreaming Gender Concepts in Project Development

Concepts related to gender, sex, gender needs, equality between men and women, and
empowerment. Gender inequalities, discrimination and issues are highlighted as basis for making
a gender-fair and –sensitive programs/projects.

Project development is designed to determine the best possible way to achieve specified
development objectives within a given time period at the least possible cost. Each project
undergoes a cycles starting with the conceptualization stage up to its implementation. If gender
concerns are absent in the progress, women’s concerns should be fully integrated in the project
development cycle to ensure women’s direct involvement and equal access to all government and
private sector programs, projects and activities (NEDA-1, 2002).

It is a must that gender planning inputs be emphasized in the overall development

planning process, such as gender analysis and gender intervention. Gender analysis is about
uncovering gender biases and its effects while gender intervention focuses on alleviation of
manifestation of problems arising from sex or gender bias and addresses its underlying causes.

Development is about attaining a full and satisfying life for all. A full and satisfying life
for all is a shared responsibility of the government as duly mandated authority; all individuals and
entities; and everyone regardless of age, sex, religion, ethnicity or class. The performance of this
responsibility requires the capacity to do and the capacity to be.
 The responsibility of the government to promote the attainment of a better life for all
means helping people develop their abilities and individual strengths, and protecting people’s
rights and creating opportunities for the development of people’s abilities and individual
strengths. Gender and development tries to address the inequalities between women and men, and
it makes visible women’s and men’s role and contribution in development. It recognizes gender
biases as factors that impede development because they prevent people from attaining their full
potentials, worsen social inequity and inequality, and distort understanding of social realities and
limit the impacts of development inputs. Gender and development is about removing explicit,
implicit, actual and potential gender biases in the organizations and in projects or activities. It is
about being faithful to the principle “Development is for all” (NEDA-1, 2002).

Why focus more on women? First, women are half of the country’s population. As such,
they are half of the producers of economic goods and services; they are the invisible and marginal
sector or the so-called non-money economy-bearing and raising children; domestic labor and
subsistence agriculture. Second, they are already in the money economy-informal sector, wage
employment, trading, but in being so, they experience a lot of hardships-multiple roles, violence
against women, lack of protection, poor skills and discrimination.

Why us? Everyone who believes in the vision of attaining a full and satisfying life for all
has an obligation to help pursue gender and development. Gender issues affect all of us. Gender
inequalities are often reflected in and strengthened by discriminatory laws thereby legalizing the
denial of equal rights to women (Muyot, 2003). Gender issues pertain to beliefs, ideas, attitudes,
behavior, systems and other factors that block people’s capacity to do and to be. These affect
everybody, men and women, rich and poor, young and old, etc. in all spheres of life. They affect
men (NEDA1, 2002). Women’s gender issues include marginalization, subordination, violence,
gender stereotyping, and multiple burden.

Men regarded as household heads is a gender issue. In Philippine society, men are
deemed to be the breadwinners and the definition of breadwinner must be revised to give more
recognition to women’s roles as economic providers and decision-makers in the household
(Torres and del Rosario, 1994). Women’s inaccurate view of their own work is another gender
issue. It is not uncommon for urban poor women to allege that they are “plain housewives” but
they are actually vendors, laundrywomen, and micro-entrepreneurs.

Also, several studies have shown that a predominantly export-oriented development

strategy has relied mainly on dirt-cheap and docile female labor in factories and in subcontracted
home-based production. In training courses conducted by Construction and Manpower
Development Foundation and by the Cottage Industry Technology Center, men dominated
courses on machine and more advanced technologies, while women were concentrated in
handicraft-types of training. In social aspect, giving women access to credit and livelihood
programs is not enough without adding support mechanisms for child care is a gender issue. In
politics, less women are elected because of social stereotypes on males as leaders.

Gender biases against men includes inherently aggressive and violent, do not feel pain or
incapable of experiencing human relations (3) inherently expressive of their sexuality (4) don’t
needs closeness, reassurance, and attention (5) should be the breadwinner. But they affect women
more.
Empowerment

Empowerment is the process of challenging existing power relations, and of gaining

greater control over the sources of power. As a process and the result of that process,
empowerment is manifested as redistribution of power between nations, classes, castes, genders
of individuals. It is also veering way from the traditional hierarchical meaning of power as control
and domination (power over) to a new and liberating understanding of power as enabling (power
to do and to be), as collective decision-making and responsibility (power with) and as inner
strength stemming from self-awareness and self-confidence (power within).

The process of empowerment involves awareness raising, confidence and capability

building, facilitating access to and control over resources, increasing participation in decision-
making in all spheres of life – family, workplace, community and even the nation at large (Illo
and Ofreneo, 2004).

Dimensions of empowerment
1. Recognition. Proper valuation of women’s work under the gender division of labor; the
surfacing of women’s role in the expanding informal economy; tracing the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threat women have and face under globalization;
identifying the sources of women’s disempowerment; and acknowledging the stages
and/or components of women’s empowerment as an integrated process.
2. Rights, resources and reforms. These rights are inalienable, meaning that they are
inherent in all women as human beings; and they indivisible, meaning that the
realization of each category of right is contingent on the others. For example, a woman
cannot exercise her economic right to remunerative and protected employment if she
does not have any say in decision-making (a political right), if she did not get any
education (a social and cultural right), if she has no control over her child-bearing
functions (a reproductive right), and if she cannot say not to unprotected sex with her
husband (a sexual right).
Some economic rights are (1) Food security and sovereignty, (2) Land and other
assets/property, (3) Place to live, place to work, (4) Income and employment, (5)
Breakthrough credit and related assistance, (6) Job security, (7) Occupational health and
safety, (8) Decent work (9) Not to be prostituted/sexually exploited.
3. Social protection and human security. Social protection for women workers in the
informal economy, as well as all others who have no means to address the risks
associated with sickness, disability, old age, death, childbirth, etc. Through
representation in local government councils and offices, community-based organization
can help ensure that social protection schemes will be tailored such as collection through
organized groups, attention to reproductive needs, child care, occupational safety and
health, etc. (Illo and Ofreneo, 2003).

Where do we go from here?

1. Personal
 check personal gender biases
 look at everyone and deal with them as human not as women/men, male/female,
girls/boys
  critique books of young children
 examine assignment of roles at home and correct gendered patterns
2. Professional
 disaggregate data by sex
 attain balance in various positions (esp. top and decision-making position)
 stop gender discrimination in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion
 make spaces for disadvantaged men and women
 treat each one as your equal; demolish hierarchical social transactions
 adopt a GAD plan of action (review content of training, programs, development
tools, conduct GST/GRP, participate in inter-agency activities on GAD, etc.)

When is a program discriminatory?

1. Intent discrimination – This occurs when one/some groups are deliberately excluded.
Examples are
 Employment ads for “young, single women with pleasing personality” or “male.
24-34 years with ambitions to advance to manager in a year’s time.
 Scholarships which exclude “married women with children below 2 ½ years of
age”
2. Unequal treatment – This usually results from legally or informally prescribed practices
in society. For example, before the enactment of RA 7192, a married woman was not
allowed to enter into contracts without her husband’s consent.
3. Systematic discrimination – This occurs when seemingly neutral or programs produce
adverse impacts on women as a result of the gender division of labor. For example:
Because of their multiple roles, women find it more difficult to attend training programs
which run for 6 to 8 hours daily, for consecutive days (Torres and del Rosario, 1994).

Gender-responsive program/project development

Gender issues and concerns are perceived to be better addressed if these are integrated in
the different stages of project development, i.e. project identification, project
preparation/formulation, investment program formulation, project evaluation, project design,
project implementation and monitoring and evaluation. To facilitate the process, some
guidelines/requirements/consideration need to be met particularly the following:

A. Project identification

Guide questions:
1. Was the project identification done in consultation with and involvement of the
community and its population groups?
2. What method was adopted in the identification of the project concept (secondary data,
field visit, ocular inspection, consultation with the community)?

Steps
1. Identify key sources of information – from formal and informal sources
2. Identify major characteristics of the target area and determine its population groups
 Guide questions
 Are the following considered in the identification of the target area population (sex,
age, socio-economic characteristics, etc.)
 What is the composition of the community? Are there distinct sub-populations within
the community? What is the degree of social cohesion in the community? Are there
existing factions in the community?
 What are the major roles/activities of men and women in the community?
 What are the resources (human, financial) available in the community? Are these
resources utilized by and easily accessible to the various population groups?

Identify, determine or validate specific needs, problems and issues which contribute to the
marginalization of particular groups or clusters within the program.

Guide questions
 What are the needs, problems/issues of the community? What are the factors that
primarily cause these problems/issues?
 Are the needs of one population group different from the others? What are different
needs of the various women and men in the community? Were there efforts to
address these needs?
 Are the potential beneficiaries involved in the identification of the problems/needs
and demands?
 What are the major factors which contribute or impede the development of certain
groups in the community?

Prioritize problems and concerns of the individuals in the community

Guide questions
 Are the identified problems consistent with the present developmental concerns of
the target population and the mandate of the proponent?
 Which specific groups are most seriously affected by the problems?
 What are the strategies implications of the problems on the different roles of the
members of the community?
 Are the practical and strategic gender of men and women considered in the
prioritization?
 Are there available resources which could be utilized to address the problem?
 What is the level of community’s preparedness to get involved in a project to address
the problems?

3. Determine the appropriate set of interventions

4. Determine the possible requirements of the project based on the identified components.
Project preparation/formulation

Once problems and needs have been identified, assessed and appropriate interventions
have been determined; the next stage in the project development cycle is the project
preparation/formulation. This stage essentially determines whether the project can and should be
undertaken and if so, how and when. In formulating gender-responsive projects, the following
should be considered:

Project objectives should:

 directly address the sectoral/regional program thrust and the gender issues therein
 have a quantifiable and reliable set of indicators that are gender responsive
 address identified priority gaps/problems as they relate to the different needs of women
and men and their varying characteristics
 be doable, measurable and attainable within the expected life span of the project

Guide questions
 Are the objectives consistent with the prioritized problems identified and national and
local development plans?
 Are the objectives addresses the practical and strategic needs of men and women in the
targeted areas?
 Are the target groups clearly specific in the objectives? Are both women and men equally
considered as project beneficiaries?

B. Project implementation strategies/activities should:

 Be packaged taking into consideration the maximum use of available informing sources
on the problems, beneficiaries, resources, etc., considering the
time/resource/administrative constraints of the government.
 Include mechanisms for women’s participation in the formulation of components and in
project implementation
 Provide for a set of minimum non-negotiable requirements to ensure gender-
responsiveness of projects

Guide questions
 Are the strategies/courses of action sufficient and appropriate so that the objectives are
met?
 Will the project implementation strategies respond to the differential needs and
potentials/capabilities of women and men?
 Are the implementing strategies which will provide for mechanisms/opportunities for
increased or more significant participation of women?
C. Resource requirements (human, financial, materials, machine, management) should be
determined

Guide questions
 Are the community-based resources identified as part of the resource requirement?
 Are the potential contributions of the community to attain project objectives clearly
estimated?
 Is there a clear allocation of resources for each activity/intervention?

D. The project organizational structure should be set-up based on the technical needs of the
project, particularly in the areas of planning, community development and gender and
development. The structure should also be able to identify the interrelationships of the agencies,
project staff and target beneficiaries involved in the project.

Guide questions
 Are other agencies or which will have an indirect role in the implementation of the
programs identified?
 Are community members, women and men, identified as part of the organizational set-
up?
 Does the organizational structure include project implementer who have – awareness and
sensitivity to gender-related issues; capability to identify, analyze, prioritize issues and
needs; and capability to carry out interventions that will respond to the differential needs
of women and men?

E. The establishment of the monitoring and evaluation scheme should take into consideration the
following:

 Development of a gender-responsive indicator system

 Participation of the target clientele
 Methodology for evaluating whether the program activities impede or facilitate the
participation and involvement of the targeted groups in the attainment of goals and
objectives (NEDA-1, 2002).