Generating Local Level Stats for Informed Policymaking Using Community-Based Monitoring System CBMS

TA3.07) Generating Local Level Statistics for More Informed Policymaking Using the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS)

Organiser(s): Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network Office
(SP.1110)

The need for more granular and regular sources of data for the design of appropriate policies and efficient program implementation has been long recognized and called for particularly in countries with decentralized form of government where local governments are at the forefront in the delivery of basic social services. With greater role of local governments in mainstreaming global and national commitments, i.e. SDGs, disaster-risk reduction and management, among others, in the local plans & budgets, the need for more timely & disaggregated data becomes more apparent. On the other hand, while there have been efforts by national statistical systems to generate small area statistics, the sampling frame, frequency of data collection, data disaggregation and system for access has not yet responded to the data demands by various stakeholders from LGUs.

This session generally aims to showcase how the adoption of the CBMS methodology can complement existing national statistical systems in filling in data gaps at the local level, & how local governments can be capacitated in generating local poverty statistics that are useful for more comprehensive needs assessment & prioritization, focused program action, & impact monitoring overtime. Specifically, it features presentations on how CBMS can address crucial data gaps and requirements for design of appropriate policies and interventions, more focused targeting, and impact monitoring in the context of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda and implications of the global Covid pandemic.

The CBMS methodology was first developed in 1993 under the Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) research project implemented by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-Canada. Over the years, CBMS has been adopted in local context in at least 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin and North America with technical and capacity building support led by the CBMS Network Office based at De La Salle University-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies in Manila, in collaboration with the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), and key partners from the government, academe and research institutions in the said countries. CBMS is widely adopted by many local governments in the Philippines, where it was first adopted by LGUs since 1999 and continued to be used up to present as a tool for improving local planning and governance by filling in demand for household & individual data to know, better understand, and monitor the nature, extent and causes of poverty conditions at the municipal/city/village level and thereby design and implement necessary policy and program action. A CBMS Law was enacted in the Philippines in 2019 institutionalizing CBMS in all cities and municipalities.