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MIS for IFAD projects: E-discussion on ENRAP M&E list 18 July – 15 August 2006 Managing project information to support its key activities and partners is fraught with several challenges for IFAD projects working in remote locations and with limited resources to support the poor. During the IFAD Performance Review Meeting in June 2006 in Bangkok, several IFAD projects indicated need for support in designing an effective management information system (MIS) to address these challenges. The trigger was an experience-sharing exercise by OCISP, Laos that demonstrated a comprehensive and efficient financial system. Between 18 July and 15 August, members of the ENRAP M&E group discussed issues related to design and implementation of MIS for IFAD projects. Discussants responded to three guiding questions on the issue, relating them to their project experiences. The objective was to identify challenges and directions to practical solutions starting first with a sharing workshop to be organized in early October 2006. Participating IFAD project and partners 18 members participated in the discussion from six countries in the region: • • • • • • Nepal - LFLP and WUPAP India - ULIPH Partner NGO, LIPH-Meghalaya, NERCRMP, JTDS, OTELP, MIS agency for JTDP and CTDP Sri Lanka - PTCRRMP and REAP, Sri Lanka; Laos - OCISP, RILP and M&E division of MOFA, Laos; Philippines - DAR-FAPsO – IFAD Desk, NMCIREMP, WMCIP, WMCIP Partner Pakistan - SFDP Discussion Highlights The workshop agenda is being defined in line with issues raised during the e-discussion and is aimed at support project efforts at designing or improving their MIS through experiences within and outside of IFAD. See below key points raised during the discussion. 1. What are the key issues relating to design and implementation of MIS that projects would want information on during this workshop? • What is MIS and how is it linked to project M&E, financial management system, RIMS and project log frame? What are the pros and cons of having an integrated or a stand-alone system? 1 • How can MIS serve project team; partners (NGOs, line agencies, others); and donors (IFAD, UNOPS, Govt)? What other information systems does the project need besides MIS? • How can MIS help in easily capturing, storing and retrieving project information? • How can MIS help capture project impact? • How can MIS help analyze project information? • Can MIS integrate participatory monitoring? • What are the key factors to ensure installation of a user-friendly and effective MIS? How can projects mid-way in their life install and use MIS? What kind of skills1, infrastructure and resources are needed? Skills at the filed level are quite different from those at PMU levels. Staff capacity may not be adequate and there is always a challenge of designing formats, which match with project capacity. Similarly, availability of tools such as computers is not uniform through the project information channel. Field offices and NGO partners may not have enough computers or power to run them. • How can modern software and hardware tools help the above? What kind of tools are recommended for IFAD projects? • How can one ensure the sustainability of the project MIS? Can it be integrated into the partner governments programs? Can communities use and run these systems once the project ends? Jose Roi Avena, Foreign Assisted Projects Office, Deptt. Of Agrarian Reform, Philippines • How different is MIS from M&E? How are they interrelated or how do they interface? Does MIS subsume M&E or is it vice-versa? • What types/levels of MIS can be developed given correspondingly different levels of funding, personnel capability, and other resources available? • What information must be stored and accessible, when, how, and for whom? • What level of computerization is required and appropriate? Should MIS always be equated with computerization? How can it be actually made participatory in this case? • What expertise will be required to set up the MIS? • How can Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) technology be efficiently and effectively merged with existing project MIS? More succinctly, how can an MIS be “up scaled” into a PGIS? 2. What kind of experiences relating to design and implementation of MIS can projects share with others? • Operating and maintaining project MIS, even when infrastructure is poor; challenges and successes in design and implementation of MIS; data collection, analysis and its integration in planning • Collection and consolidation of information with limited resources and remoteness of project sites; how can it be ensured that only relevant and useful data is collected? How can communities participate in project MIS contributing their experiences? • Usefulness of MIS • How did it help in getting project information in a relatively short time period? • How did it help M&E? • How has it helped different layers of decision-making? • What has been its impact on project outputs? • How can digitized and non-digitized systems support key project stakeholders including communities? • Specific lessons: OCISPs design and operation of financial management system, NMCIREMP’s automated M&E; OTELP; REAP using video as an M&E tool; JTDS; DAR’s experience of using GIS to map MIS of several projects Orlen Ocleasa, WMCIP, Philippines Participants can have a sharing of their experiences in the following aspects: Installation of the MIS and how it is used in the different project operations especially with regard to M&E; Linking M&E data with the finance and admin data so the correlation of progress and fund disbursement can easily be seen; How documentation of best practices are shared and used by the stakeholders and the beneficiaries in particular; Success stories and problems encountered in the design and implementation of MIS. 3. Which projects are planning or are in the process of designing and implementing MIS? • • • • Implementing but need firming-up: NERCRMP; WMCIP; SPICCnZPARC; REAP; WUPAP Substantial work on design completed: OCISP Early Design stage: LFLP; LIPH-Meghalaya; NMCIREMP; JTDS; OTELP; RILP Planning: PTCRRMP E-discussion on ENRAP M&E list: MIS for IFAD projects 18 July – 15 August 2006 1. Govinda Kafley Programme Coordinator Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme (LFLP), Nepal 2. Pushkin Phartiyal Executive Director What are the key issues relating to design and implementation of MIS that projects would want information on during this workshop? What kind of experiences relating to design and implementation of MIS can projects share with others? Which projects are planning or are in the process of designing and implementing MIS? How much and which information can be considered sufficient for incorporation or consideration in the MIS vis-à-vis the information required in the Programme logframe? The Programme is currently in the process of developing its MIS. LFLP is being implemented using a programmatic approach, which means that it has no separate Project Management Unit run by consultants or “project management advisers”. The Programme relies on existing and organic personnel of the lead implementing agency, with no extra personnel hired. Thus, with limited resources particularly manpower, how can data be processed (i.e., entered and analyzed at the central level since most of the district offices are not equipped with computers) at minimum effort to produce the information required? Given the constraints in a programmatic approach to implementation, the Programme Management is keen on learning from other programs/projects that have had experiences operating and maintaining an MIS using existing or available resources. How is the analysis of RIMS indicators done and made part of the MIS? How can the proposed MIS fit best within the infrastructure available in the projects? In Uttaranchal under ULIPH, there are computers in the field offices of NGOs (the field-based bottom unit) as well as in the district units. Thus, planning for MIS needs to be based on the infrastructure available. Livelihood and Sustainable Development Programme Partner NGO for ULIPH, India Since the field level units are the major source for information generation, how can MIS formats be designed such that they are in accordance with the How do we ensure that only the relevant and useful information are captured using MIS? It has been experienced at times that field staff is asked to collect huge volume of data and information without visualizing their end-use such as for capturing lessons or monitoring and sharing/ communicating Project progress. capabilities of field staff? Also, how can they be made uniform or consistent from the bottom up to the project headquarter levels? 3. Patrick Jayamanne Program Coordinator PTCRRMP, Sri Lanka Seconds/supports the ideas of Chongchith Chantharanonh from Laos, especially the concern of bringing in or involving UNOPS in the development of the MIS. Thus, the challenge before developing MIS is from two perspectives: (a) the user's perspectives (IFAD, UNOPS and Project headquarters, who are the ultimate users of the information and data generated); and (b) the contributor's (or partner's) perspectives, i.e. the partner NGOs/ district/ divisional units of the project and the beneficiary communities who would be responsible for providing inputs into the developed system. The Project will be operational in 7 districts far away from the coordinating center, which is located in the capital city. It has five components to be implemented over a period of five years. In view of these conditions, the following issues arise: Whether to use a stand-alone or a web-based system – both have their share of pros and cons. For instance, a stand-alone system will not provide updated information; also, migration of data would be difficult. A web-based system on the other hand entails high connectivity cost, based on the speed, i.e. bandwith, required. Thus, if a project intends to have a VPN, a cost-benefit analysis or a feasibility study should first be undertaken. User requirements – various information are needed to make various decisions (management, financial, M & E). The frequency of report generation also varies (monthly, quarterly, and annual). The question also arises whether to have one integrated system or separate systems for Integrating the participation of project beneficiaries in the MIS system often remains a challenge. How to ensure an MIS system that incorporates experience sharing by project beneficiaries and the capturing of lessons learnt remains a key question. How MIS has been developed/ designed and implemented in areas where infrastructure is poor, and its impact on the output of the project The Project is very keen to have an MIS and implement it for better results, but it is not “in a position to design and develop” one. each of these user requirements. 4. Houmphan Kosada Provincial Project Director OCISP, Laos 5. Adrian Marbaniang M&E Officer Availability of resources – financial, human (trained), and infrastructure The broad subjects should be/include: How to use MIS for necessary day-to-day Project Management tasks How to link MIS with planning, M&E and reporting, and financial management systems at the local level Other relevant subjects such as advanced computer usage, internet usage, and the computer skills necessary for to make MIS applications workable On the importance of infrastructure – in NERCRMP, computers are provided only up to the District Offices. Each Project district is covering around 160 villages with the support of the partner NGOs. The monitoring formats are filled up on a quarterly basis by the partner NGOs and are thereafter submitted to the District Project Office. It is here where the Project is facing difficulties entering all information into the MIS. In addition, there are many cases when delays are encountered entering information into the MIS as the information provided is incorrect and needed to be sent back to the field for correction. NERCRMP, Meghalaya, India The Project views the topics it has proposed as important for the national as well as provincial levels. However, it believes that these topics should be shared further and the discussions on these enriched by the experiences of other countries. Some work is already in progress in the Project on the creation of a system for Financial Management, and Sacha Backes is leading this effort. The Project is very keen on learning how the Laos project is going about its financial management system, as this is where its own MIS has yet to generate satisfactory reports. Finds it helpful if each project’s MIS and related ideas can be presented in a workshop as this could lead to better understanding of how MIS issues are practically addressed The MIS that the Project has come up with still needs further modifications since the reports that are being generated are not satisfactory (especially the financial aspect). Also, the Project is in the process of getting the software needed to “self analyze” the data. The Project is keen on introducing the Computerized Data Management System as just one part of the MIS. By taking a broader view, however, the aim is to benefit even key stakeholders as communities and local level beneficiaries. This goes without saying though that the Project 6. Kenneth Pala Manager – Communication, Monitoring and Evaluation Livelihoods Improvement Project How do other projects intend to analyze the information generated in their MIS? The Project wishes to clarify and be exposed to various issues such as: When one talks of an MIS we usually get bogged down with the idea that it has to be computerized. The Project itself has taken the meaning in a broader sense which includes managing information that are not software-based too, in addition to computerized Views this discussion on MIS as great news as the Project is currently in the process of developing its MIS. data. for the Himalayas (LIPH), Meghalaya, India Meeting information needs of the whole spectrum of key stakeholders, starting right from government agencies down to the grassroots organizations and communities. expects to acquire a more in-depth understanding of MIS through these discussions. The Project plans to have a small workshop of identifying stakeholders’ information needs, which can then be used in developing the MIS. This exercise is expected to make the MIS more robust and useful. 7. Jose Roi Avena DAR-IFAD Project Facilitator How different is MIS from M&E? How are they interrelated or how do they interface? Does MIS subsume M&E or is it vice-versa? Department of Agrarian Reform – Foreign-Assisted Projects Office (DAR-FAPsO) – IFAD Desk, Philippines What types/levels of MIS can be developed given correspondingly different levels of funding, personnel capability, and other resources available? What information must be stored and accessible, when, how, and for whom? What level of computerization is required and appropriate? Should MIS always be equated with computerization? How can it be actually made participatory in this case? What expertise will be required to set up the MIS? How can Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) technology be efficiently and effectively merged with existing project MIS? More succinctly, how can an MIS be “up scaled” into a PGIS? Systematizing data/information (input, processes, results) in terms of capture, filing/storing, easy retrieval, packaging and usage for different type of users and uses 8. Yolando Arban M&E Officer Wishes to learn from Laos’ experience With DAR having around 18 on-going foreign-assisted projects (FAPs) spread all over the Philippines under its portfolio, the office has already started developing a GIS that “maps out” the scope or extent of DAR FAPs all over the country. Perhaps the next important step now is how this GIS can integrate all the other MIS that we have developed for the different FAPs services that the department is offering (e.g. rural infrastructure, community and institutional development, agricultural enterprise development, basic social services, results monitoring and evaluation). Integrating these MIS with the GIS should afford DAR management with a clear view of which areas already have sufficient assistance and have shown clear impact, and which areas still have gaps to fill. NMCIREMP can share its automated and internet-linked M&E system experience and its initiatives in using PGIS including While the office already has a good MIS for its rural infrastructure interventions, it is still working on or in the process of perfecting the MIS for the other major components like agricultural enterprise development, community and institutional development, and results monitoring and evaluation, among others. It has also started creating GIS to map the extent of agrarian reform communities (ARCs), which serves as the vehicle for the integration of DAR’s interventions, throughout the country. NMCIREMP is now in the process of working out an integrated MIS that tries to systematize its internal DAR-IFAD Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives and Resource Management Project (NMCIREMP), Philippines 9. Orlen Ocleasa M&E Coordinator/ Community and Institutional Development Specialist Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project (WMCIP), Philippines (project staff, project partners, funders, oversight agencies) Linking all types of data/information (input, processes, results) that can provide the users an overview (seeing the forest) and details (counting the trees) of a project during its life cycle (both for operations and for policies) Moving from a project-oriented MIS towards responding to needs and concerns of communities, which can be operated and maintained by the communities Combining high (computer-based like GIS, DVD) and folk/popular/traditional (story-telling) technology for capture and sharing of information and knowledge Sustaining MIS (systems, structures, processes) after a project ends There is still a need for project staff to understand M&E as an integral part of the whole MIS. its little successes and continuing challenges. data/information (socio-economic databases, financial inputs, procurement of goods and services, staff and partners' performance, inventory of equipment and facilities, reading materials, study results, etc.) and how to link them with its automated and internetlined M&E system. At the same time it is also embarking on a shift in its mode of data/information capture and sharing towards a participatory community-based MIS framework. Participants can have a sharing of their experiences in the following aspects: WMCIP is about to end and is now being mainstreamed to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region 9 Office. There is still a need to firm up the MIS of the WMCIP Project Management Office so that all data and information can be transferred smoothly to its mother agency, the DAR, thereby preventing their loss. If the WMCIP MIS can be enhanced with all the data and information being secured, it can become a model of an IFAD project whose MIS is being firmed up or redesigned at the phase out stage to suit the existing MIS of the agency or organizations to which it will be turned over or those who will be responsible for the continuation of the Project activities. Either of two There is a need to understand the integration and complementation of M&E, financial recording & tracking, intra office and external communications, and others. installation of the MIS and how it is used in the different project operations especially with regard to M&E; Licenses of available computer programs are quite expensive in the market Lack of personnel who can write programs tailored fit to the MIS needs of a project linking M&E data with the finance and admin data so the correlation of progress and fund disbursement can easily be seen; how documentation of best practices are shared and used by the stakeholders and the beneficiaries in particular; success stories and problems encountered in the design and Some developments in the field cannot be captured by M&E tools Lack of programs which can link and correlate M&E data with the administrative and finance data, and their eventual processing and use as information implementation of MIS. 10. Amina Bidin Project Facilitator DAR-IFAD Support Project for the Indigenous Cultural Communities and MNLF in the Zone of Peace Within the Agrarian Reform Communities (SPICCnZPARC), Philippines 11. Chongchith Chantharanonh Due to remoteness of Project areas and their isolation from the mainland, there is difficulty in monitoring the progress of the sub-projects. Market information is difficult to access due to limited communication facilities and information technology reach. Project staff / personnel need to understand the difference of M & E and MIS and how these two relate with each other. Lack of skills of project staff to develop an M&E system and install an MIS. Most MIS are used only to monitor activities, compare actual progress with the annual plan, and to report these things to management without any assessment at all on the effects that would lead to impact by the time midterm or final evaluation comes. It is thus important to discuss MIS in the context of results or effects monitoring and, correspondingly, on what types of data are needed and should be collected, how these are to be collected, and how these data should eventually be analyzed. It is equally important to discuss how these data and analyses will be used in planning for future actions or directions. Laos While it can be said that the issues above are already being considered in most initial designs of MIS, most project implementers still have limited in-depth knowledge on how to actually operationalize these things. Following are some recommendations for the proposed scenarios is possible: the WMCIP MIS being fitted into the existing MIS of its mother agency or vice versa – the WMCIP MIS being adopted by its mother agency. SPICCnZPARC, an IFAD grant Sharing of experiences on how data project attached to WMCIP and and information are being gathered implemented by DAR, is now on its and consolidated with the limited resources available and considering as termination phase. But the project is still faced with the challenge of well the remoteness of one Project enhancing its MIS to consolidate all area to the other the data and information accumulated that could be useful for the Sharing of experiences on the Department of Agrarian Reformsuccesses and hindrances in the Autonomous Region in Muslim design and implementation of MIS Mindanao (DAR-ARMM) to sustain the development efforts. The Project wishes to share that, in its case, the Logframe was already developed and attached in the Appraisal Report. As a result, they say that most of the people concerned with implementation have very little understanding on the meaning of data collected based on the indicators set by the Project design. The issues was data collection method, data analysis, how to reflect analysis to address potential issues in next year plan. MIS workshop: (i) ENRAP should coordinate with the evaluation office, e.g. UNOPS, on basic information or data necessary for the theme. Before even designing the MIS, it is very important to know what detailed information are needed, when and how to collect the necessary data, how these should be analyzed, and how they are to be used afterwards; (ii) the workshop should be jointly organized with UNOPS, the latter being the evaluation office, so that there can be an agreement on basic principles of format, level of data, method, analysis tool, and when and for what the data from MIS should be used; (iii) case studies on selected good project experiences in MIS should be presented during the workshop; 12. Priyantha Adikaram (iv) before closing the workshop, participants could agree on an action plan to develop their own MIS based on their basic understanding from the workshop so that UNOPS and the evaluation office can recommend improvements and any follow-up assistance needed. Inclusion of present data and information into the proposed MIS MREAP, Sri Lanka 13. Vinay Kumar Planning and Monitoring Officer Jhrakhand Tribal Development Society GIS as a management and planning tool Physical and financial monitoring are being undertaken How the proposed MIS addresses impact monitoring and participatory monitoring Use of video documentaries as an audio/visual tool for M&E Assessment of effects and impact is also being conducted How to accommodate the proposed MIS within the available infrastructure facilities Relational database concepts How to collect relevant information Different models for an efficient and effective feedback mechanism Vinay’s group shares that although responsibilities are given to an agency called the Agriculture Finance Corporation, the field reality is that inputs are taken from the partner NGO. As the development of the MIS takes place, all Vinay’s group is in the process of preparing an MIS for the Jhrakhand Tribal Development Programme where, mainly, output monitoring is being captured in different forms leading to critical analytical 14. Bashu Babu Aryal Project Management Adviser How the MIS could be made more user friendly Sharing of information Prompt decision by management Linking the annual work plan with M&E and the MIS Learning “loop”/curve at different levels Benefits for stakeholders the set formats are being tested even before they are incorporated in the design of the MIS software. They have even sought assistance from a micro finance consultant in designing the micro finance component of the MIS. The challenge currently facing the group is how to institutionalize the whole concept of MIS considering that conventional reporting has been in use right from the beginning of Programme. The group is hoping that by getting inputs through mutual sharing (via the proposed workshop), they can make the Programme MIS more action-oriented. The Project believes that sharing on the following themes can happen during the discussions: How has the developed system helped each project furnish information as required in relatively shorter time? How has the MIS been helpful in terms of monitoring and evaluation? What “precautionary measures” should be taken into account while developing MIS? How has the system been helpful to the various layers of managers in terms of decision-making? What are the implications of MIS on Project Performance? Western Uplands Poverty Alleviation Project (WUPAP), Nepal indicators. The Project says that the MIS they are using at present is not in a complete form. They are one among others trying to develop a complete MIS this year. They are thus looking forward to the MIS workshop that will be organized, as they are fairly certain to benefit from inputs that they will gather during the event. 15. Pravanjan Mohapatra Programme Officer – Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation – Programme Support Unit The Project wishes to share its experience in creating and mobilizing a multidisciplinary team, consisting of experts on watershed management, agriculture, sociology, rural development, M&E and software development, to develop its MIS. Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme (OTELP), India 16. RILP, Laos 17. Veena Khanduri JTDP and CTDP Veena’s group, which is in the process of developing the JTDP and CTDP project MIS, intends to share its experiences in consulting various stakeholders about their different information requirements. The Project has expressed appreciation for the opening of discussions on MIS development in IFAD projects. It related that it has recently finalized the agency to develop an MIS that would be used to monitor the progress of program implementation. In the coming days, the Project MIS will be developed by involving domain experts on watershed management, agriculture, animal science, sociology, rural development, M&E, and software development. The Project reported that the design of its MIS is underway. In line with this, Project Management has expressed interest in participating in the discussions. Veena’s group is currently working as an M&E agency for the IFADsupported JTDP and CTDP project. Besides conducting baseline and concurrent evaluation, they are developing the Project MIS. They have already conducted two rounds of workshop to discuss the requirements of various stakeholders. After inclusion of suggestions from all stakeholders, the MIS is once again under process for finalization. Other Responses received after August 11 From: kenneth pala <[email protected]> Subject: Re: MIS for IFAD projects To: "ENRAP M&E" <[email protected]> Dear Shalini, Hello there. Although you mus have received my comments on the MIs for IFAD Project earlier, pl do allow me to pen a few more concerns. we recently had organize an orientation on M&E and one of the point of discussion is methods of analysis of data collected. You may be aware that the kind and quantity of data that will flood in once project are in full swing is going to be huge and on wide range of issues. The concern is to find a cost effective, easy to use mechnism/software that would facilitate analysis of such data. We had a brief orientation on the use of SPSS and i feel that it is potential software that can be looked at. Wonder of some project are using this software and would like a deeper understanding on the utility of this software. The anotheer concern rather the consensus reached during the training is that it is most probably not a good idea to outs source MIS and data analysis without project staffs having clue on what is being done by external agencies, the right approach would rather be building the capacity of project staff to understabd the entire gamut. Any views on this All for now and am keenly keeping tab of the mails from various projects. regards kenneth -----------------------------------------------------------------------------From: "pd" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Recommendations for Proposed MIS Work Shop<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?> Dear Shilini; Please refer to your email of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoftcom:office:smarttags" /?>August 09, 2006 on the subject. We would like to share with you the following discussions in respect of MIS of FSDP in response to the questions raised for discussions in that email message; What are the key issues relating to design and implementation of MIS that Projects would want information on during this workshop? Response: SFDP has developed its MIS about one and a half year back but it could not achieve its objectives, rather has become redundant most probably due to the following reasons; · The soft ware developed for MIS of SFDP is not user friendly and has inherited many technical flaws due to which it can not be used for generation of the reports. · Soft ware is developed but the capacity of SFDP staff was not developed for operation of the system or modification of the system. · Contract for development of MIS was lacking provision for follow up or modification of system on part of the consultant of the consultant hired for the job Therefore, SFDP is expecting that the work shop should provide enough information and skills such that the project becomes able to modify and operate its existing MIS or to plan for new system professionally. What kind of experiences relating to design and implementation of MIS can projects share with others? Response: SFDP can share on information on costs, process of contracting MIS consultant, EOIs of MIS consultants, time spent on developing the system, technical flaws in the system and recommendations for implementation & sustainability of the system, based on experiences of SFDP. Which projects are planning or are in the process of designing and implementing MIS? Response: SFDP (IFAD Loan No. 554 - PK) is planning to modify and operate its MIS system in the current financial year. We hope that these information will help in generating fruitful discussion on modification and operation plan of SFDP for its MIS. Please feel free to ask for any other information and discussion on the subject. Regards Zahir Shah PD - SFDP -----------------------------------------------------------------------Participant details 1. Govinda Kafley, Programme Coordinator, Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme (LFLP), Nepal 2. Pushkin Phartiyal, Executive Director, Livelihood and Sustainable Development Programme, ULIPH Partner NGO, India 3. Patrick Jayamanne, Program Coordinator, PTCRRMP, Sri Lanka 4. Houmphan Kosada, Provincial Project Director, OCISP, Laos 5. Adrian Marbaniang, M&E Officer, NERCRMP, Meghalaya, India 6. Kenneth Pala, Manager – Communication, Monitoring and Evaluation, Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas (LIPH), Meghalaya, India 7. Jose Roi Avena, DAR-IFAD Project Facilitator, Department of Agrarian Reform – ForeignAssisted Projects Office (DAR-FAPsO) – IFAD Desk, Philippines 8. Yolando Arban, M&E Officer, DAR-IFAD Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives and Resource Management Project (NMCIREMP), Philippines 9. Orlen Ocleasa, M&E Coordinator/ Community and Institutional Development Specialist, Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project (WMCIP), Philippines 10. Amina Bidin, Project Facilitator, DAR-IFAD Support Project for the Indigenous Cultural Communities and MNLF in the Zone of Peace Within the Agrarian Reform Communities (SPICCnZPARC), WMCIP Partner, Philippines 11. Chongchith Chantharanonh, MOF, Laos 12. Priyantha Adikaram, MREAP, Sri Lanka 13. Vinay Kumar, Planning and Monitoring Officer, Jhrakhand Tribal Development Society (JTDS), India 14. Bashu Babu Aryal, Project Management Adviser, Western Uplands Poverty Alleviation Project (WUPAP), Nepal 15. Pravanjan Mohapatra, Programme Officer – Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation – Programme Support Unit, Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme (OTELP), India 16. RILP, Laos 17. Veena Khanduri, MIS agency for JTDP and CTDP 18. Zahir Shah, Project Director, South FATA Development Project (SFDP), Pakistan