Outlining PHD Steps in a Digital Era

Outlining PHD Steps in a Digital Era

By: Amiella Marie D. Salazar

Research and Documentation Officer

Outreach Philippines, Inc.

Email: ami.outreach@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Outreach Philippines, Inc. is a non-profit organization that aims to help people improve their lives through Participatory Human Development (PHD) methodology. OPI currently implements its methodology in four municipalities of Nueva Ecija, one municipality of Isabela and one municipality of Masbate. It has established more than 36 community-based organizations since it started its operations in the late 80s.

OPI is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 1994. It is also registered as a Social Welfare and Development Agency (SWDA) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

To achieve its vision of communities without poverty, OPI implements the Participatory Human Development (PHD) methodology, which is a multi-stage, cyclical methodology that aims to develop communities where people act together on their poverty issues. It involves a process that encourages participants to undergo activities and experiences that enhance their problem-solving capability, raise their consciousness, and provide cohesiveness, for them to improve their situation.

PHD is also commonly known as community development work or community organizing. It follows these nine steps: Integration, Social investigation, Groundworking, Problem Identification and Prioritization (PIP), Meetings, Roleplay, Mobilization, Evaluation and Reflection. These steps are implemented by field staff of OPI who are called Human Development Facilitators (HDF).

Last October 23-24, 2024, OPI participated in the 10th International Consortium of Social Development ASIA PACIFIC BIENNIAL CONFERENCE. The theme of the biennial conference was “The Fifth Industrial Revolution Amidst Multifaceted Disruptions: Harnessing the Power of Social Development”. As a non-government organization with a Research and Documentation unit, OPI submitted an abstract for one of the panel presentations in one of the parallel discussions of the conference. The paper was entitled Digital Participatory Human Development: Bane, Boon or Boom?

The presentation was shared at the Conference’s Panel 2 of Parallel Session 1 with the Sub-theme: Social Development in the Digital World. The presentation covered the results of a study made about the experience of OPI when it implemented its PHD methodology through digital means during the COVID 19 pandemic. The context was OPI’s COVID Emergency Response Project, a project that provided assistance for food, grocery and cash needs of OPI’s partner community-based organizations (CBOs) during the lockdown.

The major results of the study were about the problems faced by HDFs and CBOs and corresponding efforts to solve them. It also collected information that showed the strengths, weaknesses, lessons learned and conclusion from the experience of implementing PHD methodology through digital technology. A separate blog was written about this.

More importantly, the study was also maximized by RADU and OPI as an opportunity to find out if the PHD steps were still followed despite the problems and limitations during the pandemic. Respondents were asked about the activities or efforts that they made to address the problems that were faced. These activities and efforts were collated and classified according to the nine steps of PHD methodology. Four HDFs and five community-based leaders were interviewed as respondents of the study. A presentation to OPI staff, who all have PHD or community organizing background, to validate the results of the study and incorporate more responses if any.

RESULTS OF THE STUDY (with focus on the question on PHD)

What were modifications/ adjustments in PHD steps?

1. Applying a simpler and quicker process in preparing and submitting the request letters and in implementing the assistance project to beneficiaries.

2. OPI consolidated the requests of all CBOs and then submitted them unlike before when each CBO submitted their individual request.

3. More communications were done through technology and social media instead of face-to-face.

4. Among the nine steps of PHD, Roleplay was least observed, Issue Analysis and Planning was used more instead of PIP.

5. Shorter request letters instead of proposals were submitted.

6. Selection of beneficiaries was not as strict compared to the process before COVID 19.

PHD STEPS IMPLEMENTED THROUGH DIGITAL MEANS

The table below tries to show the different activities that were implemented during the lockdown. The first column lists the non-steps that are being implemented in the PHD methodology. Read here