The Project Development Assistance Center (PDAC) of the RDC 1 continues to provide assistance to the local government units, particularly for the 4th-5th class municipalities.  Recently, 21 planning and agricultural officers undertook a 2-day training on project development conducted by the PDAC.

The participants were informed of the process and new trends in project development using the template of the official development assistance (ODA) donors.  The newest innovation is the integration of human rights, gender and development, and sustainable development in project development.  Another significant improvement is the inclusion of the poverty reduction component to ensure that all projects contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015.

The logical framework, which is an important tool in the early stages in project development was extensively discussed with the participants.  The logical framework is a tool for planning and managing development projects that aims to present information about the key components of a project in a clear, concise, logical and systematic way.  The participants went into a 3-hour workshop on logical framework preparation using an existing project proposal to further enhance their capacity as well improve the project proposal.

Another important component of the training is the presentation of the fund sources to ensure the implementation of the project.  A number of government financing institutions, namely: Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, DILG, DAR, DA and NEDA were invited to present the available lending facilities for LGUs.  This provided the participants an in-depth understanding on the procedures and requirements in availing loans for development oriented projects.

Another set of trainees from the Province of Ilocos Sur is scheduled on the last week of June 2009. PDAC is a support committee of the Regional Development Council in Region 1 that assists its stakeholders in project development, project review and evaluation, and project endorsement. (RTA)