NCF bares new tools for local dev’t planning of LGUs

NEW TOOLS. The Naga College Foundation Executive Committee with President Mario Villanueva has approved the publication and sharing of two training manuals composed of 17 new tools in local economics and community development for LGUs and NGOs

NAGA CITY --- The Naga College Foundation has announced the availability of 17 new planning tools for local economics and community development after 20 months of participatory action research by its Center for Corporate Social Responsibility.

The tools are incorporated in two manuals designed for use of Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators, Sangguniang Bayan members, LGU department heads, barangay officials and other organizations involved in local economic development.

The NCF Manuals will provide LGUs with simple, practical, fast, efficient and effective “how to do it” tools for planning, project designing, preparation of project proposals and in implementing programs and projects for poverty reduction. It covers municipal and barangay level planning needs, community enterprise development and community-based micro financing for marginalized poverty groups.

For municipal level planning – LGUs and other interested individuals and organizations can avail of any one or more of the following tools:

1. How to conduct rapid economic sector assessment - to help in preparing development policies, plans and executive- legislative agenda

2. How to prepare project designs taken from the rapid economic sector assessment – to guide in the preparation of full scale project proposals for investment promotion

3. How to conduct training needs analysis of industry sectors - to help in the preparation of industry-based human resource development plans

4. How to conduct rapid needs assessment of informal business operators - to help in the planning for development assistance to livelihood and community-based enterprises

5. How To Study Status And Viability Of Existing Enterprises – to help in assessing opportunities for revitalization or expansion to generate more jobs and help local economy

6. How to conduct local jobs opportunities survey – to help in training/education and job matching and long-term planning of local training institutions and firms

7. How to identify peripheral enterprises of anchor firms – to help in creating more businesses and self-employment activities using supply analysis of existing companies

8. How to conduct skills and enterprise training needs of existing enterprises - to improve the effectivity and efficiency of training programs

9. How to improve service delivery systems of lgus on livelihood and community - based projects – to help make government services fast, efficient and more effective

10. How to design training-cum-construction projects - to help employment generation in the construction of small social and economic infrastructures

For Barangay level planning - LGUs and other interested individuals and organizations can avail of any one or more of the following tools:

1. How to conduct rapid assessment meeting for community enterprises – to help local target groups in identifying, prioritizing and validating their enterprise ideas

2. How to discuss the feasibility of community enterprise project ideas – to determine the possibility of organizing forward and backward linkages of livelihood projects

3. How to train in practical entrepreneurship through business forecasting – to train marginalized target groups in simple business management using forecasting formula

4. How to train in planning and implementing short transitional enterprise projects – to train marginalized groups on the nature of enterprises in Barangays

5. How to conduct consumer demand survey and sales inventories for small grocery stores – to help small sari-sari store owners manage their businesses for profitability

The other NCF-CCSR manual is about community-based micro financing scheme for people who are not qualified to access and avail of loans from banks and financial institutions and who are becoming victims of exploitative credit schemes such as the 5-6 and its various mutations. The manual provides the concept and implementing tools and guidelines of two types of community-based micro financing:

1. Indigenous Community Revolving Fund Scheme (IRCF) owned and managed by a community-based organization for the benefit of its members and their families

2. Community-Based Social Finance And Investment System (COBASOFI) owned and managed by an LGU-accredited social enterprise or by an LGU-created or existing program unit.