Evaluability Assessment of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Plan and Priority Programs under the MSME Development Plan with A Process Evaluation of Government Support

Description

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Plan (MSMEDP) 2017-2022 is the sectoral plan for the growth and advancement of the MSME sector. It aims to provide greater opportunities for entrepreneurs to start up, sustain, expand, internationalize their businesses, and become smarter entrepreneurs. As an integral part of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, the MSMEDP’s vision is to achieve “more globally competitive MSMEs that are regionally integrated, resilient, sustainable, and innovative thereby performing as key drivers of inclusive Philippine economic growth.”

The Assessment of the MSMEDP 2017-2022 aims  to determine the evaluability of the MSMEDP and its programs and provide recommendations to enhance evaluability. Specifically, the assessment aimed to: 1) assess the evaluability of the MSMEDP; 2) assess the evaluability of at least six flagship programs (originally five in the TOR) under the MSMEDP (implementation level); 3) determine the efficiency and effectiveness of government’s processes to coordinate and facilitate the development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the MSMEDP, including alignment of MSMEDP objectives with the PDP and its results matrix (i.e. oversight level); 4) assess the perception of MSMEs on the relevance and effectiveness of programs that cater to them; and 5) provide recommendations that will lead to the attainment of a business environment conducive to the success of the MSMEDP. It covered a total of 522 samples from programs implemented in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Aklan, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Davao del Sur, Misamis Oriental and Agusan del Norte.

The assessment firmed up that the MSMEDP and its programs are indeed evaluable given the reconstructed TOC and RF or impact pathways and that all six programs are relevant, effective, efficient and sustainable. In addition, the following were the major findings of the assessment:

1. There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that the MSMEDP and its component programs are relevant, effective, efficient and sustainable; and

2. Full-blown evaluation is warranted to demonstrate program success, as both the MSMEDP and PDP 2017-2022 draw closer to end.

In the future, with government support and MSMEs’ willpower, it is hoped that MSMEs would be able to adapt to the challenges of the “new normal” business environment.