Philippines–Australia Community Assistance Program
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The Philippines–Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) is an ongoing bilateral development program run jointly by the Governments of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and Australia and funded by the
Australian Agency for International Development Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...
(AusAID). PACAP was established in 1986, and is Australia’s longest-running development program in the Philippines. PACAP's counterpart agency is the
National Economic and Development Authority The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA; fil, Pambansang Pangasiwaan sa Kabuhayan at Pagpapaunlad) is an independent cabinet-level agency of the Philippine government responsible for economic development and planning. It is headed ...
(NEDA).


Goals

The aim of PACAP is to reduce poverty and its consequences in communities throughout the Philippines. The program supports community-initiated, economically
sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
,
ecologically Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
sound and gender responsive development projects. It provides financial assistance and multi-level capability building to poor communities, who are thus empowered to pursue economic growth and achieve better standards of living. All PACAP projects are initiated by, and implemented in partnership with, community, government and civil society organizations.


History

PACAP started in the Philippines in 1986 in the time of major social and political change following the
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
and
Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...
’s assumption of power. The Program has always been managed by a Secretariat of local staff. In PACAP's original design, the program was managed by AusAID staff at the
Australian Embassy Australian diplomatic missions are posts representing the Commonwealth of Australia in foreign countries. They are mostly maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with some smaller posts being run by Austrade. There are curr ...
in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...
. However, in early 2005 the management was turned over to Hassall and Associates, International (HAI), an Australian managing contractor, now part of Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty. Ltd. (GHD). GHD-HAI has been managing AusAID-PACAP in collaboration with its Philippine partner, Sustainable Development Solutions (SDS). In its first eighteen years of operation, PACAP supported about one thousand small community-based activities, benefiting around 250,000 poor people. It achieved this in partnership with about five hundred
non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
and people's organizations. During one of its most recent phases (January 2005 - September 2010), PACAP funded almost five hundred further engagements with over 250 different groups.


Operations

PACAP is a flexible facility that is willing to fund almost any project that aims to alleviate poverty. In PACAP’s long history, it has supported a great diversity of projects including
literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...
, health,
potable water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...
and sanitation projects;
eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...
projects; and agricultural and aquaculture, aquacultural projects including: Scylla serrata, mud crab and ornamental fish production projects; coconut, pili nut and organic vegetable production projects; mangrove and watershed rehabilitation projects; and abaca, pina and raffia fiber production projects. PACAP has also worked with co-operatives producing local handicrafts, with the handicapped and the elderly, with street beggars, with abused women and children, with the children of overseas workers, with prisoners, with prostitutes, and with the victims of AIDS and filariasis. It has also supported a children’s choir, worked with indigenous peoples on ancestral domain issues, and helped persons displaced by conflict. It has provided funds to build warehouses and other storage and processing facilities, medical centers, water-testing laboratories, workshops, classrooms, a floating literacy center, footbridges, boats used by emergency medical services, and fishing boats. The current phase of PACAP is scheduled to deliver Australian Dollar, A$ 20,000,000 (approximately Philippine Peso, Php 800M) in grant assistance to projects all over the Philippines. PACAP grants are being delivered through two modalities: the Focal Community Assistance Scheme (FOCAS) and the Responsive Assistance Scheme (RAS):


Focal Community Assistance Scheme (FOCAS)

FOCAS is a more restricted mode of grant assistance than RAS, operating only in specific geographic regions and around carefully chosen ‘themes’. It is the main strategic mode for provincial government engagement in five provinces in the southern Philippines - Agusan del Sur, Bohol, Misamis Occidental, Northern Samar and Surigao del Norte. Within these target provinces, each FOCAS encompasses a portfolio of related projects that are either 'landscape' and/or 'thematically' based, each covering one or more barangays or municipalities.


Responsive Assistance Scheme (RAS)

The grant allocations provided through RAS are less restrictive than those provided through FOCAS. Although RAS funds, like those of FOCAS, are primarily distributed in the southern Philippines – this being the poorest region within the nation – RAS also retains the ability to respond to needs across the country, whatever form these take, and wherever these occur.


Collaboration

Under RAS, PACAP may involve itself in multi-donor programs that encourage cooperation and collaboration from various funding donors for as long as it is within the strategic framework of PACAP. An example is PACAP's participation in the World Bank initiated Development Innovation Marketplace Program (DIMP).


Publications

PACAP has produced a number of publications to share its knowledge of community development experience to the wider community development network. Most recently, PACAP has produced online resources related to microfinance and social enterprise development.


References


External links


PACAP websiteAusAID websiteNEDA websiteDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program Australia–Philippines relations International development agencies