The International Rice Research Institute and the Innovations for Poverty Action held a four-day capacity-building program for monitoring and evaluation, participated by 47 project development officers, project evaluation officers, and planning officers from
different government and non-government institutions.
The training conducted last 24-27 June 2024 at IRRI Headquarters in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines is one of the initiatives under the IRRI-IPA partnership that generally aims to further strengthen cooperation among lPA researchers and lRRI rice scientists. This training program aimed to enhance the monitoring, evaluation, and learning capabilities of both organizations while exploring the relationship between poverty alleviation and agricultural development.
Dr. Joanna Kane-Potaka, Deputy Director General for Strategy, Engagement, and Impact of IRRI, opened the program with a message, thanking IPA for initiating the collaboration. She emphasized that monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment will always be valuable at both the individual and management level, and how relevant the training is especially since IRRI will be implementing a new strategic planning process within the year.
Dr. Valerian Pede, IRRI’s Senior Scientist in Agricultural Economics and one of the course’s resource persons, echoed this sentiment. He emphasized that everyone should engage in monitoring and evaluation as it is crucial for demonstrating impact, particularly to donors, allowing them to understand the progress and success of the projects.
Aftab Opel, IPA’s Country Director for the Philippines, in his opening message, discussed the origins of the collaboration and the initial plans set by IRRI and IPA. He then outlined the expectations for the four-day program, highlighting the presence of various experts who would cover technical topics. He emphasized that the most critical takeaway is the importance of using the right data and evidence in their projects and programs.
