Report on the end-of-project evaluation of the regional enterprise development (RED) project, phase I

Phase I aimed to strengthen the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and its affiliated Chambers" capacities to serve regional SMEs. The project has performed remarkably, motivating PCCI and the pilot chambers of commerce and industry to explore avenues for improving their organizations and expanding services to both chamber members and regional SMEs. Specifically, under Phase I, RED conducted an institutional assessment of PCCI and began to improve its organizational, human resource, compensation, accounting, and operational systems; selected six pilot chambers of commerce and industry located in Bulacan, Naga, Bacolod, Kalibo, Iligan, and Davao; and completed 15 training programs for 582 chamber officers and members, secretariat officers and staff, and entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs. In addition, RED has begun to renovate a building that will house the Davao Business Center (DBC), and completed the RED Impact Analysis and Implementation Plan study, which became the basis for the work plan and the Cooperative Agreement for RED Phase II. Plans have been completed for the RED Information System and the training and delivery of hardware and software to PCCI and the 6 pilot chambers. However, the study design on the regional implications of ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) is not complete and the local tax policy study has been deferred. Lessons learned are as follows. (1) Institution building support should focus on the implementing organization, PCCI, which can, in turn, deliver services and support to the recipient chambers, and thus most effectively reach regional SMEs. Institution building should be a continuing process so that gaps due to personnel turnover and changes in chamber leadership are sure to be filled. (2) The success of RED training programs can generally be attributed to the choice of participants, resource persons, and training venues; basing training design on needs assessment; instructional materials; and the granting of training subsidies. However, training subsidies should gradually decline as the participants become more capable of financing their own participation. (3) The cross visits and the regular interactions between the chambers have provided them with opportunities to share experiences and even do business with each other. (4) Some grantees found the computers very expensive. However, provision of the most technologically current and sophisticated equipment accelerated the turnaround in the delivery of chamber services to SMEs. (5) Since feasibility studies do not always result in positive conclusions, for large projects it would be less expensive and time-consuming to conduct a pre-feasibility study to determine whether a project merits a formal feasibility study.