ANNEX 4.

POLICY PROPOSAL SUMMARY

Documents submitted:
 Policy Proposal Summary
POLICY PROPOSAL SUMMARY  Draft Department Order
TITLE OF POLICY: GUIDELINES FOR THE OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE  Policy analysis documentation
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (PMIS)  Others: __________________
PROPONENTOFFICE/UNIT: PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING DIVISION
A. RATIONALE
 Identify the problem/issue sought to be DepEd is the largest bureaucracy among the government offices serving more than 27 million learners. Given the complexity of
addressed DepEd’s programs and projects implementation, the Department experiences difficulty in monitoring all of its interventions being
implemented across all governance levels. This resulted to numerous effects such as inaccurate tracking of programs’ outputs and
outcomes, low quality of reports and analysis of status of implementation, inability to provide real-time and accurate information to
management for evidence-based decision making, and difficulty in linking the findings of the monitoring and evaluation with plan
formulation and execution. Thus, it is very important that DepEd has provision for real-time and updated information of PPAs vis-à-
vis approved plans.
 Provide brief background of the For the longest time, majority of the operating units in DepEd practice manual monitoring of their programs and projects by using
problem different tools, techniques, and standards. Historically, this resulted to delayed and inconsistent implementation of DepEd’s
programs and projects with diverse interpretations of the PPAs due to the absence of a single source of truth concerning the
program status and accomplishments. Below are the detailed problems of the Department before the implementation of the PMIS.

 Information on the status of implementation is not readily available.

 WFPs are prepared in different formats across offices and governance levels: difficult to consolidate
 Difficult to track the status of plan activities and budget in a manual process.
 There is no single source of truth about programs and projects

B. POLICY SUMMARY
 What is the nature of the policy?  New policy  Amend policy/ies _____________  Repeal policy/ies _____________
 Briefly state the policy and how it will The PMIS was developed to support the agency’s Planning and Budget Strategy. It shall be the official source of data on
address the identified problem programs, projects and activities (PPAs) of the Department of Education from planning to implementation. It aims to a. support the
effective and efficient management of plans and programs; b. increase transparency of plans and programs at all levels of
governance DepEd Central Office to Schools; c. provides a platform that encourages a more careful and systematic preparation of
plans and utilization of budget; d. aids in policy formulation and decision making; and e. enforce standards for planning and plan
implementation.
 Describe the coverage and limitation/s The PMIS shall be implemented in two phases: Phase 1 shall cover the initial implementation of the system to support the
of the policy planning, programming and budget execution processes in all levels of governance. Phase 2 shall cover the PMIS implementation
at the school level to support the School-Based Management.

This issuance will cover the operationalization of the following PMIS modules at the CO, ROs, and, SDOs:

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 a) maintenance of program and project profile;
b) allocation of budget ceilings by PPAs;
c) preparation of Work and Financial Plan (WFP) through the use of the Expenditure Matrix (EM);
d) Preparation of Project Management Procurement Plan (PPMP) and list of Common-Used Supplies and Equipment
(CSEs);
e) confirmation of WFPs, PPMPs and list of CSEs;
f) execution of plans through the use of implementation documents such as “Activity Request” (AR) and “Authority to
Conduct” (ATC) modalities;
g) recording of obligations and disbursements;
h) recording of issuance and confirmation of receipt of sub-AROs;
i) periodic reporting of financial and physical accomplishments of all PPAs;
j) adjustment of Work and Financial Plans as a result of Program Implementation Review;
k) monitoring procurement and implementation milestones of basic education inputs (ie. Plantilla, Classroom, Learning
Tools and Equipment, Learning Materials); and
l) generation of APP and reports on the status of programs and projects both physical and financial.

C. RELATIONSHIP W/ EXISTING POLICIES OR REGULATIONS

 Identify all other issuances (of DepEd There are no policies covering the same subject for the past 10 years however, there are policies being implemented by the
or of other agencies) related to or department that are related to this policy. These policies are DO 16, s. 2018 Implementing Guidelines on the Use and Release of
covering the same subject matter over Funds for FY 2018 and the DO 67, s. 2016 Revised Signing Authorities for Financial Matters.
the past 10 years.
However, provisions from these policies promulgated by the administration are no longer consistent and applicable to the current
 Determine consistency or conflict, if practice of the department to date since FY 2019 and succeeding fiscal years considers the shift to Annual Cash-Based
any, with these issuances Appropriations and other budget reforms to ensure that budget allocated in the department are fully utilized.
D. POLICY OPTIONS
 Describe the situation without the Without the PMIS Guidelines this could be a problem since there will be no policy to direct all governance levels towards the use
policy intervention (status quo) of the system. More effort and resources would be needed to ensure that each operating unit, from the Central Office down to the
school level, has plans that are aligned to that of the ExeCom. Furthermore, there will be an issue of continuity and sustainability
since without the PMIS guidelines, there will be an obvious disconnection between the plan formulation, implementation and
progress monitoring processes in each level of governance.
 Describe previous efforts/policies to DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2018, aims to provide guidance on the policies, rules and regulations on the release, use and monitoring
address the problem and their of funds for FY 2018. It also ensures timely, effective, efficient utilization of resources, synchronize fund release with the
outcomes implementation of DepEd’s Programs, Activities and Projects, (P/A/Ps) and to institute mechanism for transparency and
accountability across all governance level. However, this policy only covers the implementation stage particularly on the manual
preparation of implementation documents such as Activity Request and Authority to Conducts. The policy do not cover the
guidelines on the planning up to progress monitoring using the PMIS.
 Identify and briefly describe each policy The Planning and Budget Strategy (PBS) Policy of the Department of Education (DepEd) as another policy option considered is a
option considered, including risks response to the clamor of field offices for DepEd to have a standardized procedure when it comes to long-term, medium-term, and
involved operational planning. The PBS is meant to serve as the guide of DepEd across all governance levels in plan formulation and as
the roadmap in crafting the different education plans. It will direct the planning process at the central, regional, and division offices
and align the school improvement plan in each school. Specifically, this lays down the planning framework to be used and explains
how the strategic directions as set by the ExeCom will be translated to the operational plan of all implementing units of all
governance levels. Another policy option considered is the Basic Education Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (BEMEF) as
the primary basis in determining the overall performance of the Department against its desired organizational and learner
outcomes. The framework shall guide DepEd offices across governance levels in the conduct of M&E activities on their PAPs and
policies, and in the assessment of office and individual performance. It covers the identified and agreed outcome indicators of
DepEd offices and PAPs at all governance levels, and how these are linked to the Intermediate Outcomes and Enabling
Environment of the BEMEF. M&E findings on department’s PAPs and policies shall be used to improve the performance of
department’s services, evidence-based decision-making, policy-making, budgeting, management, and transparency and
accountability in allocated government resources. Despite of having PBS and BEMEF as an option it is deemed to be ineffective
without the PMIS policy since these policies are more of the processes in the planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation. The
PBS and BEMEF do not talk of the tool or system in order to do planning and budgeting up to monitoring and evaluation of DepEd
PPAs. Moreover, a guideline in the operationalization of PMIS must be another policy since it talks not just the processes but also
the proper utilization on the tool (system) in the overall planning and budgeting cycle of the Department of Education.
 Why is the proposed policy better than The proposed policy is better than the other option since it will not only standardized procedures in planning but also this will
the other options? augment the planners across all governance level in the preparation of their annual plans and budgets through the aid of the
Program Management Information System. The combination of the PBS, BEMEF and PMIS Guidelines ensures that the plans
being prepared is in accordance with the standards but also it will provide real-time data and information on the progress of
implementation and achievements of programs and projects in aid of policies and decisions of management necessary to improve
the delivery of quality outputs and thus, support basic education outcomes.
E. CONSULTATION PROCESS
 List groups, experts other stakeholders The PMIS was developed as a result of a series of consultative meetings with the different members of the Executive Committee
consulted (within and outside DepEd) (ExeCom), the Process Owners, the School Effectiveness Division, Regional Directors, Schools Division Superintendents and the
and comments/objections raised, if any Elementary and Secondary School Heads. This is also a product of the meticulous collaboration between the Planning Service
Finance Service, Procurement Service, Administrative Service, ICTS and Basic Education Services since 2011.
F. EVIDENCE BASE
 List studies, researches, books and DepEd Order 16, s. 2018 entitled “Implementing Guidelines on the Release and Use of Funds for Fiscal Year 2018”
other references used, and briefly
describe key findings DepEd Order No. 67, s. 2016 entitled “Revised Signing Authorities for Financial Matters”

The two policies do not cover the entire planning and budgeting and monitoring and evaluation processes. Even though these two
policies tackled the use of the implementation documents the Activity Request (AR) and the Authority to Conduct (ATC) it’s a must
that a policy not only discusses of the implementation stage but also the complete stages in planning and budgeting such as
planning, implementation, monitoring and adjustment stages.
G. RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS
 Financial (budget, equipment, etc) The implementation of the PMIS Guidelines in itself has no additional cost, the training for the roll-out of the existing, enhanced
and new facilities/modules of the PMIS has already been programmed under FY 2018 OPDNSP Continuing Appropriation.
 Human (personnel) To date the PMIS is maintained by personnel of the Planning and Programming Division, Progress Monitoring Unit as the Over-all
Program Manager in partnership with the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) as the System Support Team. After the
BEST Program ends it will be transitioned to Information and Communications Technology Service of DepEd CO still in
partnership with PPD-PS and all other members of the Technical Assistance Team (Process Owners)
H. RISKS
 Identify assumptions in the policy Since PMIS is already deployed from Central Office to SDO Level, end users should fully operationalize the use of the system
proposal beginning this FY 2019 guided by the existing policies such as D.O. No. 16, s. 2018 and D.O. 67, s. 2016. Trainings to capability
building for the process owners and end users level will be provided in order in order to strengthen the capacity and to place the
PMIS modules’ workflow processes in the functional divisions from Central down to Schools Division offices.
 Identify risks associated with and While not necessarily a problem or a risk, possible negative consequences that could arise due to this proposed PMIS Guidelines
possible negative consequences of the is a clamor from the field offices for a comprehensive training on the use of the system particularly the enhanced and additional
proposed policy (if any) facilities of the system. The need for creation of the technical assistance team per region and SDO is a must to ensure the smooth
and continuous implementation and operationalization of PMIS to the Regions, Schools Division Offices and eventually to Schools
that are considered Implementing Units (IUs).
 Identify measures to prevent or mitigate Creation of the Technical Assistance Team which shall provide frontline support, coaching and guidance to their respective areas
the risks and/or negative in the use and implementation of the system. This team will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of orientation training
consequences and other capability-building programs being conducted as part of the PMIS implementation. This team shall also provide
technical assistance in terms of content and processes to ensure that plans are aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the
Department. On the other hand creation of System Support Team per governance level is also a must to provide technical support
for the PMIS and shall consist of technically-trained personnel who will be responsible for maintaining the infrastructure support
and application system.
I. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
 Briefly describe expected outcome/s The operationalization of the PMIS is in support of the strategic goal of “Modernizing Education Management and Governance” of
the Department. Through this information system, core systems and process will be automated and streamlined thereby
improving the delivery of education programs and projects.
 Identify success indicators and No. of ROs and SDOs operationalizing PMIS
numerical targets (if applicable) No. of personnel informed and trained in the system
No. of MEL Plan developed
 Provide mechanisms and time-table for All levels of governance of the Department of Education shall conduct PIR and Plan Adjustment quarterly. Program
progress monitoring and evaluation accomplishments shall be presented to the USECs and ASECs as Panel in case of Central Office, RD/SDS and ARD/ASDS
including head of functional units in case of Field Offices. PIR Proper must be done before the 15th day of the succeeding month
of each quarter
 Identify responsible actors/offices for M An M&E Plan shall be prepared by the PMIS Implementation Team in each governance level to measure the extent of system
&E utilization and eventually system benefits and impact
 Describe feedback mechanisms PPD-PS shall continuously gather feedback on the implementation of this policy from all concerned internal and external
stakeholders. It shall conduct a periodic policy review to further enhance its provisions and effectiveness.