Department of Budget and Management

Malacañang, Manila

OP IF
REFERENC
E GUIDE
Organizational Performance Indicator Framework
A Guide to Results-Based Budgeting in the Philippines

Manila, April 2012

This document was prepared with assistance from

EUROPEAN UNION
Delegation to the Philippines
OPIF Reference Guide

© 2012 by Department of Budget and Management

All rights reserved. Any part of this book may be used and reproduced, provided proper
acknowledgement is made.

OPIF Reference Guide:

Organizational Performance Indicator Framework
A Guide to Results-Based Budgeting in the Philippines

Published by:

Department of Budget and Management

Gen. Solano St., San Miguel, Manila
Tel: (+632) 490 1000
Email:
[email protected]
www.dbm.gov.ph

Printed in the Philippines

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 OPIF Reference Guide

Message
I am pleased to share this OPIF Reference Guide to our partners in government, in
Congress, and the public. The Guide is the latest addition to DBM’s tools for helping its
partners better understand the budget and use it to make government accountable for
results.

When we talk of accountability for results, we mean the performance of government

agencies in using public funds to fulfill the Philippine Development Plan—and the
agencies’ impact therein—through the execution of programs and projects under the
National Budget. Accountability for results goes beyond reporting how and where the
agency budget was spent; it focuses on how public spending improved the ways through
which an agency delivered key services to the public.

These are the questions that sum up what results are about, and what the OPIF Reference
Guide seeks to answer: did the National Government—and the public it represents—get
the best value for the money entrusted to an agency for delivering goods or services? Did
the agency spend its funds according to its priorities and provide services at the right
time? Did the agency’s expenditure performance in service delivery contribute to the
attainment of sector and societal outcomes—including poverty reduction and good
governance—and help the economy grow?

In answering these questions, an agency should be able to tell a performance story: what,
why, when, and how an agency delivered services to the public. Ultimately, these
questions should serve as basis for planning, budget allocation, and performance
monitoring, as well as reporting and evaluation in the whole of government.

I am confident that the tools in this Guide will ensure that the activities identified and
funded through the National Budget will truly support the key result areas embodied in
the Aquino Administration’s Social Contract with the Filipino People. Through this Guide,
DBM reaffirms its commitment to improve public accountability and to manage for
results, especially by helping government agencies use the budget for delivering direct,
immediate, and substantial benefits to all Filipinos, especially the poor and vulnerable
groups.

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Abbreviations
ABM Agency Budget Matrix
BARs Budget Accountability Reports
BEDs Budget Execution Documents
BP Business Plan
BPR Budget Performance Review
BPMS Budget Preparation Management System
COA Commission on Audit
CO Capital Outlay
CP Corporate Plan
CSC Civil Service Commission
DA Department of Agriculture
DBM Department of Budget and Management
DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DepEd Department of Education
DOF Department of Finance
DOH Department of Health
DOLE Department of Labor and Employment
DOT Department of Tourism
DOTC Department of Transportation and Communications
DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways
EER Efficiency and Effectiveness Review
EO Executive Order
ERB Executive Review Board
FEs Forward Estimates
FY Fiscal Year
GAA General Appropriations Act
GAS General Administration and Support
GFI Government Financial Institution
GOCC Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation
GOP Government of the Philippines
ICC Investment Coordinating Committee
IWP Individual Work Plan
LGU Local Government Unit
Logframe Logical Framework
MFO Major Final Output
MOOE Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses
MTEF Medium-Term Expenditure Framework
NEDA National Economic and Development Authority
NEP National Expenditure Program
ODAPR Official Development Assistance Portfolio Review
OPIF Organizational Performance Indicator Framework
OSEC Office of the Secretary
PAP Programs, Activities and Projects

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PDP Philippine Development Plan

PEM Public Expenditure Management
PI Performance Indicator
PIP Public Investment Program
PS Personal Services
RBM Results-Based Management
RM Results Matrices
RLIP Retirement and Life Insurance Premiums
SARO Special Allotment Release Order
Strategic Performance Management System
SPMS Support To Operations
STO

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Table of Contents
Message .......................................................................................................................... iii
Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. iv
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vi
Introduction .....................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 – OPIF Policy Framework...................................................................................4
The OPIF Context....................................................................................................................... 4
Why OPIF and why does it matter?................................................................................................................5
What is OPIF? .................................................................................................................................................6
What are the key objectives of OPIF? ............................................................................................................7
Where are we now? .......................................................................................................................................7
What is the way forward? ..............................................................................................................................9
OPIF and Managing for Results in the GOP............................................................................. 11
Planning for Results......................................................................................................................................12
Budgeting for Results ...................................................................................................................................14
Implementing for Results.............................................................................................................................16
Monitoring and Evaluating for Results.........................................................................................................16
Role of Agencies in OPIF and RBM ..........................................................................................
17
Chapter 2 – Basic OPIF
Concepts ..................................................................................... 19
What is the results
chain? ............................................................................................................................19
What is a logical
framework?.......................................................................................................................20
What is the results
framework?...................................................................................................................21
What are the key elements of
OPIF? ...........................................................................................................22
How can agencies be accountable for
outcomes?.......................................................................................22
How to make OPIF
operational? ..................................................................................................................23
Chapter 3 – Constructing the OPIF
Logframe ................................................................... 26
The Agency OPIF Logframe .....................................................................................................
26
What is the Agency OPIF
logframe?.............................................................................................................26
What is the purpose of the OPIF
logframe?.................................................................................................27
Why formulate the OPIF
logframe? .............................................................................................................27
What references can be used in formulating the
logframe? .......................................................................28
Societal Goals ..........................................................................................................................
28
What are Societal
Goals? .............................................................................................................................28
What are examples of Societal
Goals?.........................................................................................................28
Sector Outcomes.....................................................................................................................
29
What are Sector
Outcomes? ........................................................................................................................29
What are examples of Sector
Outcomes?....................................................................................................29
Organizational Outcomes........................................................................................................
30
What are Organizational
Outcomes?...........................................................................................................30
How to derive Organizational
Outcomes? ...................................................................................................30
What are examples of Organizational
Outcomes? ......................................................................................31
Major Final Outputs ................................................................................................................
32
What is an
MFO?..........................................................................................................................................32
How to derive
MFOs?...................................................................................................................................32
What are examples of
MFOs? ......................................................................................................................33
How is capital creation relevant to defining
MFOs? ....................................................................................34
Programs, Activities, and Projects...........................................................................................
35
What are
PAPs?............................................................................................................................................35
What are examples of
PAPs? .......................................................................................................................35
The Consolidated
Logframe .................................................................................................... 36
 OPIF Reference Guide

What is a Consolidated Logframe? ..............................................................................................................36

What is the purpose of a consolidated logframe? .......................................................................................37
How to prepare a consolidated logframe? ..................................................................................................37
How to reflect outsourcing arrangements in the logframe? .......................................................................38
Can OPIF logframes be revised?...................................................................................................................39
Chapter 4 – Specification of MFO Performance Indicators ............................................... 41
What are performance indicators for MFOs? ..............................................................................................41
How to formulate PIs? .................................................................................................................................42
What are examples of MFO PIs? ..................................................................................................................43
Why develop a PI set? ..................................................................................................................................43
How to formulate PIs? .................................................................................................................................43
Performance Target Setting .................................................................................................... 45
What is a Performance Target?....................................................................................................................45
How to express a Performance Target? .......................................................................................................45
How to derive Performance Targets? ..........................................................................................................45
Checklist for MFO PI Specification .......................................................................................... 46
Chapter 5 – Cascading OPIF to Corporate Planning .......................................................... 48
Why cascade OPIF? ......................................................................................................................................48
What is OPIF cascading? ..............................................................................................................................48
What is corporate planning?........................................................................................................................49
What are the uses of corporate planning? ..................................................................................................51
What are the key steps in corporate planning? ...........................................................................................51
What does corporate planning entail?.........................................................................................................52
What is the duration of the plans? ..............................................................................................................53
What is the difference between the CP, BP, and UWP? ..............................................................................53
What is a Corporate Plan?............................................................................................................................53
What is a Business Plan? ..............................................................................................................................54
What is a Unit Work Plan? ...........................................................................................................................54
Who is responsible for cascading OPIF?.......................................................................................................55
Chapter 6 – Estimating the Budget for MFOs ................................................................... 56
Budget for MFOs ..................................................................................................................... 56
Why does it matter to formulate the budget based on MFOs?...................................................................56
What is the relevance of PAP structure to MFOs?.......................................................................................57
Components of the Budget ..................................................................................................... 57
What is GAS? ................................................................................................................................................57
What is STO? ................................................................................................................................................58
What is Operations?.....................................................................................................................................58
What are Projects?.......................................................................................................................................59
What is Personal Services?...........................................................................................................................59
What is MOOE? ............................................................................................................................................60
What is Capital Outlay?................................................................................................................................61
How is the budget for an MFO estimated? ..................................................................................................61
Sources of Budget for MFOs ................................................................................................... 63
What are New General Appropriations?......................................................................................................63
What are Automatic Appropriations?..........................................................................................................64
What is RLIP?................................................................................................................................................64
What are Continuing Appropriations? .........................................................................................................64
What are Budgetary Adjustments?..............................................................................................................65
What is ‘Off Budget’ funding of MFOs? .......................................................................................................65
PAPs Restructuring and Budget Estimation ............................................................................ 65
Why restructure PAPs? ................................................................................................................................65
How are PAPs restructured? ........................................................................................................................66
Chapter 7 – Performance Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting .................................... 70

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Why evaluate performance of departments/agencies? ..............................................................................70

What is the Budget Performance Review? ..................................................................................................71
What are the uses of the BPR?.....................................................................................................................71
How is performance in MFO delivery assessed?..........................................................................................72
How is performance in project delivery assessed? ......................................................................................73
References...................................................................................................................... 75

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Results Matrices and Cascading Logframes........................................................ 76

Appendix 2. OPIF Logframe Review and Cascading OPIF Checklists....................................... 77
Appendix 3. MFO, PIs, and PAPs Review and Analysis Instructions and Worksheet.............. 80
Appendix 4. Budget Performance Review Instructions .......................................................... 86
Appendix 5. Glossary............................................................................................................... 92

FIGURES

Figure 1. Performance-Based Contracting and Budgeting in the GOP......................................

10
Figure 2. Whole-of-GOP Results-Based Management (RBM) Framework................................. 12
Figure 3. The Results Framework ................................................................................................. 21
Figure 4. Influence and Accountability in the Results Framework............................................ 23
Figure 5. The Agency OPIF Logframe and DBM Focus............................................................... 26
Figure 6: PDP, OPIF, and Corporate Planning............................................................................. 50
Figure 7: Cascading Plans - Corporate Planning Components................................................... 52

TABLES

Table 1 - Role of Oversight and Implementing Agencies in OPIF............................................... 18

Table 2. Results Chain................................................................................................................... 20
Table 3. Example of How NOT to Word a Performance Indicator ............................................44
Table 4. Example of How to Word a Performance Indicator ....................................................44
Table 6. Performance Target, Actual Performance, and Variance............................................ 72

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Introduction
In preparing the National Budget, a commonly asked question among budget officials,
legislators, civil society, and the public is: What are we getting for public money spent?
Building public schools, hiring rural health workers, and constructing farm-to-market
roads are examples of what we can get from public spending. But others may go on
to ask: So what if activities have been implemented and outputs have been counted?

Both questions are important because they reflect a shift from perceiving public
agencies as accountable for carrying out activities or programs, to making them
accountable for results: delivering outputs and outcomes that will ultimately improve
the quality of life of all Filipinos—particularly the poor and vulnerable—through
enhancing the quality of public services.

In 2000, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) introduced the

Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF) to improve the way the
budget is allocated, reported, and spent toward greater accountability and
transparency in the delivery of public services. Before the adoption of OPIF, agency
budget requests were largely focused on the cost of activities, personnel, equipment,
and other resources to conduct programs and projects (inputs and activities), rather
than focusing on the results (outputs and outcomes) of agency performance and their
impact on improving the quality of lives of people. Budget decisions were mostly
based on what a government agency needed to implement activities, but not on how
much and how well it delivered goods or services (major final outputs) to external
clients and how it transformed communities.

For many years, agency budgets increased incrementally with little consideration of
program duplication or overlaps, changes in agency mandate, or the impact of agency
activities on attaining sector and societal outcomes. The situation made it difficult to
draw a real picture of government-wide performance in reducing poverty, fighting
corruption, making the economy grow, or attaining other development objectives.

With the adoption of OPIF, or what is generally known as results-based budgeting, the
focus of budgeting in the Government of the Philippines (GOP) has shifted from
inputs or activities to results. Budgeting has also evolved to address the so what
question, which signifies that outputs from budgets spent must align with and result
in higher level impacts toward attaining the GOP’s desired societal goal of inclusive
growth and poverty reduction. This focus on results is further strengthened by
Executive Order 43, which defines the Aquino Administration’s five key result areas
(KRAs) to guide departments/agencies in formulating their plans, programs, and

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projects. The KRAs include:

• Transparent, accountable, and participatory governance;

• Poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable;
• Rapid, inclusive, and sustained economic growth;
• Just and lasting peace and the rule of law; and
• Integrity of the environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The OPIF Reference Guide seeks to provide a common reference material and a set of
quality standards in the use of OPIF as a system for achieving and reporting outputs
and outcomes from public spending. Specifically, it aims to help users understand:

• key OPIF concepts and processes;

• how OPIF is applied to budgeting, planning, reporting, monitoring, and
evaluation of agency performance; and
• why OPIF is a valuable tool for resource allocation, performance or results
management, and accountability.

This Guide is designed primarily for the technical staff of DBM and government
agencies. The DBM can use the Guide to enhance their work in reviewing agency
budget proposals and assessing agency performance in delivering major final outputs,
among others. Government managers, planners, and budget officers/staff, on the
other hand, can use the Guide to apply the technical processes of OPIF in their
agencies–-from formulating the OPIF logical framework and estimating budget
proposals, to cascading performance targets to organizational units as part of the
corporate and business planning exercises.

Congress and other oversight agencies will also find the Guide useful in exercising
their roles in monitoring and evaluating government performance, since OPIF is now
used for reporting government outputs. Civil society will likewise benefit from using
the Guide to broaden their understanding of the results-based budgeting process and
to further engage government agencies in improving the quality of public services.

The development of the OPIF Guide is based on the following considerations:

First, the OPIF system is homegrown and indigenized. Technical assistance from
various sources has been provided to the GOP, based on the experiences of
countries which have adopted results-based budgeting. This assistance
provided valuable inputs that brought OPIF to its status today, with technical
inputs adjusted to suit institutional conditions and the policy environment in
the GOP.

Second, implementing the OPIF is achieved through learning by doing. While

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existing literature is replete with available methods and tools on performance-

or results-based management, capacity building can only be more effective if
concerned staff go through the actual process of implementing the OPIF
system.

Third, OPIF is a work in progress. The innovative nature of OPIF requires shifts in
established practices and procedures, knowledge and capacity, and value-
orientation of OPIF implementers. As such, changes in the current budgeting
system cannot be done overnight.

To understand the policy context of OPIF, the Guide begins with a discussion of public
expenditure management reforms that underpin OPIF. This chapter is followed by a
presentation on key OPIF concepts and the process of constructing the
department/agency logframe. The other chapters elaborate on key OPIF processes:
the specification of MFO performance indicators, MFO budget estimation, and budget
performance monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. Detailed instructions and
procedural steps for these processes are provided in the Appendices.

To maintain the Guide’s conceptual and operational relevance, DBM aims to

continually review and update this Guide, given feedback from its partners. While this
Guide is a stand-alone document, it also complements current (e.g., Philippine
Development Plan 2011-2016) and other results-oriented literature of the GOP (e.g.,
PDP Results Matrices and Public Investment Plan).

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OPIF Reference Guide

Chapter 1 – OPIF Policy Framework

The OPIF Context
The Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF) is a results-based
management approach being mainstreamed by the Government of the Philippines
(GOP) as one of the pillars of its public expenditure management (PEM) reforms.
Through OPIF and other reforms, the PEM seeks to change the orientation of
expenditure management from focusing on rules and processes to focusing on three
key objectives or outcomes:

• Fiscal discipline – living within the means or resources available to the

government;
• Allocative efficiency – spending money on the right things or right priorities;
and
• Operational efficiency – obtaining the best value for the money or resources
available.

Under the PEM system, the budget is an instrument for allocating public resources
within the available fiscal space and ensuring that priority is given to expenditures
that are effectively oriented toward achieving development results—the outputs,
outcomes, or impacts of a development intervention. In applying OPIF to the budget
process, the government seeks to improve its results focus, specifically to:

• attain national development and sector outcomes (allocative efficiency) during

budget preparation and execution;
• capacitate departments/agencies to get the most value for money in the way
they provide goods and services to the public (operational efficiency); and
• use available resources for priority expenditures (fiscal discipline).

In the past decade, the GOP has implemented other reforms that complement OPIF,
particularly the multiyear budgeting or Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, which
involves projecting the forward expenditure requirements of existing policies and
projects for the next three years. These projections serve as an initial point for
budgeting for a department/agency, as well as an estimate of the fiscal space
available to government.

The GOP also enhanced the Public Investment Program so that public investment
priorities more realistically reflect available budgetary resources and the hierarchy of
government objectives. Through procurement reforms, the government is working to
fight corruption and to improve operational efficiency by using public bidding as the
default arrangement for the purchase of goods and services by

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departments/agencies. Recently, zero-based budgeting or program review/evaluation

has also been added to the armory of budgeting techniques that facilitate the
achievement of PEM reform outcomes.

Why OPIF and why does it matter?

OPIF seeks to provide surrogate or proxy measures to the profit and price mechanism
that characterizes the private sector and drives performance improvements in private
firms. It aims to give information on whether department/agency outputs are able to
deliver the government’s desired outcomes in a cost-effective way.

Performance and productivity in the private sector are largely driven by the price
mechanism and profit motive. Private firms (providers) produce goods or services
that customers (purchasers) want and are willing to pay for. In return, customers
expect a certain standard of quantity and quality from the provider through a
particular good or service. Firms can thus decide to produce more or less of the good
or service and set the price depending on customer behavior, or remain cost-efficient
and competitive in the market. When investments fail to yield expected profits or
returns, owners have the flexibility to cut personnel and other costs or stop
production altogether. In effect, the increased demand from paying customers and
the opportunity to increase returns from investments often drive firms to perform
more efficiently.

Public sector agencies do not have the profit or price mechanism that signal whether
the goods and services they produce are desirable to the communities they serve, or
whether they are cost-effective and competitive. They cannot simply stop delivering
services when the demand is low or the cost is
high, because there are important factors to as
OPIF seeks to drive
consider such the needs of underserved
performance efficiency
communities, geographical location,
improvements by improving
emergencies, and department/agency
accountability for results in
service
mandates, among others. The security of tenure
government agencies.
for public sector employees can also become an
obstacle to improving performance efficiency
(e.g., poor performing employees cannot be fired
easily).

The provider-purchaser relationship common in the private sector is relevant to

enhancing performance management in the public sector. It can be used to define the
relationship between a department/agency (as provider) and the community or client
that it serves (as purchaser) in a way that will spur performance improvements based
on accountability and public trust.

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OPIF Reference Guide

This is where OPIF comes in. It provides a performance or results management

framework that the national government and its clients and stakeholders can use to
address the demand for greater transparency and accountability in the use of public
resources.

All of the following elements are needed for OPIF to work effectively as a results
framework:

1. Agreement on the outputs that a government agency delivers along with their
expected contribution to the attainment of sector and societal outcomes;
2. Choice and publication of clear indicators for measuring department/agency
performance in delivering outputs, as well as guiding clients—including civil
society—on what to expect in terms of output quantity and quality; and
3. Use of performance information (measurement data and analysis) to influence
decisions on policy, plans, and resource allocation.

The third element cannot be overemphasized enough because organizations—public

or private alike—are more likely to improve their delivery of outputs when they see
that performance information will influence future decisions on incentives or,
alternatively, sanctions for performance.

What is OPIF?

As a planning and budgeting tool, OPIF seeks to align goods and services supported
by the budget—and which a department/agency delivers to external clients—with the
desired outcomes that government aims to achieve or influence. It requires the
specification and reporting of objective and measurable performance indicators to
show the extent to which a department/agency’s major final outputs (MFOs)
influence desired outcomes identified in the national development plan.

As a results-based management tool, OPIF

OPIF is an approach to can help departments/agencies define and
expenditure management establish priority expenditures through a
that directs resources for logical process of:
major final outputs (MFOs)
• deciding on and planning outcomes;
toward results and measures
department/agency • establishing relevant
performance by key quality, performance targets and measures;
quantity, timeliness, and cost • implementing activities to
indicators. achieve outputs and outcomes; and
• monitoring, evaluating, and reporting
on results.

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OPIF therefore encourages policymakers to focus on strategic national and sector

priorities in allocating scarce budgetary resources. It makes government managers
accountable for the strategies they develop and the outputs they are expected to
deliver in pursuit of these priorities. OPIF also increases government employees’
understanding of how their individual outputs count toward achieving national
outcomes. All these lead to building a performance-oriented culture in the public
sector.

What are the key objectives of OPIF?

OPIF seeks to improve accountability for results at the following levels:

• National Government. OPIF strengthens the alignment of department/agency
MFOs with sector outcomes and societal goals identified in the Philippine
Development Plan and Millennium Development Goals, so that results may be
reported by the President and Congress to the public.
• Department/Agency. OPIF shifts the emphasis of department/agency
accountability from the implementation of activities funded through the
Budget to MFOs delivered to clients. It requires a department/agency to report
to the President and Congress on the question: What outputs were delivered
for the inputs provided?
• Unit. OPIF requires division chiefs/department managers to identify spending
programs that support specific MFOs. It also makes them accountable for
developing business strategies for delivering MFOs in the most cost-effective
manner.
• Individual. OPIF helps government
OPIF shifts the focus of
employees understand how the individual department/agency
activities/tasks they perform and the accountability to MFOs
outputs they are accountable for delivered with respect to
contribute directly to the attainment of activities funded through the
unit outputs, department MFOs, sector Budget.
outcomes, and societal goals.

Where are we now?

Before the adoption of OPIF, department/agency budget proposals were largely

focused on the cost of activities, personnel, equipment, and other resources to
conduct programs and projects (inputs and activities), rather than the results (outputs
and outcomes) of department/agency performance and their impact on improving the
quality of lives, especially of the poor. Budget decisions were based more on what a
department/agency needed to implement their activities, but less on how much and
how well it delivered goods or services to external clients and the community.

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For many years, department/agency budgets increased incrementally with little

consideration of program duplication or overlaps, changes in agency mandate, or the
impact of agency activities on attaining sector and societal goals. This situation has
made it difficult to measure the performance of departments/agencies and their
contribution to achieving development outcomes and goals.

It is thus important to clarify what performance means and how it should be

measured, especially when the meaning of the term has evolved over time:

There was a time when evidence of "performance" in the field of job training
would have been "dollars appropriated or spent" (an input), or number of
training courses offered (an activity). An advance in performance
measurement occurred when agencies and program began reporting the
number who attended or—even better—graduated from training courses
(output). The last stage in developing indicators of performance was asking
and answering such questions as: “Did the trainees get a job—or keep the job
for three months or a year? And what kind job did they get?” It was these kinds
of questions that led to measuring outcomes.1

According to Smith and Grinker,2 performance has several dimensions: inputs,

activities, outputs, and outcomes. Those dimensions can be turned into a logic model
or performance reform hierarchy, which shows a map or blueprint of what is required
to produce the desired outcomes. Performance can be improved through a set of
different but related reforms or activities at each level in the hierarchy, so that each
level is a foundation for moving to the next, more complex level.

At the bottom of the hierarchy is performance measurement, which involves greater

use of quality and quantity indicators to measure performance and generate
information for decision makers. Performance measurement, while necessary, is rarely
sufficient. Thus the second level, performance management, builds on performance
measurement by using information from assessment activities to plan, monitor, and
evaluate performance, and to hold managers accountable for doing so. The third
level, performance-based contracting, may involve a subcontracted vendor to provide
the service, as well as financial incentives to reward good performance or penalize
providers for failing to achieve outcomes.

Finally, in performance-based budgeting, budgets show not only how funds will be
spent but what outcomes the expenditures will help produce, and will thus require

1
Dennis Smith and William Grinker, “The Promise and Pitfalls of Performance-Based Contracting” (paper
presented at the 25th Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and
Management, Washington, D.C., November 5-8, 2003), 8.
2
Smith, “The Promise and Pitfalls,” 8-11.

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 OPIF Reference Guide

performance management and performance-based contracting systems that are

robust and reliable.

The performance reform hierarchy can be used to examine the Philippine experience
in PEM reforms. Since 2007, departments/agencies in the GOP have been presenting
their activities, outputs, outcomes, and performance indicators in a logical framework,
which is published annually in the OPIF Book of Outputs. Additionally, MFOs and
indicators are reflected in agency budget proposals, execution, and accountability
reports to DBM.

However, the quality of performance or results information are found to be generally

poor, while the resulting analyses are limited due to insufficient specification of
indicators and targets among many departments/agencies. MFO performance
indicators are a mix of outcome, output, activity, and process indicators, which
indicate confusion about the focus of accountability of departments/agencies. Many
PAPs continue to exist but are not aligned with MFOs, and thus do not contribute
much to the attainment of sector outcomes and societal goals. Management systems
for analyzing and integrating performance information remain largely inadequate in
many departments, including oversight agencies.

All these suggest the need to improve the capacity of departments/agencies to move
from performance measurement to the next level (i.e., performance management),
and to strengthen the capacity of oversight agencies to use results information for
policy, planning, programming, and budgeting decisions.

What is the way forward?

Because OPIF is homegrown and indigenized in the GOP, performance reform gaps
should be viewed as opportunities for improvement. Once the gaps are addressed,
the way forward is clear: performance-based contracting, and ultimately,
performance-based budgeting. As depicted in
Figure 1, DBM (as purchaser) acts on behalf of the Performance contracts
President and the public to negotiate a convert targets into formal
performance contract with departments/agencies agreements between the
(as provider) to produce or deliver MFOs on a government (represented by
value for money basis, and according to a set of the President) and its
performance indicators and targets. departments/agencies, and
between senior managers
A performance contract will convert targets into and their staff.
formal agreements between the government and
its departments/agencies (or external providers)

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on the amounts they will spend and how much they will produce. 3 Such contracts can
be in the form of performance agreements, which can be negotiated between the
President and department/agency heads, or they can be in the form of the OPIF Book
of Outputs, which details the performance targets of the department/agency for the
year.

Figure 1. Performance-Based Contracting and Budgeting in the GOP

Outputs
DBM negotiates
implicit
performance based
contract in behalf of
Performance indicators the President and
Departments/Agencies and targets negotiated the public -
report on output between
indicators that feed departments/agencies
into budget and DBM based on
preparation funding levels

DBM
formulates
Budget with
department/
agency using
historical
Budget by MFO performance
as a guide

Performance contracts can also extend downward to the departments/agencies,

negotiated between senior managers and their subordinates. They can support the
cascading of performance targets to corporate and unit work plans, thereby ensuring
that department/agency outputs are aligned with sector outcomes. Likewise,
performance contracts can be used to monitor the performance of
departments/agencies as providers, as well as compare targets with results that feed

3
Allen Schick, “Getting Performance Measures to Measure Up,” In Quicker, Better Cheaper? Managing
Performance in American Government, ed. Dall Forsythe (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2001), 48.

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back to budget formulation. At this level, the budget process is used as a mechanism
to control standards and ensure the quality of the performance of
departments/agencies in delivering MFOs. Consequently, improvements in the quality
of service will move the departments/agencies to the next level: performance- or
results-based budgeting, which requires a system for rewarding good performance
and for penalizing providers for failing to achieve outcomes. More importantly, the
performance of departments/agencies in delivering outputs is assessed for impact on
attaining desired sector and societal outcomes.

OPIF and Managing for Results in the GOP

Building a public school, paving a road, and hiring rural health workers are considered
outputs of public spending. So what are their outcomes? How did such outputs
contribute to meeting the government’s desired outcomes? As laid out in Executive
Order 434 and the 2011-2016 Philippine Development Plan, the planning, budgeting,
abd implementation of programs, as well as performance monitoring, evaluation, and
reporting in the GOP will be guided by a results-based management (RBM)
framework that is focused on the results of public spending.

RBM is a management strategy focusing on performance and the achievement of

outputs, outcomes, and impacts.5 As an RBM tool, OPIF focuses on the outputs of
public spending. To determine how these outputs influence higher-level objectives of
the government, OPIF is integrated with the RBM systems of other oversight
agencies. Figure 2 illustrates the key elements of an integrated RBM system for the
entire government. It shows how the planning, programming, budgeting,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation systems of oversight agencies and
implementing departments/agencies are linked and harmonized to drive government-
wide performance improvements and deliver results.

4
Executive Order No. 43, Pursuing our Contract with the Filipino People through the Reorganization
of the Cabinet Clusters (May 13, 2011).
5
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Glossary of Key Terms in
Evaluation and Results-Based Management (France: OECD, 2002), accessed November 25, 2011,
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf

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OPIF Reference Guide

Figure 2. Whole-of-GOP Results-Based Management (RBM) Framework

PLAN FOR RESULTS

• President’s Guideposts
(16 areas for transformative leadership)
• PDP
• RM
• PIP
BUDGET FOR RESULTS
• MTEF
• OPIF
• GAA /NEP
EVALUATE RESULTS • ABM/SARO
• ICC Programming (only FAPs
•SER consistent with plan are approved)
• MDG Results

MONITOR RESULTS IMPLEMENT FOR RESULTS

• ODA Review
• BPR •Agency PAPs
• RM Monitoring
• CSC SPMS • ICC Reevaluation
• COA Audit Reports

Source: NEDA, 2011-2016 PDP Results Matrices

Planning for Results

In formulating their plans, departments/agencies must be guided by the President’s

Guideposts, the Philippine Development Plan and its Results Matrices, and the Public
Investment Plan.

The President’s Guideposts or Social Contract with the Filipino People refers to the 16-
point action agenda or areas for transformational leadership aimed for by the Aquino
Administration and translated into Key Result Areas (KRAs) under Executive Order 43.

The five KRAs and their objectives are:

1. Transparent, accountable, and participatory governance – to

institutionalize

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 OPIF Reference Guide

open, transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance;

2. Poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable – to translate
the gains from good governance into direct, immediate, and substantial
benefits for the poor;
3. Rapid, inclusive, and sustained economic growth – to achieve rapid economic
expansion that generates jobs and livelihood for and increases the income of
the poor, while moving away from the boom-and-bust cycle of the economic
performance of the past;
4. Just and lasting peace and the rule of law – to attain just, comprehensive, and
lasting peace within the bounds of our law; and
5. Integrity of the environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation –
to promote sustainable natural resource utilization and climate change
adaptation and mitigation strategies and measures among national
government agencies, local government units and their respective
communities, the general public, and other stakeholders.

A key instrument in the planning process is the Philippine Development Plan (PDP),
which lays down the broad societal goals and specifies the sector goals and priorities
of the government within the medium term.
These priorities are articulated in the Results
The PDP lays down the broad
Matrices (RM) as desired societal goals and sector
societal and sector goals and
outcomes, outputs, indicators, and targets to
priorities of the
achieve the 16-point action agenda within the
Government within the
medium term. Prepared by NEDA, the RM medium term.
translates the societal goals and sector outcomes
in the PDP into measurable targets and outputs
for implementation. The 2011-2016 PDP, for example, serves as the government's
blueprint that will translate the Social Contract with the Filipino People into efficient,
effective, and responsive actions that are achievable within the term of the Aquino
Administration.

Based on the PDP and its accompanying RM compendium, a list of prioritized

programs and projects is prepared, covering ongoing and new capital investments
and all programs of government. The list, known as the Public Investment Program
(PIP), is a rolling multi-year public investment program that serves as a critical input to
the annual national budget formulation process. Basically, the PIP translates the PDP
into a core set of priority programs and projects to be implemented by the national
government, Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Government
Financial Institutions (GFIs), and other offices of the government within the medium
term.

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In drawing the list of major projects and activities for the PIP, each government
agency must review its PAPs to ensure that these are aligned with MFOs it is
mandated to deliver under OPIF. Major programs are identified and prioritized using
the Efficiency and Effectiveness Review (EER) framework, which considers the
responsiveness of programs and projects based
The PIP is a list of priority on relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and
programs and projects that impact, and sustainability in supporting sector
contribute to the societal outcomes.
goals, sector outcomes, and
outputs spelled out in the The information from the EER also feeds into
Philippine Development Plan. the periodic updating of the rolling PIP and the
strategic prioritization of public expenditures as
part of the MTEF.

Budgeting for Results

To further strengthen the linkage between planning and budgeting, the GOP
introduced the MTEF and OPIF in 2000. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(MTEF) is a three-year rolling expenditure framework, which supports budget
formulation by linking the investment programming process with the annual budget
call. It frames the government’s policy and expenditure prioritization for resource
allocation and is prepared ahead of the budget
preparation phase. Moreover, it involves a
MTEF is a planning and
process of setting fiscal targets and allocating
budgeting framework that
resources to strategic priorities within these
provides a three-year
fiscal targets to the government-wide system.
perspective to the decision-
making process during
MTEF seeks to strengthen results management
budget preparation.
in government planning and budgeting through
the Paper on Budget Strategy and forward
estimates (FEs). The Paper on Budget Strategy
(PBS) links budget allocation with the agenda of the national government to identify
the priority areas for spending, as well as to incorporate the sectoral and regional
implications in the dimension and distribution of the budget. Fiscal headroom is
allocated to these priorities. This prioritization process ensures that PAPs included in
the budget contribute to the attainment of the PDP.

The MTEF also includes FEs of approved projects and expenditure policies that are
matched with the medium-term revenue estimate and spending priorities, which are
derived from the PDP and the PIP. Through the FEs, the MTEF is able to indicate the
estimated cost of ongoing programs and proposed new projects on a three-year basis,
as well as inform decision-makers of the cumulative requirements and
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 OPIF Reference Guide

expenditure commitments to be considered in overall expenditure levels.

FEs show the future impact of current decisions

and budget choices, and are updated to account
Forward estimates are
for changes in budget policies and economic
projections or estimation of
parameters. Updating FEs is done before the
the future costs of existing
budget preparation process starts and involves a
policies.
five-year perspective: past year, current year,
budget year, and two out-years inclusive of a new
out-year for the next budget preparation.

Guided by the priorities identified in the PDP, RM, PIP, and MTEF, DBM issues an
annual budget call to all departments/agencies. In their budget proposals,
departments/agencies must show that PAPs and corresponding budget estimates are
aligned with their MFOs and with the KRAs under Executive Order 43 to ensure
greater efficiency and value for money in spending government resources. Budget
requests are evaluated by DBM and presented to the Cabinet and the President for
approval.

Approved requests are consolidated into the National Expenditure Program (NEP), a
document which reflects the annual program of estimated expenditures presented by
the national government to Congress for spending authority.

After its deliberations on the proposed budget, Congress grants spending authority
through the General Appropriations Act (GAA). Using the GAA as legal basis, DBM
oversees the release of funds to departments/agencies for the implementation of
their PAPs required for delivering their MFOs.

DBM, in coordination with departments/agencies, prepares the Agency Budget Matrix

(ABM) to disaggregate department/agency budgets into items needing and not
needing clearance for release. This process helps determine which items will be issued
special allotment release orders (SAROs) and which amounts will be released
comprehensively under the ABM.

To continuously improve the results-focus in government spending, the Investment

Coordination Committee (ICC) reviews proposed foreign-assisted projects (FAPs),
including projects of departments/agencies with a cost of P500 million and above
and/or those that will entail borrowing. Only those projects found consistent with the
PDP and PIP are approved for programming and budgeting.

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Implementing for Results

Departments/agencies are responsible for the implementation of PAPs that are

aligned with MFOs, KRAs, and sector outcomes in the PDP Results Matrices. They are
also tasked to establish results-based monitoring and reporting systems to review and
report their progress using MFO performance indicators and targets indicated in their
approved budget. Government managers thus need to develop corporate strategies
and corresponding indicators to measure internal outputs that will drive performance
in MFO delivery.

Monitoring and Evaluating for Results

Results are monitored and evaluated in the GOP through the Official Development
Assistance Portfolio Review, the Budget Performance Review, the Results Matrices
monitoring, the Strategic Performance Management System, and audit reports.

The Official Development Assistance Portfolio Review (ODAPR) is conducted

annually by NEDA to review all ongoing foreign-assisted programs and projects and
their financing. The review is done to further improve the quality of ODA performance
and the relevance of projects to national priorities in the PIP and PDP.

DBM, in coordination with departments/agencies, conducts the Budget Performance

Review (BPR). The BPR focuses on the performance of a department/agency in
delivering MFOs and is conducted midyear and
annually. It analyzes financial and physical
BPR provides the President performance data (MFO performance
and Congress with a indicators and targets) captured from agency
summary report on the budget accountability reports submitted to
financial and physical DBM. At year-end, all financial and physical
performance of government performance information is analyzed and
agencies in delivering their consolidated as a report to the President and
major final outputs. Congress on the performance of
departments/agencies in delivering MFOs.

Oversight agencies have their own M&E systems to monitor results of GOP
performance. NEDA monitors results by analyzing indicators with baseline levels and
targets set in the Results Matrices, which were used in formulating PDP and
department plans. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) develops the Strategic
Performance Management System (SPMS) for monitoring and assessing individual
employee performance. The SPMS uses outcome indicators to determine how an
employee’s performance contributes to the agency’s goals. Lastly, the Commission on
Audit (COA) conducts an audit of the financial performance of departments/agencies
and produces annual audit reports for each government

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agency and for the whole of government.

NEDA also facilitates the annual review of the results of the PDP and the reporting of
results through the Socioeconomic Report (SER). The SER summarizes and monitors
the government’s achievements during the year to meet the goals and targets set in
the PDP, RM, and PIP, as well as its commitments to the Millennium Development
Goals. The SER also spells out the outlook and policy directions for the coming year.

Role of Agencies in OPIF and RBM

OPIF has laid the foundation for a performance measurement and management
system that links the budget with the plan. In order to build a strong results-oriented
culture in government as guided by the GOP RBM framework, the roles of oversight
and implementing agencies—particularly in OPIF results monitoring—need to be
clarified. A larger capacity for results-based monitoring and evaluation should also be
developed in all departments/agencies. In addition, results information should be
systematically analyzed and used in policy, planning, and budget decisions by
oversight bodies, Congress, and the President.

Oversight agencies and implementing departments/agencies have the following key

roles in OPIF:

• DBM ensures that the allocation of funding to MFOs is consistent with

government priorities reflected in the PDP, RM, PIP, and MTEF. It monitors the
delivery of MFOs in accordance with performance targets.
• NEDA evaluates societal and sector goals and measures the effectiveness of
MFO impacts on sector and societal outcomes.
• DOF funds the budget through borrowing and taxes subject to the
performance contract with the government.
• COA performs accounting and audit functions, including a performance audit
that validates the integrity of OPIF information.
• CSC promotes the continuous improvement of individual performance through
a performance management system linked to OPIF.
• Implementing departments/agencies deliver MFOs to clients and monitors
corporate and individual performance as reflected in performance contracts.

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Table 1 summarizes the OPIF function of oversight and implementing agencies in OPIF
and their role in results monitoring.

Table 1 - Role of Oversight and Implementing Agencies in OPIF

OPIF Function Results Monitoring Role

Evaluates effectiveness of MFO impacts on Develops and runs an econometric model to
societal goals and sector goals -- measures measure contribution of MFOs in delivering
effectiveness change at the national level
NEDA

Facilitates formulation of PDP Monitors the performance of the mix of MFOs

produced by government agencies to deliver
societal goals and sector goals in terms of
broad economic and social statistics

Negotiates delivery of MFOs on a value for Monitors the delivery of MFOs in accordance
money basis from departments/agencies – with performance targets agreed upon with
negotiates performance contracts departments/agencies
DBM

Ensures allocation of funding to MFOs is Carries out analysis to ensure performance

consistent with MTEF/FEs, PDP, and PIP targets are realistic and reported performance
is valid

Funds the budget through borrowing and Supervises revenue operations and manages all
taxes subject to a performance contract with public debt
DOF

the government

Promotes continuous improvement through Manages personnel performance evaluation

an individual performance incentive system;
Collaborates with DBM on a performance-
CSC

based remuneration framework linked to

delivery of MFOs

Quality assurance, accounting, and auditing, Monitors the reporting of performance by

including performance audits; ensures departments/agencies and ensures the quality
COA

accuracy of departments/agencies’ reported of the numbers produced

performance

MFO delivery, continuous improvement Gathers data and reports statistics against
through monitoring internal performance, performance targets agreed upon with DBM
and strategy implementation subject to and uses this data to continuously improve its
performance contract or agreement own performance
Implementing Agencies

Provides performance reports on the delivery of

its MFOs to the President and Congress to
promote transparency and accountability

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Chapter 2 – Basic OPIF Concepts

This Chapter presents the key concepts that underpin the OPIF system (results chain,
logical framework, performance indicators, etc.), and describes the process needed to
make the OPIF system operational in departments/agencies. It describes how OPIF
evolved into a homegrown and indigenized framework for results-based planning,
budgeting, and performance management while remaining consistent with RBM
principles.

What are results?

OPIF is concerned with results, particularly with MFOs delivered by a

department/agency and funded through the Budget. The PDP Results Matrices
describes results as follows:

Development results, or simply results, are outputs, outcomes, and

impacts of a development intervention. Outputs are the products, capital
goods, and services that result from a development intervention.
Outcomes are the likely or achieved short-term and medium-term effects
of an intervention’s outputs. These are observable behavioral and
institutional changes, usually as the result of coordinated short-term
investments in individual and organizational capacity-building for key
development stakeholders. Lastly, impacts are the positive and negative
primary and secondary long-term effects—both intended and unintended
—produced directly or indirectly by development interventions. The
transition of development results from outputs to outcomes, specifically
between the completion of output toward the achievement of impact, is
then a change in a developmental condition, as depicted in the results
chain. 6

What is the results chain?

From the discussion above, results chain refers to the causal sequence of development
interventions that stipulates the necessary sequence to achieve desired objectives—
beginning with inputs moving through activities and outputs, and culminating in
outcome, impacts and feedback.7 It reflects a hierarchy of objectives linked by a causal
chain or logic (means-and-end relationship) of planned development interventions8

6
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Results Based Management: Concepts and
Methodology, 2002, accessed November 25, 2011 at http://www.undp.org.
7
OECD, Glossary, 33.
8
Development intervention refers to a policy, plan, or program implemented by government.

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from activities that translate inputs to outputs (goods and services) leading to
medium- (organizational and sector outcomes) and long-term objectives (societal
goals). Table 2 shows the linkage between different levels of objectives.

Table 2. Results Chain

How should this be What should What outcomes do we Why should we

implemented? be produced? expect from this investment? do this?
Inputs Activities Outputs Short-term Medium-term Long-term
outcomes outcomes impacts

Source: NEDA, 2011-2016 PDP Results Matrices

From the RBM perspective, the implementation of activities is significant only in terms
of what it leads to or what follows from the process of planning, managing, and
implementing.9 In OPIF, this means that activities funded through the budget are
effective only if they deliver the MFOs they are expected to deliver. The results chain
can thus guide the government and its stakeholders in understanding why it is
important to measure results. It can help draw out evidence on whether the
government has been successful in performing its core functions.

Figure 3 shows how the results chain and logical framework apply to the results
framework and to the OPIF logframe.

What is a logical framework?

A logical framework, or logframe for short, is a management tool used to improve the
design of interventions, most often at the project level. It involves identifying strategic
elements (inputs, outputs, outcomes, impact) and their causal relationships, indicators,
and the assumptions or risks that may influence success and failure. It thus facilitates
planning, execution, and evaluation of a development intervention.10

The term logframe was adopted and indigenized to OPIF to strengthen the linkage
between planning and budgeting. Specifically, the OPIF logframe guides both DBM
and departments/agencies in identifying priorities for spending. This means funding
only those activities and projects that directly link or contribute to MFO delivery and
separating them from unlinked activities and projects that do not drive MFO
attainment. (See discussion in Chapter 3 and Chapter 6.) In other words, the OPIF
logframe tells a performance story of why, what, and how a department/agency
delivers goods and services to its external clients.

9
UNDP, Results Based Management.
10
OECD, Glossary, 27.

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Figure 3. The Results Framework

Societal Goal If sector outcomes are attained, then this should

contribute to the overall societal goal.

If organizational outcomes are achieved, then this

Sector Outcome should contribute to the sector outcomes.
Why

Organizational If outputs are produced, then organizational

Outcome outcomes are achieved.

What and MFOs If activities are conducted, then MFOs can be

produced or delivered to external clients.
Who
If adequate inputs are provided, then activities can
How PAPs be implemented.

What is the results framework?

Departments/agencies deal with results at various levels (outputs, outcomes,

impacts) and at various stages (planning, programming, budgeting, implementation,
monitoring, and evaluation). To help agencies manage results effectively, a results
matrix (containing the results statements, indicators, and targets) is incorporated in
each of the PDP chapters, thereby shifting the focus from only inputs and outputs to
outcomes and impacts.11

The results framework is a planning tool that illustrates how the results statements at
the PDP level (sector and sub-sector outcomes) will link to the OPIF logframes
(outputs and organizational outcomes) at the organizational level. It also describes
the focus of NEDA in managing for development results—subsector/sector outcomes
and societal goal at both the planning and M&E stages—and the focus of DBM, such
as PAPs, MFOs and organizational outcomes at the programming, budgeting, and
M&E stages.

As such, it shows the application of the logical framework at different levels (PDP,
sector, agency, or project) which are linked in a cascading pattern to guide M&E and
performance measurement at each level.

11
NEDA, Results Matrices, 3.

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Appendix 1 illustrates how each PDP Chapter cascades to sector results matrices, and
how each sector results matrix cascades to the department/agency OPIF logframe.

What are the key elements of OPIF?

The following elements serve as building blocks of OPIF and other RBM tools:

• PAPs – an activity or integrated group of activities undertaken to realize the

outputs and outcomes of a department/agency;
• MFOs – goods or services provided to external clients to achieve a common
outcome;
• Organizational outcomes – short- to medium- term benefits to clients and
communities as a result of MFO delivery;
• Sector outcomes – longer-term benefits for the sector from the initiatives of
the department/agency;
• Societal goal – societal benefits from sector initiatives;
• Performance indicator – a characteristic of performance (i.e., quantity, quality,
timeliness and cost) that is to be measured;
• Performance target – a predetermined level (numerical target) of quantity,
quality, timeliness, and cost of an output; and
• Performance measurement – use of methods to measure incremental progress
indicators from baselines to target.

How can agencies be accountable for outcomes?

It is often difficult to establish a direct link—cause and effect—between the goods

and services provided by a department/agency and the high-level sector/societal
outcomes that it seeks to influence. There is a range of factors—including non-
government influences—that may impact on these high-level objectives. Moreover,
the impacts may take a long time to take effect.

The impacts which are most important to society are unlikely to be wholly within the
control of the department/agency. It may even be difficult to determine the extent to
which impacts or outcomes are influenced by the department’s/agency's services
because of the difficulty of measuring and attributing changes in results.

Any assessment of organizational performance will need to recognize the extent to

which the department/agency can influence each level of outcomes and goals. The
logframe links societal goals to sector outcomes through a series of increasingly
shorter-term, organizational outcomes. Therefore, as one moves down in the
logframe, the capacity to influence results increases, and this is matched by a greater
level of accountability as illustrated in Figure 4. Because the department’s/agency’s
degree of control over its PAPs and MFOs is strong, it must be held fully accountable

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for the delivery of PAPs and MFOs.

Figure 4. Influence and Accountability in the Results Framework

Societal Goals

Which leads to…

Increasing Level of Accountability

Increasing Capacity to Influence
Sector Outcomes

Which leads to…

Organizational Outcomes

Which leads to…

MFOs

Which leads to…

PAPs

In contrast, numerous variables arise between what any given department/agency

actually does and the achievement of sector outcomes and societal goals and. As
such, the department/agency cannot be expected to be solely accountable for the
attainment of sector outcomes and societal goals.

How to make OPIF operational?

The OPIF process involves the following steps on how to make the OPIF system
operational in departments/agencies:

1. Reviewing the mandate and functions to formulate the organizational outcomes

that the department/agency is expected to achieve or contribute to and the
MFOs it is expected to deliver for that purpose. This involves a consultative
process between the department and its attached agencies, as well as the
DBM. The national government may opt to not fund obsolete

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mandates/functions; hence, a department/agency must continually review the

relevance of its mandate and refocus them as necessary.
2. Identifying linkages between the department’s/agency’s organizational
outcomes and the sector outcomes and societal goals enunciated in the
Philippine Development Plan, key result areas, sector plans, policies, etc.
3. Documenting PAPs, MFOs, and organizational outcomes in an OPIF logical
framework, which shows the linkages between resource inputs, programs,
activities, and projects that the department/agency implements to produce its
MFOs, as well as the organizational outcomes for which it is mandated.
4. Identifying performance indicators and targets for each MFO to show how
MFOs contribute to the achievement of the department’s/agency’s mandate.
The indicators will be used to hold the department/agency accountable to the
President, Congress, the public, and other stakeholders for carrying out its
mandate.
5. Approving the OPIF logframe as executed by the department secretary/agency
head and the secretary of DBM. The approval process for logframes of
agencies under the administrative supervision of and/or attachment to
departments shall consider the provisions in Section 28, Chapter 7, Book IV of
the 1987 Administrative Code.
6. Cascading OPIF to planning to ensure alignment of plans from the OPIF level
(organizational outcomes and MFOs) down to the department/agency
corporate, business, and individual work plans. The corporate plan, business
plan, and unit/individual work plans are key management tools for cascading
OPIF—particularly performance targets—in the department/agency.
7. Preparing the budget by MFOs, including associated PIs, in accordance with the
annual budget call. To improve cost attribution and expenditure prioritization,
it may be necessary to structure PAPs to establish the link of specific activities
to the appropriate MFOs. The budget estimate for MFOs is published in the
OPIF Book of Outputs for the fiscal year concerned.
8. OPIF performance monitoring, evaluation, and reporting to the President and
Congress. The periodic performance reports required of departments/agencies
under Executive Order 292, or the Administrative Code of 1987, will include
budget performance based on MFO performance indicators and targets.

The key steps to making the OPIF system operational are discussed in the subsequent
chapters.

Once the foundations of OPIF have been well-established (i.e.,

when department/agency logframes, including well-defined MFOs and performance

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indicators/targets are fully in place), it is envisioned that MFOs will become the basis
for the whole-of-government’s annual budgetary request to Congress and the
structure of the General Appropriations Act. This means that Congress will review in
concrete terms the outputs of departments, the results delivered, and the budget
requests according to MFOs.

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Chapter 3 – Constructing the OPIF Logframe

Chapter 3 describes the components of the OPIF logframe and provides instructions
on how to construct the Agency OPIF logframe and the Consolidated OPIF logframe.
It provides examples of societal goals, sector outcomes, organizational outcomes,
MFOs, and PAPs.

The Agency OPIF Logframe

What is the Agency OPIF logframe?

The Agency OPIF logframe, or simply OPIF logframe, is a planning and budgeting tool
used to establish the link between the MFOs that a department/agency produces
through the implementation of PAPs, and the sector outcomes and societal goals it
seeks to influence (Figure 5). As part of the results framework, it shows the focus of
resource allocation, spending, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of results based
on a set performance indicators and targets.

Figure 5. The Agency OPIF Logframe and DBM Focus

Societal Goal

Sector Sector
Outcome Outcome

Organizational Organizational Organizational

outcome outcome outcome

MFO MFO MFO MFO

PAP PAPs PAPs PAP

s s

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The brackets show that the department/agency has control over, and is thus
accountable for the PAPs and MFOs it delivers to its external clients. They also show
the focus of DBM’s monitoring and evaluation with respect to the budget.

What is the purpose of the OPIF logframe?

The OPIF logframe describes what a department/agency does and how the goods and
services it delivers to its external clients are likely to produce the results the
government desires. The logframe should express the following:

• What services does the department/agency provide? (MFOs and PAPs)

• What results or impacts on the community should the department/agency try
to achieve? (societal goals)
• How are the results linked to the government’s priorities for the
department/agency and the sector? (organizational outcomes and sector
outcomes)

Each department/agency is required to formulate an OPIF logframe. Although

attached agencies have their own logframe, they must subscribe to the same
organizational, sector, and societal outcomes as those of their department’s Office of
the Secretary (OSEC).

In cases where this does not happen and for department-wide reporting purposes, a
consolidation of outcomes and MFOs of the department and all its attached agencies
needs to be done to drive the attainment of results. (See discussion on consolidated
logframe at the end of this Chapter)

Why formulate the OPIF logframe?

As a planning tool, the OPIF logframe describes the causal links between what the
department/agency does (MFOs) and the desirable short-term impacts that it will
achieve. It also shows how these impacts will benefit the sector it serves and the
society in general—in the medium- to longer- term (societal goals and sector
outcomes)—through a series of logical steps. The logic explains assumptions made
about the impact of the department’s/agency’s goods and services.

A clear logframe is the foundation of a high-quality OPIF. Once the logic is properly
developed, it provides a high-level context for understanding, measuring, and
managing the delivery of MFOs.

The logframe can be used to:

• link societal and sector outcomes and organizational outcomes to MFOs,

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• identify performance indicators for MFOs,

• identify the key risks to achieving organizational outcomes,
• identify areas for intra-agency and inter-agency collaboration, and
• communicate performance and performance expectations to stakeholders.

What references can be used in formulating the logframe?

The following source documents can help the department/agency formulate its OPIF
logframe:

• Mandates and legislation, including the Constitution

• National plans and sector priorities (e.g., the PDP, RM)
• Congressional or other policies on matters relevant to the agency
• Performance monitoring and/or evaluation reports
• Agency strategic planning processes and documents

Societal Goals

What are Societal Goals?

Societal goals are what the government wants to achieve for society—the
government’s ultimate policy objectives. They are societal benefits from sector-based
economic activity. They describe the intended desirable impacts of a
departments/agency’s goods and services on
Societal goals describe the the country, the environment, or the economy.
intended desirable impacts of As end-points to be aimed for, they represent
MFOs on society. the high-level vision the government has for
the country.

Societal goals are influenced by a broad range

of factors; some are beyond the department’s/agency’s control. A number of
organizations, both public and private, may contribute to the same societal goals.

What are examples of Societal Goals?

The 2011-2016 PDP RM identifies only one

societal goal—inclusive growth and poverty reduction—with good governance and
anti-corruption as overarching theme. Other examples of societal goals include:

• Sustainable development toward poverty reduction

• Peace and order toward poverty reduction
• National security toward poverty reduction
• Human development toward poverty reduction

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• Reduced poverty incidence and improved quality of life

Sector Outcomes

What are Sector Outcomes?

Sector outcomes are the intermediate links between organizational outcomes and
societal goals, and are usually achieved through the concerted effort of several
departments/agencies. They are the longer-term benefits for the sector as a result of
attaining organizational outcomes. For clarity and focus, some sector outcomes may
have sub-sector outcomes.

Sector outcomes can promote sector integration. Where more than one
department/agency contributes to a sector
outcome, departments/agencies should be Sector outcomes are the
encouraged to work together to achieve shared longer-term benefits for the
outcomes and to clarify how each organizational sector from the initiatives of
outcome and MFO contributes differently to the the department/agency.
same sector outcome.

Departments/agencies must refer to the latest

PDP RM for guidance in stating sector outcomes and translating these into plans and
projects.

What are examples of Sector Outcomes?

Examples of sector outcomes are:12

• Enhanced knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values of Filipinos to lead

productive lives (DepEd)
• Sustainable management of environment and natural resources (DENR)
• Fiscal strength (DOF)
• Improved health status of the population (DOH)
• Productive and competitive Filipino workers (DOLE)

The following sector outcomes are cited in the 2011-2016 PDP RM:

• Globally competitive and innovative industry and services sectors achieved

• Equitable access to social goods and services (e.g., education, health, housing,
and other social infrastructure) improved

The examples in this chapter are derived from 2010 OPIF Book of Outputs. The OPIF logframes will need
12

to be updated in view of the latest PDP (2011-2016) and Results Matrices.

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• Resilience to climate change and natural disasters increased

• Financial system made resilient and inclusive
• Stable national security environment achieved
• Human development status improved

Under the sector outcome “Improved human development status,” five sub-sector
outcomes were identified in the PDP RM:

• Access to quality health and nutrition services (Health, Nutrition, and

Population) improved;
• Access to quality education, training, and culture (Education, Training, and
Culture) improved;
• Access to shelter security (Housing and Urban Development) improved;
• Access to quality social protection services (Social Protection) improved; and
• Access to asset reform improved.

Organizational Outcomes

What are Organizational Outcomes?

Organizational Outcomes are intended to contribute to the achievement of sector

outcomes and societal goals. They are the immediate outcomes for delivering MFOs.

A
Organizational outcomes are influence over their organizational outcomes
department/agency has
the short to medium term than sector outcomes or societal goals, but
benefits to clients and more
other agencies and the private sector may also
community as a result of direct
affect these outcomes, organizational
delivering MFOs. outcomes should reflect the impacts on the
community that result from
the
department’s/agency’s provision of MFOs.

How to derive Organizational Outcomes?

The short- to medium-term impacts should be directly derivable from the

current/updated mandate of the department/agency. They can also be verified by
looking at the goods and services (MFOs) that a department/agency delivers. In
formulating organizational outcomes, the department/agency should ask:

• Why do we deliver this service?

• What are we trying to achieve in the short- to medium-term?
• Are they consistent with our mandate?

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Alignment of sector and societal goals will help define realistic organizational
outcomes and MFOs. As such, the department/agency should also ask: What do we
need to do to contribute to sector outcomes and societal goals? The same question is
addressed by the department/agency in its corporate and business planning process,
which is discussed in Chapter 5.

Several factors need to be considered in determining organizational outcomes:

• The current or updated mandate of the department/agency should be the

basis of organizational outcomes. The legal basis for the creation of a
department/agency is only an enabler. Each department/agency must
continually review the relevance of its mandate vis-à-vis its mother department
and refocus as appropriate.
• The degree and nature of the national government’s policy interest in the area,
particularly as expressed in the PDP, policy statements, etc. Current major
priorities of the government need to be reflected in the outcome.
• The breadth of the department/agency’s mandate for different clients or
community groups. (For instance, the Department of Finance is likely to have a
greater number of and broader outcome statements than, say, the Palawan
Council for Sustainable Development.)
• Organizational outcomes should have a short- to medium-term focus, not long
-term or aspirational.
• Organizational outcomes must be directly linked to the agency’s mandate,
department-wide mandate, and sector and societal goals.
• Organizational outcomes should also reflect the agency’s organizational
capabilities.

What are examples of Organizational Outcomes?

Following are examples of organizational outcomes:

1) DAR
• Improved land tenure security
• Empowered of agrarian reform beneficiaries

2) DOH
• Access to quality and affordable health products and services assured
• Access to social health insurance assured
• Nutritional well-being assured
• Access to quality population management information and services improved

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3) DBM
• Fiscal discipline
• Effective resource allocation
• Efficient government operation

4) DOF
• National government fiscal sustainability
• Environment supportive of financial services and the capital market
• Effective asset and debt management
• Fiscal sustainability of LGUs

Major Final Outputs

What is an MFO?

A major final output (MFO) is a good or service that a department/agency is

mandated to deliver to external clients through the implementation of programs,
activities, and projects. MFOs can be defined
relative to: An MFO is a good or service
that a department/agency is
• the outcomes that they contribute to, mandated to deliver to
• the client or community group that external clients through the
they serve, and implementation of programs,
• the business lines of activities and projects.
the department/agency

An MFO may be a single output or a group of

outputs that are similar in nature, targeted at the same organization/sector outcome
and capable of being summarized by a common performance indicator (e.g., different
types of policy/advisory services are grouped into a single MFO: “Policy advisory
services”).

How to derive MFOs?

To derive the MFOs, the department/agency should ask: What outputs are we
providing to external clients to achieve our mandate (organizational outcomes)? In
view of the array of services delivered by departments/agencies, the MFO should not
be narrowly defined. MFOs may reflect delivery of saleable products, provision of
policy advice or other advisory services, regulatory services, case management
services, and government provision of services not readily available in the
marketplace.

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A number of factors need to be considered in describing MFOs. In general, MFOs

should:

• simply describe the goods or services (avoid the use of adjectives, e.g., high-
quality);
• help the government, the legislature, and the public understand the nature of
the goods or services for which public funding is being provided;
• have a clearly identifiable client (targeted external client or community group),
although two or more MFOs may share the same client group;
• include goods and services to be delivered through outsourced arrangements
(reflected in the purchasing agency’s MFOs, not the provider’s);
• be measurable, manageable, and auditable;
• be within the department/agency’s control; and
• be sufficient in number for balance between clarity and focus.

Each MFO should reflect a core output, deliverable, or business line of the
department/agency and will typically comprise a grouping of PAPs undertaken with a
common outcome in mind. This grouping of PAPs should also help the
department/agency assess whether it is providing the right services—or mix of
services—to achieve organizational outcomes.

What are examples of MFOs?

The following examples show the MFOs of key departments:

1. DAR
• Land tenure improvement
• Agrarian justice delivery
• Support services delivery

2. DOH
• Health, nutrition, and population policy and program development
• Capability-building services for LGUs and other stakeholders
• Leveraging services for priority health programs
• Regulatory services for health products, devices, equipment, and facilities
• Tertiary and other specialized health care

3. DBM
• Budget and management policy services
• Agency budget and management services
• Budget release services
• Performance monitoring and evaluation services

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4. DOF
Revenue Generation
• Fiscal policies, plans, and programs
• Cash and debt management services, accounting and monitoring of NG
transactions and research on fiscal matters
• Anti-corruption in public finance management, anti-smuggling, and tax evasion
activities and exercise of regulatory power

How is capital creation relevant to defining MFOs?

It is important to note the difference between capital outlay, project, and MFO. In this
Guide, the term project is used to refer to activities that involve the creation of capital
assets, which are used to support the delivery of MFOs and are not considered to be
MFOs themselves. Similarly, capital outlay or creation is treated as investments by the
government in the longer-term capacity of a department/agency to deliver MFOs.

Both projects and capital outlay can be part of the cost of an MFO, but are not MFOs
by themselves, if by definition an MFO is a good or service delivered to clients external
to a department/agency. More discussions on how the difference between capital
outlay, project, and MFO affects budget estimation can be found in Chapter 6.

For example, the construction of roads by DPWH is designed to provide a transport

medium for traffic. The construction of roads does not constitute the MFO; instead,
the provision of the medium (roads) for the conveyance of traffic is the MFO. Road
construction generates assets under DPWH's ownership, but that asset is not an end
in itself. It is an asset built to convey traffic.

Similarly, road maintenance is a process designed to maintain the transport

infrastructure at a certain standard or quality. It is the traffic—or the drivers and
vehicle owners—on the road that is the end-client/beneficiary, and maintenance of
roads is no more an MFO than is maintenance of a building being used to educate
children.

In the case of the DOTC, spending on airport infrastructure is not an MFO, but an
investment in the capacity of DOTC to provide a service to air transport operators. In
view of these, investments in infrastructure that currently appear as an MFO in some
department logframes will need to be amended to reflect these investments under
the various MFOs to which they relate.

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A useful test of what an MFO is versus capital creation is to visualize the end
beneficiary/client. This requires the following questions to be answered:

• Who is the end owner of the output?

• Who is the end beneficiary/client of the output?
• How does the output get delivered to the end beneficiary/client?
• How does the good or service benefit the end beneficiary/client?
• What is it that the end beneficiary/client would be charged for, if the good
or service were provided by a private sector entity?
• What would be the basis for payment, and how would the charge for
additional units of consumption be calculated?

Programs, Activities, and Projects

What are PAPs?

PAPs refer to programs, activities, and projects undertaken by a department/agency

to achieve the purpose for which it was established or created. They have to be
directly linked to MFOs to drive performance improvements.

PAPs are the traditional building blocks of the budget; thus, the linking of PAPs with
the appropriate MFO is an important prerequisite for appropriations to MFOs. It can
also assist the departments/agencies in its functional rationalization process (i.e., if a
PAP cannot be linked to an MFO, the question of whether this PAP is a necessary or
desirable function of the department/agency should be asked).

What are examples of PAPs?

Below are examples of PAPs for a specific department/agency MFO.

1. DAR MFO 2: Agrarian justice delivery service
• Adjudicate agrarian cases
• Provide agrarian legal assistance

2. DOH MFO 5: Tertiary and other specialized health care

• Operate special hospitals, medical centers and institutes for disease prevention
and control
• Operate dangerous drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers
• Develop subspecialty centers for heart, lung, and kidney disease

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3. DBM MFO 2: Agency budget and management Program – an integrated

services group of activities that
• Set standards for budget operations
contribute to a particular
• Programming the budget
continuing objective of a
• Consolidate, track, and analyze department/agency.
budget releases
• Provide technical secretariat services for
Activity – a work process that
budget preparation contributes to the
implementation of a program
4. DOF MFO 2: Anti-corruption in public finance
or sub-program or project.
management and exercise of regulatory power
• Conduct intelligence, fact- Project – a special
finding investigation, and lifestyle check department or agency
• Filing of administrative and criminal cases for
undertaking carried out
prosecution within a definite time frame
• Review current systems, processes,
and intended to result in
procedures in DOF, BOC, BIR, and other some pre-determined
attached agencies measure of goods and
services.
The importance of restructuring PAPs to link or align
with MFOs, as well as the implications for budget
estimation are discussed in Chapter 6.

The Consolidated Logframe

What is a Consolidated Logframe?

It has been observed that some agencies have created their own logframes
independent of the Office of the Secretary of the department to which they are
attached. There is a need to consolidate the MFOs and PAPs of these agencies to
ensure that their outputs contribute to the attainment of department-wide MFOs and
outcomes.

A consolidated logframe is a consolidation of the organizational outcomes and MFOs

of a department’s Office of the Secretary (OSEC) and each of its attached agencies.
Hence, it should cover the shared goals, outcomes, and outputs of the department as
a whole.

Typically, the goods and services provided by the OSEC and the attached agencies
complement each other in achieving the department-wide impacts desired by the
government. A consolidated logframe provides the department secretary/head with
an overview of the totality of the operations of the entities for which he/she has

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general administrative oversight responsibility (under Executive Order 292), and

promotes among the agencies a shared commitment to department-wide outcomes.
13

What is the purpose of a consolidated logframe?

The consolidated logframe aims to:

• provide an overview of the total operations of the department, including

attached agencies;
• encourage cohesion in all areas of the department in achieving mandated
outcomes;
• help the department secretary—and the President—improve resource
allocation across the department’s total ambit, and identify overlapping
responsibilities and gaps;
• assist the department secretary in the discharge of administrative oversight
responsibilities; and
• help identify services that require coordination with another
department/agency for effective service delivery.

How to prepare a consolidated logframe?

The preparation of a consolidated logframe should normally be undertaken after the

OSEC and attached agencies complete their logframes, and should be based on the
logical analysis of combined mandates/businesses and the MFOs they deliver to
external clients.

The MFOs of a department’s OSEC and attached agencies could normally be expected
to contribute to broadly similar organizational outcomes and to share the same higher
level sector outcomes and societal goals. That is, the MFOs of the OSEC and attached
agencies will typically be closely compatible—sometimes expressed identically—and
readily accommodated under the same or broader department organizational
outcome. A department-wide organizational outcome should be worded in a manner
that allows it to cover/extend across the OSEC and attached agencies.

13
The consolidation of logframes of agencies under the administrative supervision of and/or attachment to
Departments shall take into consideration the provisions in Section 28, Chapter 7, Book IV of the Administrative
Code. (Based on EO 292, supervision and control is usually the relationship between a Department and the Bureaus
under it. Administrative supervision is the relationship of a Department with regulatory agencies under it.
Attachment is the relationship of a Department with a Corporation and other Agencies as may be provided by law.)
The logframes of agencies under the administrative supervision of and/ or attached to the Department will be
approved by the respective Boards or governing bodies.

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In many cases, the MFOs of the department’s OSEC and attached agencies represent
separate but complementary steps toward a common set of objectives or outcomes.
For example, the investigation services of the National Bureau of Investigation, the
prosecution services of the Department of Justice, the legal services provided by the
Public Attorney’s Office, and containment and rehabilitation services to prisoner—
each one contributes to the administration of the justice system.

However, there will be cases where one or more of the MFOs of an attached agency
do not readily fit within the general scope of the department’s outcomes, i.e., they are
neither directly complementary nor similar to other outcomes of the department. For
example, the MFOs of the Philippine Veterans Office (i.e., Administration services for
veterans benefits and Health care services for veterans and their dependents) do not
readily fit within the MFOs or outcomes of the Department of National Defense to
which the Philippine Veterans Office is attached.14

In such cases, the consolidated logframe should include organizational outcomes and
MFOs that relate specifically to the non-conforming responsibilities. This reflects the
fact that, irrespective of their non-conforming nature, the President has directed that
the agencies concerned—and their mandates—be under the administrative oversight
of the Secretary.15

How to reflect outsourcing arrangements in the logframe?

The government may provide funding to a responsible department/agency which, for

efficiency or other reasons, decides to outsource the delivery of the services to
another department or agency. For example, funding for farm-to-market roads is
provided to DA, but road construction is undertaken by DPWH for DA.

In such cases, the logframe of the department/agency receiving the funding

appropriation (and is thus accountable for the delivery of the output provided by
virtue of the appropriation) should identify the relevant outputs and PIs in its
logframe. The sub-contractor (DPWH) should have a contractual arrangement with
the department receiving the funding and it needs to account only for what is
specified in the contract. This is called a purchaser/provider arrangement, where the
agency that receives and controls the appropriation purchases services from another

14
DND’s MFOs are land force, air force, and naval capability; management of joint operations; strategic
policy and defense management; disaster risk management; quality small arms ammunition; national
security education; and AFP capability upgrade.
15
A footnote to the logframe should be included, drawing attention to any goal, outcomes, and MFOs
that do not sit readily with the general responsibilities of the Department. It would not be appropriate
to broaden the wording of conforming organizational outcomes and sector/societal goals merely to
accommodate non-conforming MFOs. This could result in outcomes being so broadly stated as to
accommodate matters not covered by a department’s (and/or attached agency’s) legal mandate.

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(provider) agency. The sub-contractor, in effect, acts as agent of the agency that
controls the appropriation.

Because the provider agency (e.g., DPWH) in such instances may also deliver outputs
funded directly through its own appropriations, it may be desirable for the provider
agency to provide a category of outputs labeled “Purchaser/provider outputs” in its
logframe. This category—which should be in addition to, but separate, from its MFOs
—will help establish that the provider agency’s PAPs contribute both to MFOs and
other outputs. While these may be final outputs from DPWH’s point of view, it is only
an intermediate output from the government’s point of view. The department
responsible for the appropriation (e.g., DA in the case of farm-to-market roads) is
responsible for their delivery to the external end-users.

Outputs delivered by one agency (the provider) to another agency (the purchaser)
under a purchaser/provider arrangement should be recognized as MFOs only by the
purchaser agency. However, in order to identify the full disposition of the PAPs of the
provider agency, it may identify a separate category of output (purchaser/provider
output) which should be noted (e.g., by way of footnote) as intermediate outputs
provided to another agency which recognizes them as MFOs (delivered to external
end-users).

Can OPIF logframes be revised?

Revisions to the logframes are likely to be necessary in future years to reflect

refinements in view of experience, and for reasons that may include any of the
following:

• Transfer of functions between agencies or from one agency to another;

• Creation of new agencies affecting the mandate or function of an existing
agency;
• Government policy initiatives resulting in new mandates given to a
department/agency;
• Internal restructuring of a department/agency; or
• Strategic planning within a department/agency that identifies a need to
redefine their outcomes, MFOs, and performance indicators.

The box below contains guide questions to help departments/agencies in framing

their OPIF logframe. Appendix 2 provides a more detailed set of questions for
reviewing how the logframe is formulated to ensure clarity, focus, and alignment of
outputs with outcomes and how results should be cascaded through corporate and
business plans.

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Guide Questions to Formulating the OPIF Logframe

1. What is the rationale/mandate of the department/agency?

2. What key short- to medium- term benefits are expected from
the department/agency? (Organizational outcomes)
3. Who are the external clients/beneficiaries? (Reach)
4. What are the key products/services/goods produced or delivered? (Outputs)
5. How should the MFOs be delivered to achieve outcomes and goals? (PAPs)
6. Is the logframe focused, balancing detail with clarity?

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Chapter 4 – Specification of MFO Performance

Indicators
OPIF requires the establishment of indicators by which the performance of
departments/agencies could be monitored and evaluated. As guardians of the
national government's interests, departments/agencies responsible for delivering
MFOs need to agree with DBM on the appropriate set of MFO performance indicators
that will be used for analyzing performance across time.

This Chapter provides guidance on how to specify performance indicators for MFOs
and set performance targets. Other types of PIs relevant to OPIF or those that
describe projects, corporate plans, and sector/societal goals are discussed in Chapter
5.

What are performance indicators for MFOs?

An indicator is a quantitative or qualitative factor

or variable that provides a simple and reliable An MFO performance
means to measure achievement in order to reflect indicator is a characteristic of
the changes connected to an intervention.16 performance (quantity,
Applying this definition to MFOs, a performance quality, timeliness, or cost)
indicator (PI) is a characteristic of performance, which will be measured to
such as quality, quantity, timeliness and cost that illustrate the standard of
is to be measured to show how efficiently the performance by which a
department/agency has delivered its MFOs. department/agency has
delivered its MFOs
Simply put, MFO PIs are measures of how a
department/agency performed in delivering an
MFO, given a particular cost. It is thus incumbent on
the government to specify the standards by which the provider (i.e.,
department/agency) must deliver a good or service, in a similar manner as say, a
textile buyer will specify the:

• quantity of cloth or fabric to be delivered by a textile manufacturer,

• quality of the cloth (e.g., silk or cotton, plain weave, twill or satin weave,
thread count, etc.),
• time by which the cloth is required to be delivered, and
• cost per yard of cloth to be delivered.

16
OECD, Glossary of Terms, 25.

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These standards can guide the formulation of a set of interrelated PIs for each MFO,
which will be used to monitor and assess department/agency performance.

How to formulate PIs?

MFO PIs should reflect the key measures used by the department’s/agency’s
management to assess department/agency performance. They should be defined to
reflect the intended relationship between the MFO and associated organizational
outcome.

For each MFO, it is important to select a range or interrelated set of performance

indicators that reflect how well resources were used to deliver the MFO. There are
four classes of PIs: quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost.

1. Quantity
Classes of MFO PIs
A quantity PI indicates the number of units
or volume of output delivered during a
 Quantity – indicates
given period of time. (How much did we
volume of output
do?)
 Quality – indicates how
well output is delivered
2. Quality
 Timeliness - indicates the
A quality PI indicates how well the output rate at which output is
is delivered and how they are perceived by delivered to clients
clients. (How well did we do it?) Common  Cost – indicates amount
quality performance indicators include of input or budget
accuracy or completeness, safety, and allocation used to
client satisfaction. produce an output

3. Timeliness

A timeliness PI indicates a measure of the availability of the output as and

when required by the client. Timeliness indicators may include turnaround
time, average waiting time, distance/time travelled by clients to receive a
service, etc.

4. Cost

A cost PI refers to the amount of input or funds used to produce an output,

e.g., budget allocation for an MFO, or average cost per patient to provide
immunization services. Measures may also include revenue ratios, such as
percentage of production costs that are recovered from end-consumers.

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What are examples of MFO PIs?

The following examples of PIs are presented as a PI set describing a particular MFO:

MFO: Policy Advisory Services

• Quantity: Number of policy papers produced for Cabinet

• Quality: Percentage of policy papers rated by Cabinet as satisfactory or better
• Timeliness: Percentage of policy papers finalized within 20 business days of
request
• Cost: Average cost per policy paper produced

MFO: Regulatory Services

• Quantity: Number of licenses issued

• Quality: Percentage of applicants who rated the licensing service as
satisfactory or better
• Timeliness: Percentage of applications processed within 48 hours
• Cost: Average cost per transaction

Why develop a PI set?

A PI set consists of interrelated PIs from each class of performance indicators (i.e.,
quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost to describe a single MFO). (See examples above)

The aim is to have a set of performance indicators that focuses on the core
characteristics of the MFO as a whole, and not its component parts. The data
collected in respect of these PIs should be suitable for use in econometric analysis to
assess the impact of the MFO on sector/societal outcomes over a relevant time frame.

Accordingly, each PI should remain relevant year after year, and should not depend on
a single event or activity that is performed as part of the overall function that the
MFO serves. Every event or activity performed should form part of the data that a PI
captures for the measurement process.

How to formulate PIs?

PI descriptions should refer to only one variable and only one type of indicator (i.e.,
only quantity or quality or timeliness or cost, never a combination of one or more). A
PI should never include the target in the description.

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Table 3. Example of How NOT to Word a Performance Indicator

Performance Indicator Target

Client is satisfied with the timeliness, frequency, and quality of 14 days
technical advice provided

Table 4. Example of How to Word a Performance Indicator

Performance Indicator Target17 Actual

Percentage of advice provided within 14 days of request >90% 75%

Percentage of advice to client that is rated as satisfactory or >75% 65%

better
Percentage of consultations where an advisory error is <10% 8%
detected
Average number of technical advisory services provided per >20 40
client per month

Table 3 shows an example of a PI that was not correctly specified; it lumps all
characteristics of an output in one PI statement, making it impossible to measure. In
the same example, 14 days is not an appropriate performance target for the PI but a
variable outcome.

In the restructured example in Table 4, four separate but associated PIs (timeliness,
quality, and quantity) were formulated, with the target excluded in the PI
description. It is useful to try to word the indicator so that actual measured data can
produce numerous outcomes (exceeding a minimum or maximum target), and not
such that the only acceptable measured result can be, say, 100% or a fixed date or
number. In the same example, an appropriate target would be >90% for the
reworded PI, the percentage of advice provided within 14 days of request.

17
The analysis to be made from a comparison of performance targets and actual performance data is
discussed in Chapter 7 – Performance Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting. The same data table is
used for illustration.

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Performance Target Setting

What is a Performance Target?

A performance target is described by a numerical

target of performance against which actual
Performance target is a
performance can be compared and for which a
predetermined level—the
mean, standard deviation and trend line can be
numerical target—of
calculated over time. Appropriate performance
quantity, quality, timeliness,
targets are thus essential to any meaningful
and cost of an output
analysis of department/agency performance in
delivering MFOs.

Performance targets are standards to be achieved for a performance characteristic

(quantity, quality, timeliness, or cost); they communicate to the provider the
specification of the good or service that the buyer intends to purchase. Anything
supplied at standards less than those prescribed by the buyer would not normally be
acceptable, and would have to be corrected before the full and final payment can be
made.

How to express a Performance Target?

Performance targets under any class (quantity, quality, timeliness, or cost) should:

• be a single number, which can be manipulated mathematically;

• be able to form a basis for calculating an average and a measure of variance
over time vis-a-vis actual measurements;
• be able to generate a time series of data, subject to statistical measurement
and trend analysis;
• appear like: >75% or <10% expressed as minimum or maximum, not as a fixed
date or number; and
• describe a date, which can be continuous or fixed.

The examples in Table 4 illustrate how performance targets for each PI should be
expressed.

How to derive Performance Targets?

The following approaches can be used to develop performance targets:

• Adopting current performance with a percentage increase;

• Using current performance when existing services are considered efficient and
effective (may apply to quality);

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• Referring to best practice, for example, benchmarking;

• Referring to international standards for similar countries; and
• Making management decisions based on available resources.

PI targets for each MFO will be set based on discussion and negotiation between
DBM and the department/agency producing the MFO. Generally, the target should be
set rigorously between the department/agency and DBM. In whatever way the
targets are set, they must be realistic. Targets should represent a balance between
challenging and current levels of performance, taking into account the capabilities of
the department/agency, capital investment, and productivity improvements.

Checklist for MFO PI Specification

To determine if PIs specified are appropriate for measuring MFO delivery,
departments/agencies should also be familiar with the following types of PIs that
typically concern government:

• PIs related to high-level societal and sector outcomes

• PIs related to the delivery of MFOs
• PIs for measuring the performance of delivery of projects
• Process and production PIs that are used to measure the performance of
organizational units and which belong to corporate/business/unit plans.

OPIF is concerned with the first three types of PI. It is only indirectly concerned with
the fourth, in the sense that OPIF is intended to drive continuous improvements in the
delivery of MFOs through the corporate planning process. The MFO PIs can be
supported by strategies and activities in the corporate and business plans to support
improvements over time.

For example, in its corporate plan, DBM might identify computerization of the FEs
process as a strategy for improving the quality and timeliness with which policy
services (MFO) can be developed. In the business plan, the steps necessary to
implement the computerization process would be set out, and a time frame included
for various actions necessary for completion to finalize computerization by 2012.

Organizational units in departments/agencies are often concerned about reporting

process/production PIs to the DBM, under the assumption that more resources will be
allocated to their programs, or that the reports will imply efficient utilization of
resources. However, process/production PIs are part of the corporate planning,
business planning, and individual work planning process, but not of MFOs delivered to
clients external to the organization. Management should be able to separate and
distinguish among different types of outputs and PIs.

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To determine whether the MFO PIs formulated are appropriate, the following
questions should be answered in the affirmative:

1. Will the measurement of the PI be accurate and reliable?

2. Can the PI be measured over a period of time?
3. Will data be readily available on a continuing basis?
4. Will the PI be used for decision-making?
5. Will the PI be of interest and meaningful to both the client and end-beneficiary
and the buyer/purchaser (national government)?
6. Will the PI set provide sufficient information to measure/judge performance in
delivery of the MFO?
7. Can the PI be measured and reported in a timely manner, so that it is relevant
to decision-makers?
8. Can the PI be measured cost effectively?

The answers to the following fundamental questions will determine the PIs that
should be included for a particular MFO:

9. Who will use the performance information?

10. How will the performance information be used/for what purpose will the
performance information be used?
11. What aspect of the MFO is important to measure?

The ultimate objective of specifying MFO PI is to develop an interrelated set of PIs for
each MFO that will capture the essential characteristics of the MFOs delivered to
clients and end-beneficiaries. To realize this, the MFOs should be stable in their
specification from one period to the next, with PIs that will generate a time series of
data that is robust, reliable, and can be used as the foundation for performance
measurement and attribution analysis in respect of correlating MFO delivery to impact
on sector/societal outcomes.

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Chapter 5 – Cascading OPIF to Corporate

Planning
This Chapter explains why it is important to cascade OPIF to organizational plans and
strategies, and describes how it can be done through the corporate planning process.
It presents an approach to corporate planning designed to improve a
department/agency’s performance and ability to deliver MFOs.

MFOs and PIs provide the basis for the development of the corporate plan, which
cascades to business plans and unit/individual work plans, reflecting the possible
contribution of units and individuals to MFO delivery.

Why cascade OPIF?

Currently, there are cases where the MFOs and PAPs of attached agencies are not
linked to departmental MFOs, PIs, and PAPs. This situation prevents the attached
agency from contributing fully to the attainment of departmental MFOs and
outcomes. It can also impact negatively on policy and program coordination as well as
planning and delivery of public goods and services.

Likewise, there is a need for standards to guide departments/agencies in linking MFOs

and PIs to organizational processes, particularly with respect to corporate planning,
which aims to provide clarity and focus to organizational activities and processes.

MFOs and PIs should link clearly to the corporate plan of each department to ensure
that all organizational units and individuals are aware of their roles and
responsibilities in contributing positively to departmental MFOs and PIs, and,
ultimately, to sector/societal outcomes set out in the PDP. Cascading OPIF will thus
help strengthen the results-focus of departments/agencies and build a performance-
oriented culture in the public sector.

What is OPIF cascading?

OPIF links MFOs with the societal and sector outcomes that the government specifies
through the PDP, while corporate plans link the delivery of MFOs with the
organizational strategies of a department/agency to improve its performance. This
implies the importance of aligning plans at various levels so that development results
can be realized.

OPIF cascading is the process of aligning plans from the OPIF level down to the
corporate, business, unit, and individual levels. It involves the simplification of

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organizational strategies into tasks to be undertaken by individuals so that concrete

actions are identified and responsibility allocated.

Successful cascading of OPIF to corporate planning requires the following:

• MFOs and associated PIs are linked clearly with the corporate plan.
• Corporate plan strategies are linked clearly to business plans.
• Business plan is reflected clearly in unit and individual work plans.

What is corporate planning?

Many references talk of strategic planning, business planning, or corporate planning.

Different interpretations are applied to each term, not always clearly. Some are
differentiated by the intended reader and/or end-user of the plan, while others are
differentiated by the time frame over which the plan is intended to extend.

For the purposes of this Guide, strategic planning is undertaken through the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP). The MFOs that departments produce should be viewed as
strategies of the PDP that are designed
to impact on sector outcomes. As such, MFOs and
Corporate Plan links the
organizational outcomes should be analyzed for
production of MFOs with
their effectiveness in delivering changes in one or
organizational strategies that
more performance indicators for a particular
are designed to improve
sector outcome. From this analysis, the PDP
department/agency
should aim to specify more or less of particular
performance and ability to
MFOs, including new MFOs that will need to be
deliver MFOs.
produced by the relevant agency to meet more
rapidly the performance targets for the sector.

Similarly, capital projects identified in the PDP should be viewed as a tool for
increasing the productive capacity of a government agency to deliver an MFO, rather
than as an end or MFO in itself. MFOs, not projects or activities, link to sector/societal
outcomes in the PDP, and this linkage is reflected in OPIF and PDP Results Matrices. In
other words, the primary purpose for the existence of each agency of government is
the production of specified MFOs to achieve certain social and economic goals. The
organizational processes required to produce these MFOs are the starting points for
corporate planning.

Figure 6 illustrates the link between the PDP, OPIF and corporate planning and the
importance of aligning plans. OPIF links MFOs with the sector/societal outcomes that

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OPIF Reference Guide

the government specifies through the PDP. The corporate plan links the delivery of
MFOs with organizational strategies that are designed to improve the performance
and ability of a department/agency to deliver
MFOs.
Corporate Planning is the
process undertaken by a
Under the corporate planning approach set out department/agency to
herein, the MFO structure is the basis for the develop the Corporate Plan,
development of the department/agency Corporate Business Plan, and Unit Work
Plan, which cascades to the Business Plan, Unit Plans for improving its
Work Plans, and Individual Work Plans. performance and ability to
deliver MFOs.
The corporate planning process is taken to mean all
phases undertaken by a department/agency to
produce and implement a plan aimed at
organizational development, thereby improving delivery of its specified MFOs.

Figure 6: PDP, OPIF, and Corporate Planning

PDP
Government-specified societal and sector
outcomes with strategies to achieve goals
specified in the form of MFOs

Goals link documents

OPIF
Departmental responsibilities for
delivery of MFOs according to
performance indicators/measures
specified for MFOs

MFOs link documents

Corporate Plan
MFOs related to the operating
environment through strategies
designed to manage business
conditions and implement process
improvements

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What are the uses of corporate planning?

The corporate planning process has the following uses:

• It clarifies the department/agency’s reason for existence.

• It identifies pressures on the department/agency (technical, competitive,
political, and performance).
• It identifies strategies to deal with those pressures.
• It identifies (in the business plan) time-constrained activities that are necessary
to put strategies into effect and allocates responsibility for completion of
tasks.
• Through the business plan, unit, and individual work plans, it allocates
responsibility for ensuring activities are completed and, thereby, provide a
basis for performance assessment of staff.

What are the key steps in corporate planning?

The corporate planning process has six distinct phases:

1. Identification of performance issues through the analysis and measurement of

performance indicators to identify strengths, weaknesses, threats, and
opportunities in an organization’s operations (performance monitoring and
evaluation);
2. Development of performance objectives and strategies using data analysis,
workshops, and stakeholder consultations;
3. Prioritization of objectives and strategies to be implemented over the planning
period, given the limited resources available to the organization;
4. Writing up of the ideas generated from that analysis and those workshops and
stakeholder consultations into public documents that set out the broad
organizational direction and strategies for improved performance in delivering
specified MFOs;
5. Writing up of business plans, unit work plans, and individual work plans
(internal organizational documents) that operationalize strategies intended to
impact on organizational performance in delivering MFOs; and
6. Ongoing monitoring of implementation of the corporate plan and
organizational performance to identify success or failure and facilitate
remedial action where implementation of strategies is not timely or where
implemented strategies fail to deliver/drive change.

From this, it can be seen that corporate planning is organizational-based. It is not a

sectoral plan, but a plan for improving the performance of an organization in
delivering its specified MFOs. Furthermore, the term corporate planning encompasses
the public document (corporate plan) and the internal documents

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(business plan and unit work plans).

What does corporate planning entail?

Corporate planning is a process undertaken by a department/agency to develop the

Corporate Plan (CP), Business Plan (BP), Unit Work Plans (UWP), and Individual Work
Plans (IWP) for improving organizational performance and ability to deliver MFOs.

Figure 7: Cascading Plans – Corporate Planning Components

Corporate Plan Departmental Head's

Public strategies identified to enhance Accountability
production of MFOs to meet OPIF
performance criteria.

Strategies link documents

Business Plan
Activities identified to execute strategies
of CP, and additional strategies not made
public, and responsibility for ensuring
completion of activities allocated to
management personnel.
Functional
Managers and activities
Outputs
link documents
Performance
indicators drive Unit Work Plans
performance at Unit-based strategies and activities/tasks
BP and UWP allocated to individuals reporting to their
levels respective managers.
Execution of strategies effected through
sequential completion of activities.
Individuals and
activities link Individual officers’
documents accountability
Individual Work Plans
Summary of activities/tasks allocated to
individuals reporting to their respective
managers.

Figure 7 shows the linkages between the different plans/documents in a hierarchical

manner. The documents (OPIF logframe, CP, BP, UWP, and IWP) are interrelated and
must remain fundamentally consistent with each other, even though they may
present information in different ways and from different perspectives. It is

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encouraged that departments/agencies use a common set of templates for preparing

the CP, BP, UWP, and IWP.

What is the duration of the plans?

As a general guide, departments/agencies should prepare a multiyear CP, an

associated BP and annual UWPs. The period for which a CP remains current and for
which it is initially prescribed is at the discretion of management, particularly the
departmental/agency head. Nevertheless, as a general rule, a CP should be renewed
every three to four years.

What is the difference between the CP, BP and UWP?

Departmental strategies are translated into tasks and targets of organizational units
and individuals from the CP level, down to the BP, UWP, and IWP levels.

The CP is a medium-term plan that describes in broad, strategic terms how the
department/agency intends to operate to deliver its specified MFOs and performance
targets. The BP and UWP are prepared annually to support the CP. As an extension of
the CP, the BP is designed to operationalize the strategies identified in the CP by
breaking out the strategies into their component activities or tasks.

The UWP is a subset of the BP; it contains the activities and tasks of an organizational
unit, which are implemented through the tasks allocated to individuals in the unit. To
monitor and evaluate for results, all plans should carry performance indicators
appropriate to the level of the plan, which may include MFO PIs, workload indicators,
throughput or process indicators, or unit costs.

What is a Corporate Plan?

The CP seeks to identify broad strategies that are intended to assist a

department/agency to achieve its OPIF performance targets. It proposes strategies to
be implemented over the coming planning period that are designed to improve the
department/agency’s contribution to sector/societal outcomes either by improving
performance in respect of existing MFOs or changing the MFO mix, all with
government approval. It describes in broad, strategic terms how the
department/agency intends to operate to deliver its specified MFOs and performance
targets.

The CP does not have to discuss all processes and procedures that a
department/agency undertakes to deliver its MFOs. Only those strategies that are
significant are included and will be focused on in the coming planning period. The CP
is a public document, and so the level of detail provided to the public will be limited.

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For the most part, it should describe broad strategic initiatives that are significant in
scale and nature. It will exclude sensitive information and minor strategies that are
not of major significance in terms of direction or impact. Information which is
considered classified—or which may compromise the future operations of the agency
—should not be presented in the corporate plan.

What is a Business Plan?

The BP is an extension of the CP designed to operationalize the strategies identified in

the CP by breaking out the strategies into their component activities or tasks.
Activities should be completed within a time-bound action plan to implement the
strategies. The BP also details non-MFO-specific organizational objectives and
strategies (such as production of papers for the Board, compliance statutory
obligations, development of strong work force, etc.), and therefore extends the BP
into a wider set of performance issues other than the CP.

The BP is normally intended to be an internal management tool; it might include

information that could be considered classified. It plots out in more detail the various
strategies and associated actions to be implemented to achieve organizational
objectives. The dates specified against each activity/task may extend past the
planning period of the CP, depending on how long the estimated time is for
implementing a strategy.

The BP does not need to list all ongoing processes that will be undertaken as a matter
of normal business. It should focus on those aspects of its business that will involve
change of some sort and the introduction of specific strategies. Performance
indicators at the BP level can include workload indicators, throughput indicators, and
unit costs in addition to MFO PIs.

What is a Unit Work Plan?

The UWP is an annual plan of work programmed for an organizational unit (i.e.,
bureau/service/office as used in this CP approach) of the department/agency. As a
subset of the department- or agency-wide BP, the UWP contains the strategies,
activities, and tasks of each organizational unit, including objectives set for the unit to
meet performance objectives. The strategies in the UWP are implemented through
the IWP, which is a summary of activities/tasks allocated to individuals (reporting to
their respective managers). At this level, organizational strategies are broken down
into tasks for individuals so that concrete actions are identified and responsibility
allocated.

The UWP follows the same format and sequencing as the BP. The first section focuses
on initiatives to be undertaken during the planning period that are designed to

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improve the overall operating environment/capability of the organizational unit, while

the second section focuses on initiatives to improve the ability of the unit to deliver its
functional outputs. A functional output refers to the output expected of the unit in
undertaking its defined role within the department/agency, and may be an internal/
intermediate output that does not directly contribute to MFO delivery.

For example, the DBM Corporate Planning and Reform Service (CPRS) delivers
functional outputs that are also internal outputs (e.g., Planning; Monitoring DBM MFO
PIs accomplishment; and FAPs and TA coordination, reporting, and monitoring). These
functional outputs serve as inputs to other units directly responsible for delivering
MFOs, and thus must be included in the UWP. Performance indicators at the UWP
level can include workload indicators, throughput indicators, and unit costs.

Who is responsible for cascading OPIF?

Departments/agencies are responsible for cascading OPIF in such manner that will
enable all organizational units to understand, even articulate, the MFOs, PIs and
targets of the department and use them to guide planning, budgeting, performance
reporting and other organizational processes. To ensure effective OPIF cascading,
departments/agencies will need to first review and revise if necessary their existing
MFOs and PIs as the basis for corporate planning. They also need to review and
restructure PAPs to link to MFOs and improve budget estimation.

Once the necessary linkages between MFOs and PIs and the CP have been
established, the department/agency’s management group will need to establish
policies and processes, as well as promote practices to support the sustained
implementation and institutionalization of OPIF in their organization. This includes
business processes for:

• allocating roles and responsibilities and ensuring that staff have sufficient
capacity and capability to contribute to MFO production;
• identifying relevant MFOs, PIs, as well as PAPs linked to the budgetary
requirements;
• formulating and implementing corporate plans that align internal business
processes, procedures, and systems and targets with OPIF requirements and
targets;
• implementing actions designed to achieve performance targets;
• monitoring, evaluating, and reporting performance; and
• implementing remedial actions necessary to ensure the achievement of OPIF
targets, including improved data collection and information systems.

Appendix 2 provides key questions to guide department/agencies in cascading OPIF

to corporate planning.

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Chapter 6 – Estimating the Budget for MFOs

This Chapter aims to help in understanding how budget estimates for MFOs of a
department/agency are prepared. It also discusses an approach to restructuring program,
activities, and projects (PAPs) to improve the attribution or linkage of PAPs to MFOs
toward improving budget estimation and expenditure prioritization. By improving the
structure of PAPs, wasteful duplication of and/or overlaps in activities can be removed or
avoided.

Budget for MFOs

The goal of OPIF is to enhance accountability for results and improve service delivery by
specifying the outputs to be delivered, identifying the resources available to deliver them,
and providing the department/agency with increased flexibility to manage resources in a
way that maximizes the outputs. To attain this goal, it is important to understand why
budgets should be formulated based on MFOs and how the PAP structure affects budget
estimation for MFOs.

Why does it matter to formulate the budget based on MFOs?

Identifying the budget resources that are required to deliver the department/agency’s
outputs enables decisions to be made about the effectiveness and efficiency of the MFO
and its priority in the budget, for example, by:

• showing the budget resources allocated by the national government, and which
are available to the department/agency to produce outputs;
• showing the budget resources that were actually used by the department/agency
for the outputs actually produced; and
• holding the department/agency accountable, over a period of time, for the
effective use of budget resources to achieve outputs.

Reliable, consistent estimates of the resources allocated or used to produce MFOs are
required to analyze budget performance. The estimates can be used to compare:

• the budget allocated for an MFO to support the desired performance targets
against resources actually utilized for an MFO for outputs achieved,
• the resources required to produce an MFO against its level of priority or
importance in the total budget, and
• the resources used to produce an MFO over a period of time to assess whether
there have been changes in efficiency or effectiveness.

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What is the relevance of PAP structure to MFOs?

MFOs are the goods and services that a department/agency is mandated to deliver to
external clients through the implementation of programs, activities, and projects. The
PAP structure, on the other hand, represents the current budgeting framework used to
appropriate funds in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). The grouping of PAPs
identified with an MFO is important to understand for it will work toward the accounting
of the budget resources made available to each department/agency for the delivery of its
MFOs.

During budget preparation, the department/agency must decide how funds applied for
each PAP is identified or attributed to MFOs. This will help precisely determine the budget
resources that will be made available to each department/agency for the production or
delivery of its MFOs. However, confusion and varying interpretations of the PAP structure
(GAS, STO, Operations, Projects) over the years has resulted in PAPs being misclassified.
Hence, it may be necessary for departments/agencies to review their understanding of
PAPs and reclassify individual activities to improve budget estimation.

Components of the Budget

The PAP structure represents the current budgeting framework used to appropriate
funds in the GAA. PAPs are classified by cost structure into: General Administration and
Support (GAS), Support to Operations (STO), and Operations.

PAPs are further classified according to expense class: Personal Services (PS),
Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), and Capital Outlays (CO).

What is GAS?

General Administration and Support (GAS) are activities that deal with the provision of
overall administrative management support to the entire agency operation. It includes
activities such as general management and supervision, legislative liaison services, human
resource development, and financial and
administrative services. Funds provided for GAS are GAS are activities dealing with
management overhead expenses and are therefore the provision of overall
indirect costs incurred in delivering the administrative management
department/agency MFOs. GAS is common to all support to the entire agency
departments/agencies; it is therefore possible to operations.
compare the ratio of GAS expenditure to establish
benchmarks for cost efficiency.

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What is STO?

Support To Operations (STO) are activities that

provide technical and substantive support to the STO are activities that provide
operations and projects of the department/agency. technical and substantive
These are activities which contribute to or enhance support to operations and
the delivery of services but which by themselves do projects of the
not produce the MFOs. The types of services department/agency.
included under STO are likewise common across
agencies. Examples include planning and policy
formulation, program monitoring and evaluation,
public information programs, research and development, statistical services, and
information systems development.

Funds provided under the STO classification are also overhead expenses, and therefore
indirect costs of delivering the department’s/agency’s MFOs.

What is Operations?

Operations are activities directed at fulfilling the department’s/agency’s mandate. These

may include regulatory services, production of goods, delivery of services such as health
care or education, national economic planning, and
central statistics administration and management.
Operations are activities
Any activity, process, or function which contributes
directed at fulfilling the
to or supports the achievement of the
department/agency mandate.
department’s/agency’s mandate is classified as
Operations.

Activities which are classified as GAS or STO may represent the core functions of a
department/agency. For example, NEDA’s economic planning function, DBM’s budgeting
function, CSC’s personnel management function, DAR’s legal and adjudication services,
and NSO’s statistical activities should be classified as Operations. Budget items classified
as Operations are direct costs of delivering department/agency MFOs.

In cases where activities under Operations may appear to contribute to several or all
MFOs, the PAPs should be restructured and activity statements broken down and
compartmentalized so that as far as practicable, one activity shall be attributed to only
one MFO. This will provide a clearer picture of the relationship among activities and the
appropriate contribution of a PAP to the MFO, and consequently improve budget
estimation. In cases where the same PAP contributes to several MFOs, the PAP structure
must be reviewed, disaggregated, or merged as necessary to improve attribution of PAPs
to MFOs.

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What are Projects?

Projects are special department/agency

undertakings carried out within a definite time A project is considered an
frame and intended to result in some pre- investment in the capacity of a
determined measure of goods or services (MFOs). It department/agency to deliver
is not usually an MFO by itself but contributes to an MFO.
the delivery of an MFO.

Most projects are capital investments but short

term-activities with specific and identifiable output such as the development of a new IT
system, which may involve infrastructure (CO) or software (MOOE) expenditure. Thus,
amounts provided for a particular project may be for CO only, or for both CO and MOOE.
Other projects are specific, one-time undertakings (e.g., training programs for specific
beneficiaries) and would involve only MOOE.

Because they have very specific outputs, projects are usually direct costs and are related
to one or more MFOs. If it is not possible to identify the components of the project that
relate to each MFO, the project costs should be allocated between MFOs on a
proportional basis.

Projects may be locally funded or foreign-assisted. Unlike GAS, STO, and Operations, a
project is not a recurring activity and funds are thus allocated to it only until its
completion.

Funding requirements for the operating and maintenance expenses of a completed

project should be included in the regular provision of an MFO. For example, the operating
and maintenance requirements of a completed road maintenance project should be
included in the subsequent annual spending proposals of the department/agency. Such
amounts should be part of the funding for the MFO that is supported by the completed
project. The same rule applies when the project has been converted or authorized as a
regular activity of the agency after its completion.

What is Personal Services?

Funding for PAPs are broken down into three expenditure classes: Personal Services,
MOOE, and Capital Outlay.

Personal Services (PS) refers to provisions for the payment of salaries, wages, and other
compensation (e.g., merit, salary increase, cost-of-living-allowances, honoraria, and
commutable allowances) for government employees. In general, the major cost of
delivering government activities is the cost of staff.

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The Government Manpower Information System

(GMIS) contains information on the number of staff Personal Services are
provisions for the payment of
attributed to each PAP and clear guidelines exist for
salaries, wages and other
calculating the amount of basic salaries, allowances
compensation
and other compensation identified with an activity. x
These estimates are used as the basis for
establishing the PS budget for each MFO.

What is MOOE?

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) includes two types of budget
expenditures, which are essential for the delivery of department/agency outputs: the
recurrent operating expenses of the activity, and expenditure, which is not an operating
cost but a specific input needed for the delivery of an output.

Most items classified as MOOE are the routine operating costs of the staff who work on
each activity. These costs are consumed in the
process of producing department/agency outputs
MOOE refers to expenditures
and include travel, training, supplies and materials,
to support the operations of
utility expenses, communication
government agencies, such as
expenses, transport, storage, and other expenses.
expenses for supplies and
be possible to calculateIt an
should
average overhead cost
materials; transportation and
for each staff member in each activity for the
travel utilities (water, power,
purpose of calculating the MFO budget. For most
etc.), and necessary repairs,
activities, overhead costs will account for the whole
etc.
of the MOOE budget.

Payment of interest and taxes, as well as some

supplies and materials or maintenance expenditure, may also be specific to a particular
activity. For example, the repair and maintenance of roads in DPWH involves an operating
cost, but is not normally undertaken by departmental staff. It is a specific major cost of
delivering MFO 1 (National Roads Maintenance Services) through maintenance contracts
administered and supervised by DPWH, in accordance with the government policy of
outsourcing construction and maintenance works to private contractors.

On the other hand, drugs and medicines in the Department of Health budget, although
classified as supplies and materials, is a specific cost of delivering an MFO of DOH and
therefore not an overhead cost. It is thus important to analyze the components of MOOE
to ensure that any large specific item necessary for MFO delivery is attributed to the
correct MFO.

The MOOE classification also includes several expenses that are not recurrent operating

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expenses of activities. These include, in particular, amounts budgeted for assistance to

GOCCs, LGUs, and NGOs, as well as for donations and other subsidies and for contracted
services.

What is Capital Outlay?

Capital outlay (CO) includes land and land
improvements outlay, buildings and structures
Capital Outlay refers to
outlay, office equipment, furniture and fixtures,
appropriations for the
machineries and equipment, as well as public
purchase of goods and
infrastructures.
services, the benefits of which
extend beyond the fiscal year
In the OPIF system, CO is treated as long-term
and which add to the assets of
investments in the capacity of an agency to
the Government, including
produce MFOs. It is an investment in assets that
investments in the capital
have a useful life longer than two years (COA
stock of GOCCs and their
definition). It is not an expense to be written off in
subsidiaries.
a single financial year, but should be expensed, in
the future, as part of the cost of delivering an MFO
according to a depreciation schedule applicable to
the asset in question, and in accordance with the COA-approved schedule. In future
guidelines, depreciation expense could be used to estimate the cost of delivering MFOs.

How is the budget for an MFO estimated?

The budget for an MFO is estimated using the concept of direct costs and indirect costs. A
direct cost is allocated to the MFO it clearly supports. An indirect cost supports all the
MFOs of the department/agency, and should be presented separately, not allocated to
MFOs.

Direct costs include the cost of all staff who devote

Direct costs are costs that can
a readily measurable and significant, but not
necessarily exclusive, proportion of their time to the be clearly and specifically
delivery of a good or service. This will include the identified with and attributed
salaries and operational expenses of staff who work to a program, project, or
exclusively on providing a specific service and also service contributing to the
the staff who contribute to the production of delivery of an MFO.
several goods or services where it is possible to
identify the particular goods and services they produce. All activities under Operations
constitute direct costs and should be allocated to MFOs.

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Indirect costs include resources used for General

Administration and Support of Indirect costs are costs that
department/agency,such the as
resources are necessary for the
services, accounting and finance human functioning of the
information technology services, and the policy services,
and department/agency as a
management oversight provided by the Secretary and whole, but cannot be directly
other senior officials. They may also include the and easily traced to the
resources for STO, such as public relations and production or achievement of
information, testing laboratories, planning and a particular MFO.
monitoring activities, legal services, general research,
policy development and, program evaluation.18 These
activities do not necessarily support any one
individual or specific delivery of a particular MFO alone.

The difference between a direct cost and an indirect cost is not always perfectly clear.
There may be cases where judgment is required. In general, the preference should be to
classify the activity as a direct cost of an output in order to give the most complete
account of activities which contribute to producing a particular output. In this Guide, the
recommended approach is such that only direct costs are allocated to the MFO that it
clearly supports. This means that only the cost of activities clearly driving the achievement
of an MFO is allocated to the particular MFO.

For example, the cost of operating and maintaining a nature park should be classified as a
direct cost of delivering an environmental output, rather than an indirect cost of
management of the DENR. Further, this activity should be part of Operations. Similarly,
the cost of accounting for receipts and disbursements of the national government should
be a direct cost of delivering the cash management services output of the Bureau of the
Treasury, and hence, part of Operations. However, the cost of managing receipts and
disbursements of a service delivery department—such as the Department of Education—
supports its internal management responsibility and would be an indirect cost of the
delivery of education outputs.

Budget estimates and performance indicators for MFOs are presented in two key budget
forms—Form A and Form B—which are part of the Annual Budget Call. These forms
reflect the policy priorities of the department/agency, presented as budget estimates for

18
As the government moves toward full MFO cost-based budgeting, DBM will further clarify the policy on
allocating direct and indirect costs. Under current arrangements, each agency’s budget for GAS and STO is
appropriated as overhead expenses dissected by type of expense: PS, MOOE, and CO. If GAS and STO were
appropriated as part of the agency’s MFOs, the manager’s ability to reallocate costs across MFOs during the
fiscal year to reflect changing priorities would be constrained. Typically, the shift to MFOs as an allocation
strategy would increase government managers’ discretion over program and project funding, but will also
reduce their discretion over overhead funding. If this strategy is adopted, GAS and STO would have to be
allocated separately, and not be part of the MFO.

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a three-year period: Actual for the Past Year, and Estimates for the Current Year and
Budget Year. Form A reflects the MFOs and the corresponding PAPs supporting each,
with the breakdown by expense class of each PAP item. Form B contains the MFOs and
the corresponding performance indicators.

Sources of Budget for MFOs

The budget estimate is composed of all budget resources appropriated to a
department/agency, which will be used in delivering its MFOs:

 Amounts appropriated as New General Appropriations for Programs, Activities,

and Projects in the annual GAA;
 Amounts contained in Automatic Appropriations;
 Amounts contained in Continuing Appropriations, if these amounts are known at
the time of preparing the budget estimate; and
 Budgetary adjustments made within the GAA during the year.

In the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Comparison of Appropriation and

Obligation section sets out all the appropriation items which are available to each
department/agency for three fiscal years: past year, current year, and budget year.
Amounts presented in the past year are actual obligations, while those in the current and
budget years are estimates.

The NEP is the reference point for the preparation of MFO budget costs (actual for past
year) and estimates for the current and budget years. The NEP serves as the basis in
preparing the OPIF Book of Outputs, wherein MFO costs and accomplishments are
likewise presented in three fiscal years. All budgetary items in the NEP are to be allocated
to MFOs so that the total budget for MFOs reconciles with the total resources provided in
the NEP.19

What are New General Appropriations?

New general appropriations refers to the authorization for incurring obligations during a
specified budget year. These pertain to the annual appropriations in the GAA which are
presented by programs, activities, and projects, which are intended to reflect the
functions and activities of departments/agencies.

19
It should be noted that the benefits of capital investments extend beyond the budget year, and may affect
the cost estimation of MFOs in succeeding years. Preliminary discussions with COA suggest the use of the
depreciation method as prescribed in the NGAS, where the estimated life of the asset would guide the
annual allocation cost to be attributed to an MFO; that is, the total cost of the capital investment would be
spread across its estimated life net of any accepted residual value. Integration of this policy may be
incorporated in a DBM issuance after official consultations/discussion with COA.

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What are Automatic Appropriations?

Automatic appropriations refers to authorizations made annually or for some other

period prescribed by law, by virtue of standing legislation which does not require periodic
action by the Congress of the Philippines. Automatic appropriations include amounts for
debt servicing and lump sums for LGU Internal Revenue Allotment, etc., which may not
be attributed to an MFO.

Automatic appropriations also include the Retirement and Life Insurance Premium (RLIP),
which may be a direct cost and indirect cost of an MFO. The RLIP pertaining to the share
of the staff directly performing activities necessary for achieving MFOs should be
attributed to the relevant MFO.

What is RLIP?

Retirement and Life Insurance Premium (RLIP) is the share of the national government in
the premium payments to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the life
insurance and retirement benefit fund of government employees. It is an automatic
appropriation. It is calculated as a percentage of the value of basic salaries of the
department/agency and applies to staff who contribute directly to an MFO as well as to
staff who provide administrative support services. It therefore applies to both direct and
indirect costs. RLIP funds need to be allocated to MFOs according to the amount of the
PS budget.

The existing Budget Preparation Management System (BPMS) and Government

Manpower Information System (GMIS) compute RLIP by PAP. Thus, RLIP corresponding
to PAPs under Operations should be allocated to MFOs, while those under GAS and STO
should not be allocated.

What are Continuing Appropriations?

Continuing appropriations refers to authorization to support obligations for a specified

purpose or project, even when these obligations are incurred beyond the budget year.
For example, MOOE and Capital Outlay appropriations in the GAA have two-year validity.
The amount of unobligated and unreleased appropriations for these items which will be
available in the succeeding year may be unknown during the preparation of MFO budget
estimates for the budget year. They therefore do not appear in the NEP and are not
included in the estimate of the MFO budget.

These amounts are, however, included in budget execution reports (BEDs) for previous
years, and will therefore be included in reports on the budget resources that were used
for the MFO in previous budget periods. Most continuing appropriations relate to capital
projects and therefore can be readily attributed to specific MFOs. In other cases, they will

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be allocated on the same basis as other budget items.

What are Budgetary Adjustments?

Budgetary adjustments include allotment releases from Special Purpose Funds e.g.,
Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, Calamity Fund, etc. to departments and agencies,
authorized transfer of appropriations from one department/agency to another, and
transfer to overall savings.

Budgetary adjustments are reflected in the past year of the Comparison of Appropriation
and Obligation table of the NEP. These budgetary adjustments are included in the actual
obligation for the past year and shall be allocated to the respective MFO cost.

What is ‘Off Budget’ funding of MFOs?

There are other ways, however, in which the budget estimate for MFOs presented in the
budget documents may not reflect the full or real cost of the output. For example, some
departments/agencies (e.g., hospitals) are authorized to use retained income to fund
expenditure. However, the value of these funds is not shown in the NEP, so the budget
estimate of delivering outputs is less than the actual cost.

In other instances, the value of grants received by the department/agency is not shown in
the NEP budget, although they may be reported in end-of-year budget implementation
reports.

In some cases, the estimated value of these off budget items is known and is provided in
supplementary budget documents. Although these resources will not be included in the
main budget estimates, they should be noted and included in the OPIF budget.

PAPs Restructuring and Budget Estimation

Some departments/agencies are confused about the definition of GAS, STO, Operations,
and Projects, resulting in PAPs being misclassified. For instance, some items that are
currently classified as GAS and STO may in fact be direct costs of MFOs (Operations) and
should be part of the MFO cost. Significant misclassifications may have a negative impact
on budget calculations; thus, it may be necessary to reclassify individual activities
specifically for the purpose of preparing budget estimates.

Why restructure PAPs?

The main rationale of restructuring PAPs is to establish the link of PAPs with the
appropriate MFOs for better budget estimation and expenditure prioritization. Because
MFOs are used as basis for budget estimation, activities that are unlinked to MFOs

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generally mean waste and duplication. Thus, activities that are not linked to the
appropriate MFO must be dropped. Activities that do not fall within the legal mandated
function of the department must be dropped as well. Savings identified from dropping
unlinked activities may be used to fund higher-priority activities in the same department.

In short, PAP restructuring is the process of cleaning up PAPs to improve budget

estimation for MFOs and establish accountability for delivering results. DBM, together
with departments/agencies, should review the PAPs and restructure as necessary.

An activity in the current PAP structure in the GAA which contributes to more than one
MFO is a candidate for restructuring. Merging, splitting or dropping activities should be
done as needed so that one activity shall be attributed to only one MFO.

There may be remote cases where the design of the organizational distribution of tasks
and activities prevents the strict compartmentalization of activities to clearly identify
which single MFO the activity contributes to. Under these circumstances, a flexible
approach in the distribution or allocation of costs to the particular MFOs affected will be
acceptable; however, this is subject to a formula or policy on the distribution or sharing of
staff time and other resources common to the activities concerned. A more specific
attribution of an activity’s allocation to the appropriate MFO can be made after a diligent
review of the PAPs and when a process of merging, splitting, or dropping activities is
applied.

How are PAPs restructured?

In rationalizing activities in the PAP structure, it is assumed that departments/agencies

should stay within the overall budget, with savings reallocated to higher priorities within
the department. The approach in this Guide is to review the activities of each PAP and
determine if they are correctly aligned with the appropriate MFO of the
department/agency.

The review and analysis of PAPs should be guided by four parameters: legal mandate,
activity structure, cost of MFO, and classification of the activity. The general approach
and principles are described below while detailed instructions for reviewing PAPs are
contained in Appendix 3.

1. Legal mandate and other policy instructions/documents

Review each PAP and determine if activities are within the authority of the
department/agency to undertake, using as reference the department/agency’s legal
mandate and other policy instructions and documents. Drop activities that do not fall
within the legally mandated function of the department/agency. It is important to
note that it is the legal function of the agency which is mandated to be performed,

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and not the PAP or any of the activities within the PAP.

2. Activity structure

Review the activities of each PAP and determine if they are correctly linked to or
aligned with the appropriate MFO. As a rule, one activity shall be attributed to only
one MFO. This ensures that the activity structure corresponds to essential work tasks
needed to produce the MFO. It also refines the composition of activities through a
process of merging, splitting, or dropping activities to improve performance. Poor
performance may be the result of misaligned activities, and consequently, poor
expenditure prioritization.

3. Accountability

Review the activity structure of each PAP and identify which unit is responsible for
undertaking the activities. This establishes responsibility and ensures that PAPs are
aligned with the operational/functional organization of the department/agency.

4. MFO Cost

Review the classification of activities in each PAP with regard to GAS, STO, and
Operations, and identify any activity that has been misclassified. The proper
classification of PAPs will enable the identification of direct costs (Operations), and
indirect costs (GAS and STO) of each MFO.

The new PAP structure should capture all activities which contribute to the MFO and
all the budget financing assigned to these activities. The funds for GAS and STO need
not be allocated across MFOs, but costs should be disclosed and understood to be
the indirect costs of the Operations component of the budget.

To ensure the alignment of activities with the appropriate MFO, consider dropping,
merging, or splitting activities. Table 5 shows examples of restructured PAPs. These
actions may result in the shifting of funding for activities of lower priority to activities of a
higher priority within the department, or to the extent feasible, the KRAs of the
government.20

The aim is not to reduce the size of budget, but to refine the composition of activities
where this will improve performance. Poor performance may be the result of
underfunded activities and the restructuring of PAPs should prioritize activities as much

20
Executive Order 43 (2011) directs the annual setting of concrete and measurable outputs for programs
and/or projects until 2016, and reorients PAPs toward the achievement of the desired outcomes under the
five KRAs. See discussion on KRAs in Chapter 1.

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as possible. The review of PAPs may result in the proposed removal of a PAP/s and the
establishment of new PAP/s if this is required to improve cost attribution to MFOs.

Table 5. Examples of Restructured PAPs

Before After
Example 1: Merging PAPs
Department of Agriculture
PAPs under Operations PAP under Support to Operations (STO)
1. Agricultural crop research II._._ Research on agricultural crops, tools
and implements, and others
2. Research on farm tools & implements
III.c.4 Conduct of research studies Note: This is also an example of reclassifying the
PAPs from Operations to STO

Example 2: Splitting PAPs

Department of Budget and Management
PAP under Operations PAP under Operations
III.b.2 Review and evaluation of the funding 2. Develop organization and staffing
requirements of government agencies, structure of agencies (MFO 1)
including their respective foreign-assisted 3. Review and evaluate government
projects, and preparation and issuance of agencies’ funding requirements—including
release documents therefor; monitoring of their foreign-assisted projects—and issue
fund utilization and analysis of release documents (MFO 2)
accountability reports of agencies to 4. Monitor an agency’s physical and financial
determine commitments (actual performance and analyze performance
performance vis-à-vis targets), and
development of the organization and report (actual vis-à-vis targets) (MFO 3)
staffing structure of agencies

Example 3: Splitting and Reclassifying PAPs

Department of Agriculture
PAP PAP under Operations
II.a Development of the Crops Sector III.a Development of the Crops Sector
III.a Development of the Crops Sector
Note: Do not repeat PAP statement

PAP under STO

II.c.5 Economic research, policy formulation II._._ Economic research, policy
and planning services formulation and planning services
III.c.1 Economic research, policy formulation
and planning services (Note: PAP was Note: This is also an example of reclassifying
repeated) PAPs.

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PAPs restructuring is intended to make it easier for the government to determine

accountability for achieving MFOs. This means that each PAP and the collection of
activities composing it should be directed at achieving an MFO, where responsibility for
the level of achievement can be tied back to an individual heading an operating unit. This
would impart a more planning-focused perspective to the annual budget proposal by
developing financing requests only for activities which contribute strongly to the
achievement of an MFO, and reducing the financing of other activities which make
marginal contributions to it, particularly long-standing administrative functions that make
limited contribution to MFO delivery.

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Chapter 7 – Performance Monitoring, Evaluation,

and Reporting
As discussed in Chapter 1, DBM acts as the agent for the national government in
negotiating performance targets with departments/agencies that provide goods and
services (MFOs) to the public, as well as ensuring that fund allocations to MFOs are
consistent with the government’s directions and priorities as reflected in the PDP, RM,
PIP, and MTEF.

At the same time, both DBM and departments/agencies have a responsibility to monitor
and evaluate the delivery of MFOs according to performance indicators and targets, and
to carry out analyses to ensure that performance targets are realistic and the resulting
performance report is valid.

This Chapter provides a methodology for the analysis of performance information on

MFO delivery, which serves as input to the conduct of the Budget Performance Review
(BPR), the results of which are reported to the President and Congress.

Why evaluate performance of departments/agencies?

Executive Order 292 requires agency heads to develop and enforce a system for periodic
measurement and evaluation of the performance of their agencies, and to report on their
annual performance to the President. This begins from the agency head to the
department secretary and to DBM, and later, from the DBM secretary to the President).
Agencies must also account for their use of public funds as authorized by Congress in
delivering MFOs.

To strengthen accountability for results in the whole of government, two levels of

performance review are envisaged in the OPIF logframe and results framework. The first
level aims to determine the effectiveness of MFOs in influencing societal change as
measured by sector outcome indicators in the medium-term PDP.

The second level aims to determine the efficiency of the departments/agencies in

delivering MFOs, as measured by MFO performance indicators contained in the OPIF Book
of Outputs (value-for-money).

The first review would be undertaken as a precursor to the preparation of each new
medium-term development plan, and will require high-level statistical measures. The
second review is more straightforward and technical in nature. This can be carried out by
departments/agencies and DBM, with data collected on an ongoing basis throughout
each financial year. The critical aspect here is to ensure that data is collected consistently
throughout the financial year so that the statistics accurately reflect the events of the
year.

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What is Budget Performance Review?

The Budget Performance Review (BPR) aims to determine the efficiency of a

department/agency in delivering its MFOs in accordance with performance indicators and
targets agreed upon with DBM during budget preparation. It uses performance data from
agency budget accountability reports (BARs) to monitor and assess the
performance of departments/agencies
in delivering their MFOs. BPR is the process of
monitoring and evaluating the
The BPR provides the President and Congress performance of a
with a summary report on the financial and department/agency in
physical performance of government agencies in
delivering MFOs with respect
delivering their major final outputs. It is
to the budget provided, and
conducted in-year (covering the first semester)
reporting evaluation results to
and annually.
the President and Congress.

The BPR has the potential to impact funding

allocations between financial years on a more
frequent basis. When measuring the efficiency of a department/agency in delivering an
MFO, DBM is ensuring that the price that the government is paying for the MFO is
consistent with achieving value-for-money. This may require comparing MFOs delivered
by the public sector with similar outputs produced by the private sector, which have
similar characteristics or production processes as the MFO.

What are the uses of the BPR?

The results information contained in the BPR report can be used to prepare the following:

• An annual report to the President and Congress that summarizes the financial and
physical performance of departments/agencies in delivering MFOs that they have
agreed to deliver to the community on behalf of the national government;
• A report detailing the progress of departments/agencies in completing projects or
investment activities that increase the capacity of the government to deliver MFOs
in the future; and
• Inputs to Technical Budget Hearings and Executive Review Board on the
performance of departments/agencies in meeting performance criteria for
delivering MFOs and completing investment activities, thereby providing an
objective assessment of future actions required by the government to achieve
value for money in MFO delivery.

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The results of the BPR feed back to policy decisions pertaining to:

• preliminary consideration of expenditure priorities at the time of updating the FEs;

• expenditure review and prioritization process during budget negotiations and
budget hearings; and
• examination of new spending proposals during budget negotiations and budget
hearings.

How is performance in MFO delivery assessed?

Using the PIs and targets set out in the OPIF Book of Outputs and BARs, the assessment of
MFO delivery involves the following key steps:

• Review PIs and confine analysis to selected PIs, preferably those that comprise a
PI set appropriate for measuring MFO delivery to external clients.
• Calculate the variance of measured performance of selected indicators against
their performance targets, as shown in Table 6 below.
• Provide an explanation for variances that appear excessive, say, 5%.
• For an MFO that has a significant variance in one or more of its PI, describe briefly
the interrelationships of variances across the classes of PIs in a logical way, and
draw conclusions about the performance of the agency in delivering that MFO.
• Make recommendations for future funding and delivery options in respect of the
MFO, where analysis will indicate a particular course of action that may be
appropriate.

Table 6. Performance Target, Actual Performance, and Variance

Performance Indicator Target Actual Variance

Percentage of advice provided within 14 days of request >90% 75% -20%

Percentage of advice to client that is rated as satisfactory or >75% 65% -15%

better
Percentage of consultations where an advisory error is detected <10% 8% -25%

Average number of technical advisory services provided per >20 40 50%

client per month

In the examples above, the measured performance of indicators against performance

targets is analyzed using the variance analysis method. In measuring MFO performance,
the variance is calculated as the difference between the target set for a performance
indicator and the actual measured performance for that indicator over the time period in
question, as a percentage of the target, i.e., (PI actual-PI target)/PI target x 100.

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The interpretation of a negative versus a positive number will depend on whether the
target was a PI that was set as a maximum or a minimum. For example, if the target was
set as a maximum number of errors for policy advice [<10%] then a lower reported
outcome [8%] would result in a negative variance [-25%], imply over-performance, and be
interpreted favorably.

If, on the other hand, the PI was set as a minimum number of units of a quantity to be
produced [>90%], then a lower reported outcome [75%] would result in negative variance
[-20%], imply under-performance, and be interpreted unfavorably.

More examples and instructions21 for the analysis of the department/agency performance
in MFO delivery and project delivery—including reporting formats—are provided in
Appendix 4.

How is performance in project delivery assessed?

In addition to performance in MFO delivery, it would be of interest to the President and

Congress to know the progress and outcome of projects funded in the GAA, most of
which are capital investments and involve huge funding for a fixed time frame. The
objective of the assessment of project delivery is to explain how and why performance
variance/s occur, as well as their implications for future funding and the capacity of the
department/agency to deliver MFOs.

In conducting performance assessment for a project, it is important to remember that a

project is not an MFO in itself, but a discrete activity with a fixed time frame for
completion. They may, as their ultimate objective:

• expand the quantity of one or more MFOs to be delivered to clients/beneficiaries;

• improve the quality and timeliness of one or more MFOs to be delivered to end-
clients/-beneficiaries; or
• increase organizational productivity to lower the cost of producing one or more
MFOs for end-consumption.

The purpose of a project should be stated in terms of one or more of the above objectives
at the time the project proposal is put forward for funding approval.

However, since OPIF is a new framework, it is understood that many projects have been
approved without explicitly stating the purpose in terms of one of the above four
objectives. The project approval documents can help derive the MFO to which the

21
DBM shall issue policy guidelines on conducting BPRs based on final outputs of several ongoing reform
initiatives on government-wide performance measurement, as well as government integrated financial
management systems, etc.

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project is directed and its intended impact one or more of the indicators.

In assessing performance, the difference between MFO and project should be clear. The
delivery of a project is measured in terms of the achievement of milestones, which are
discrete events. Thus, when all milestones are met at a discrete and definite end-date,
costs are fully charged and the project is deemed to be completed and operational. On
the other hand, the delivery of MFOs is usually measured in terms of the quantity of
outputs that are delivered on an ongoing basis over a continuous time from financial year
to financial year, in the sense that measurement does not stop until a decision is taken to
cease funding for the MFO.

A different type of performance indicator is usually appropriate to measure the progress

of a department/agency in completing a project when compared to those that describe
the delivery of an MFO.

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References
Department of Budget and Management (DBM), organizational Performance Indicator
Framework Book of Outputs FY 2010. Manila: DBM, 2010.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The 2011-2016 PDP Results
Matrices. Pasig City: NEDA, 2011.

Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987. Instituting the Administrative Code of 1987. July 25, 1987.

Executive Order No. 43, s. 2011. Pursuing our Contract with the Filipino People through the
Reorganization of the Cabinet Clusters. May 13, 2011.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Glossary of Key Terms
in Evaluation and Results-Based Management. France: OECD, 2002. Accessed
November 25, 2011. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf.

Schick, Allen. “Getting Performance Measures to Measure Up.” In Quicker, Better

Cheaper? Managing Performance in American Government, edited by Dall Forsythe.
Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2001.

Smith, Dennis, and William Grinker. “The Promise and Pitfalls of Performance-Based
Contracting.” Paper presented at the 25th Annual Research Conference of the
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, D.C.,
November 5-8, 2003.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Results Based Management: Concepts and
Methodology. 2002. Accessed November 25, 2011. http://www.undp.org.

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Appendix 1. Results Matrices and Cascading Logframes

Following the logic behind the Results Framework, logframes are applied to different
levels to facilitate planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation for results. The
figure below (NEDA) shows that results matrices and logframes at different levels
(country, sector, department/agency and project level) are linked in a cascading pattern. It
also shows how the logframe elements (narrative summary, objectively identifiable
indicators, means of verification, and assumptions/risks) are applied at different levels.
The 2011-2016 PDP Results Matrices contain the specific objectives and performance
indicators and targets for the sector level and serve as a guide to departments/agencies in
preparing OPIF and project logframes and plans at department/agency and project levels.

Chapter Results Matrix (RM)

NS OVIs MOVs A/R
Societal Goal
Chapter Outcome
Outputs

Sector RM
NS OVIs MOVs A/R
Goal/Impact
Sector Outcome
Outputs

Agency OPIF Logframe

NS OVIs A/R
Goal/Impact MOVs
Orgl Outcome
Major Final Output
PAPs

Notes: * Project Logframe

NS - Narrative Summary NS OVIs MOVs A/R
OVIs - Objectively Verifiable Indicators Goal/Impact
MOVs - Means of Verification Program/Project Outcome
A/R - Assumptions/Risks Project Outputs
Activities

Source: NEDA, Letter to DBM on OPIF Guide (Oct 10, 2011)

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Appendix 2. OPIF Logframe Review and Cascading OPIF Checklists

Criteria Yes No Comment

A. MFOs
1. Is there evidence that the department has
reviewed their MFOs?
2. Do MFOs accord with the general principles of
MFOs in that they are:
 informative?
 measurable?
 comprehensive?
 controllable?
 externally focused?
3. Do MFOs:
 comprise the goods and services that a
department or agency is mandated to
deliver to external clients through the
implementation of programs, activities,
and projects?

 represent final as opposed to sub-outputs?

 encompass all internal processes and
intermediate outputs produced within an
agency to generate the final MFO?

 represent approved funding?

4. Are MFOs:
 capable of linkage to standards for service
provision?
 capable of representation by an integrated
set of PIs that deals with the quantity,
quality, and timeliness of the MFO to be
delivered for a given cost?

5. Does any aggregation of outputs carried out

avoid significant loss of analytical information
relative to the efficiency gained by grouping
outputs and treating them as a single MFO?
B. Performance Indicators
Meeting the objective of PIs
6. Do PIs:
 capture the essential characteristics of the
MFOs delivered to end-beneficiaries/-
clients?
 provide a stable specification from one
period to the next?
 generate a time series of data that is
robust and reliable, and that can be used
as the foundation for performance
measurement and attribution analysis in
respect of correlating MFO delivery to
impacts on societal and sectoral goals?

Rationale for PI inclusion

7. Will the PI be used for decision-making?
8. Will the PI be of interest and meaningful to
both the end-client/-beneficiary and the buyer

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Criteria Yes No Comment

(government)?
9. Does each PI measure an aspect of an MFO
that is important to measure in order to assess
the extent to which the final output is being
achieved?
10. Who will use the performance information?
11. Is it clear how the performance information will
be used/for what purpose the performance
information will be used?
Relationship of PIs to MFOs
12. For each MFO is there an integrated set of PIs
including indicators of:
 quantity (to indicate efficiency);
 quality (to indicate effectiveness);
 timeliness (to indicate
efficiencyor effectiveness or both);
 cost indicators (to indicate efficiency or
effectiveness or both)?

13. Are restructured PIs appropriate measures of

the above characteristics of the MFO at the
time it is delivered to the external client?
14. Will the PI Set provide sufficient information to
judge performance in delivery of the MFO?
15. Have the following PIs been deleted:
 those that do not directly relate to
characteristics and performance in
delivering the MFO to an external client?
 those that relate to internal processes and
not to the delivery of MFOs to final
customers?
16. Have PIs been amalgamated/grouped where
possible?
17. Wherever possible, are
standard PIs
introduced for agencies with similar functions?
PI Specification
18. Is each PI specified such that it:
 identifies a single variable (target) for
measurement?
 is understandable to a person on the
street?
 capable of generating a time series of
data?
19. Are PIs consistent with defined monitoring
requirements?
20. Can (at least one of) the quantity PI(s) be used
to measure the correlation of changes in
quantity of the MFO (ceteris paribus) with
changes in a sector or societal PI? (If not, then
determine a PI that can be used, and
incorporate into the PI).

PI Monitoring
21. Will the measurement of the PI be accurate
and reliable?
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Criteria Yes No Comment

22. Can the PI be measured over a period of time?
Will data be readily available on a continuing
basis?
23. Can the PI be measured and reported in a
timely manner, so that it is relevant to decision-
makers?
24. Can the PI be measured cost-effectively?
PI Targets
25. Is each performance target specified, such that
an improvement in the relevant output
characteristic is necessary in order to achieve
the target?
26. In general, can PI targets for each MFO be
expressed as a maximum or minimum target,
and not as an absolute number?
C. Linkage of MFOs to CPs
27. Does a linkage exist for all OPIF outputs?
28. Is the link strong (as opposed to tenuous)?
29. Do monitoring arrangements focus upon the
achievement not only of strategic objectives
but also the achievement of the related OPIF
outputs?
D. Linkage of CPs to Business Plans
30. Are all corporate strategies linked
to
appropriate business plan activities?
31. Is responsibility for the achievement of each
business plan activity clearly
allocated (preferably to a single manager)?
32. Do monitoring arrangements maintain a focus
upon the achievement of outputs?
33. Are current budgets for MFOs, corporate
objectives, and business plans aligned fully?
E. Linkage of Business Plans to Individual Work
Plans
34. Is there a formal process in operation that links
each individual’s efforts to OPIF outputs?
35. Is there evidence that this is operating
effectively?

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Appendix 3. MFO, PIs, and PAPs Review and Analysis Instructions
and Worksheet
This section provides detailed instructions for accomplishing Form 1 – Proposed MFOs
and PIs, Form 2 – PAPs Review and Analysis Worksheet, and Form 3 – Proposed PAPs
Structure and Justification.

PART A. MFO and PIs Review

1. Collect data
1. Obtain a copy of the following:
• Legal basis and other issuances on the department/agency’s creation
• Organizational chart
• Current General Appropriations Act (GAA)
• Corresponding OPIF Book of Outputs for the Budget Year
• Form A of the budget proposal for the latest Budget Year
• Budget Performance Review (BPR) report or end-of-year performance report of
the agency (latest)
2. Examine the documents to determine where data will be relevant for review and
analysis of MFOs and PAPs and completion of Forms 1, 2 and 3.
2. Review/improve specification of MFOs
1. Review the current set of MFOs reported to DBM and identify MFOs that need to
be improved or restated in a way that helps the national government, Congress,
and the public understand the nature of the good or service for which public
funding is being provided.
2. Define the MFO in such a way that it:
• describes the product or service to be provided to an identifiable external
client,
• is within the department/agency’s control, and
• is measurable, manageable, and auditable.
3. Express the MFO in comprehensive terms, inclusive of the MFOs of its
subordinate units.
4. Examples of MFOs are Policy advisory services (to external clients or
beneficiaries), Regulatory services, Basic education services, Agriculture and
fishery support services, and Tertiary and other specialized health care services.
5. The number of MFOs a department/agency may have would depend on the range
or diversity of its mandate within the scope of its organizational outcome.
Additional information on how to formulate MFOs and PIs is contained in the
OPIF Reference Guide disseminated separately by DBM to departments/agencies.
3. Specify MFO PIs and targets
1. Review/revise the description of PIs and specification of PI targets for each MFO
in accordance with the quality standards discussed in the OPIF Reference Guide.
Currently, departments/agencies report too many quantitative PIs and internal
 OPIF Reference Guide

process or input PIs, which should be dropped because they do not describe
MFOs.
2. Formulate, at most, two PI sets (quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost) to
adequately describe the MFO. This means that for every quantity PI, there should
be a corresponding or associated quality, timeliness, and cost PI to describe the
MFO.
3. Drop/delete PIs that do not describe the MFO, and if necessary, formulate new PIs
that would best describe the MFO.
4. Submit proposed changes to MFOs and PIs to DBM for approval. Use Form 1 –
Proposed MFOs and PIs Worksheet for this purpose.

PART B. PAPs Restructuring

4. Prepare the worksheet and gather data
1. Before restructuring PAPs, it is understood that a review of the MFOs has been
undertaken and proposed revisions, amendments, or corrections to it are
approved by DBM. Thus, PAPs should be attributed to the appropriate MFOs as
revised, corrected, or restated.
2. Copy data from the GAA, OPIF Book of Outputs, and BP Form A into Columns 1, 2,
3, and 4 of the worksheet (Form 2- PAPs Review and Analysis Worksheet) and
reconcile the difference in the information. To facilitate the comparison,
movement, and tracking of cells that will be executed in the succeeding steps,
shade the cells using a different color for each activity group (GAS, STO, and
Operations) and for each column: GAA, OPIF Book of Outputs and Form A.
3. Review and analyze PAP statements in the GAA, OPIF Book of Outputs and Form
A and make notations—if there is action needed for a particular PAP—in the
issues and recommendations columns (Columns 5 to 8). Notations are important,
as these will establish the trail and historical link between the old and new PAP
structure, including their budget allocation.
5. Review and analyze PAPs
1. The review and analysis of PAPs shall be based on four parameters: legal
mandate, activity structure, cost of MFO, and activity classification.
2. Legal mandate and other policy instructions/documents
• Review each PAP and determine if the activities are within the authority of the
department/agency to undertake, using as reference the department/agency’s
legal mandate and other policy instructions and documents.
• Drop activities that do not fall within the legally mandated function of the
department/agency.
• In Column 5, explain the issue and recommended action for activities that do
not fall within the mandate of the department/agency.
3. Activity structure
• Review the activities of each PAP and determine if they are correctly linked or
aligned with the appropriate MFO. As a rule, one activity shall be attributed to

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only one MFO.

• The aim is to ensure that the activity structure corresponds to essential work
tasks needed to produce the MFO, and to refine the composition of activities
where this will improve performance. Poor performance may be the result of
misaligned activities and thus poor expenditure prioritization.
• Consider dropping, merging, or splitting activities to ensure alignment of
activities to the appropriate MFO. In particular, there is a need to drop or
discontinue redundant or unnecessary activities.
• In Column 6, state the issue and recommended action, i.e., drop, split, or merge
activities to improve the PAP structure and budget estimation for MFOs.
4. Accountability
• Review the activity structure of each PAP and identify which unit is responsible
for undertaking the activities. The aim is to establish accountability and ensure
that PAPs are aligned with the operational/functional organization of the
department/agency.
• In Column 7, indicate the unit or units responsible for the activity and
recommended changes in case of redundant or duplicated activities and to
clarify responsibility for activities.
5. MFO Cost
• Review the classification of activities in each PAP with regard to General
Administration and Support (GAS), Support to Operations (STO) and
Operations, and identify activities that have been misclassified.
• In Column 8, indicate the new classification for these activities that were
previously misclassified.
• Once all activities have been correctly classified, it will be easier to distinguish
direct costs—i.e., Operations—from indirect costs, i.e., GAS and STO of each
MFO, and thus improve prioritization of expenditures within the
department/agency.
6. Justify the new PAP structure
1. Write the new PAP structure implementing the recommendations in the
worksheet. The new PAP structure should capture all activities which contribute
to the MFO and all the budget financing assigned to these activities. Use Form 3 –
Proposed PAPs Structure and Justification.
2. Prepare a narrative summary to explain and justify the new structure, comparing
this to the old structure and citing the improvements expected to be gained or
achieved.
3. Submit signed Forms 1, 2, and 3 to DBM for review and approval.

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Form 1. Proposed MFOs and Performance Indicators

Name of Department/Agency:
MFO/PI (1)
Performance Target (2)
MFO 1:
PI Set
Quantity PI:
Quality PI:
Timeliness PI:
Cost of MFO:
MFO 2:
PI Set
Quantity PI:
Quality PI:
Timeliness PI:
Cost of MFO:
MFO 3:
PI Set
Quantity PI:
Quality PI:
Timeliness PI:
Cost of MFO:
(1) If proposing more than 1 PI set, number PI set accordingly, e.g., PI Set 1, PI Set 2.
(2) Express target as minimum or maximum (>, <), e.g., >90%

Prepared by: Endorsed by:

(Name, Title & Signature) Date: Department/Agency Head Date:

OPIF Reference Guide

Form 2. Proposed PAPs Structure with Justification

NAME OF DEPARTMENT/ATTACHED AGENCY
MANDATE OF DEPARTMENT/ATTACHED AGENCY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Issues and Recommendations
PAP Alignment to MFO &
Code GAA FORM A OPIF/Proposed New MFOs Alignment to Mandate Activity Structure Responsible Unit PAPs to be Reclassified
General Administration & General Administration &
A.I Support Support

A.II Support to Operations Support to Operations

A.III Operations Operations

MFO No. 1

MFO No. 2

MFO No. 3

Column Summary Instructions for Worksheet

1 In column 1, copy PAP code from FY 2011 GAA.
2 In column 2, copy Program & Activity statements from FY 2011 GAA.
3 In column 3, copy PAP titles from BP Form A FY2012.
4 In column 4 (after last entry/row in Form A column), copy MFOs and PAP titles from FY 2011 OPIF Book. Indicate new proposed MFO titles, if any, from Form 1 of these guidelines.
1. Cut/move and paste cells in columns 1, 2 & 3 to match with appropriate MFOs & PAPs in column 4. To facilitate comparison, movement, and tracking of cells, shade the cells using a different color for
each group of activity (GAS, STO, and Operations) and for each column: GAA, OPIF Book of Outputs, and Form A.
4.2 If applicable, create rows (below related PAPs), and paste PAPs from columns 1, 2 & 3 that cannot be matched to PAPs in column 4.
4.3 If applicable, highlight cell for PAP being matched that does not exist in either GAA or Form A.
5 In column 5, state the issue re: PAP alignment to legal mandate and recommendation
6 In column 6, state the issue re: PAP alignment to MFO & activity structure and recommendation
7 In column 7, indicate specific department unit responsible for aligned PAPs and relevant issues arising, if any, and recommendation
8 In column 8, identify activities that are misclassified, other issues relevant to MFO cost, and recommendations to address issues
identified.

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Form 3. Proposed PAPs Structure with Justification

NAME OF DEPARTMENT/ATTACHED AGENCY

MANDATE OF DEPARTMENT/ATTACHED AGENCY

Proposed PAPs Structure Justification

GAS
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
STO
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
OPERATIONS
MFO 1
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
MFO 2
Activity 1:
Activity 2:

PROJECTS
Project 1
Project 2

Prepared by: Endorsed by:

(Name, Title & Signature) Date: Department/Agency Head Date:

OPIF Reference Guide

Appendix 4. Budget Performance Review Instructions

PART 1 –MFO DELIVERY

1. Create a data table/worksheet and separate all MFO performance indicators (PIs) into
four classes: Quantity, Quality, Timeliness, and Cost indicators.
2. Determine which PIs are appropriate measures of the characteristics of the MFO at
the time it is delivered to the external client.
1. Select PIs that will form a PI Set that will provide data with respect to quantity of
MFO to be delivered, quality of MFO, timeliness with which the MFO is delivered
to external and end-clients, and cost of delivery. Each MFO has 1 or 2 PI Sets for
analysis.
2. Where a quantity indicator is used for an MFO characteristic, there should be, as
far as possible, supporting indicators for that same characteristic with respect to
quality, timeliness, and cost. The four indicators form an integral set that work
together to describe the output as a complete package. For example, the number
of policy advice (quantity), percentage of clients that rated the advise as
satisfactory (quality), percentage of policy advice prepared within 20 days of
request (timeliness), and total cost to deliver MFO (cost) provide a complete
description of an MFO.
3. To create a PI Set, the following methods can be used:
1. Delete PIs that do not directly relate to performance in delivering the MFO to an
external client. Exclude PIs that:
• describe processes undertaken in getting the MFO ready for delivery to client,
• are not directed toward core performance of delivery of the MFO, and
• relate to internal processes/outputs and not to delivery of MFOs to end-clients.

2. Consolidate/aggregate PIs where appropriate or which have the same

characteristic, e.g., different types of policies counted/described together under
one MFO PI.
3. Formulate new PIs, if sifting or consolidating PIs did not produce a complete set
of PIs to describe the MFO for the BPR FY 2011.
• The PI description should refer to only one variable and only one class of indicator,
i.e., only quantity or quality or timeliness or cost, never a combination of one or
more. A PI should not include the target in the description.
• The same PI Sets developed in BPR FY 2011 will be used in the succeeding BPRs to
help generate a time series of data for analysis.

4. Copy existing performance targets of PIs to be used for analysis in the data
worksheet. If the PI is newly formulated, set a performance target for it in
consultation with DBM. Performance targets under any class (quantity, quality,
timeliness, or cost) should:

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• be a single number that can be manipulated mathematically

• be able to form a basis for calculating an average and a measure of variance over
time vis-a-vis actual measurements
• be able to generate a time series of data for statistical measurement and trend
analysis
• appear like: >75% or <10% (minimum) expressed as minimum or maximum, not as a
fixed date or number
• describe data, which can be continuous or fixed

5. Using the PI Set, calculate the variance between PI performance target and actual
performance reported to DBM. Explain variances where variance is greater than, say,
5%. Possible reasons for variances:
• Target set too high or too low
• Timing of availability of funding impinges on delivery
• Slow delivery of inputs/supplies necessary to produce the output (may include
restrictions on the recruitment of staff)
• Other factors, i.e., realignment of budget to new priorities, Presidential directives,
system improvements, etc.

6. Synthesize discussion of variances in one variable with variances (or lack thereof) of
other variables in the MFO PI Set.
7. The analysis should summarize the performance of the agency in delivering the MFO.
It should explain why and how performance variance/s occur, and their implications
(i) to future funding and capacity of the department/agency to deliver/complete the
project/s, and (ii) to the achievement or contribution to relevant key result area/s as
enunciated by the Administration.
8. Repeat steps for analysis of other MFOs. Use report format shown in examples on the
next page.

Note: A more detailed set of policy instructions shall be issued by DBM for conducting
BPRs based on final outputs of several ongoing reform initiatives on performance
measurement and government integrated financial management information systems,
etc.

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Example 1 - Department of Agriculture

MFO 1: Agriculture and fisheries support services delivered

Performance Indicators Notes Target Target Actual Variance

2007 2008
Quantity
Total number of beneficiaries of 1. 1,310,742 >5,930,34 5,100,02 -14.0%
support services 4 3
1. Total number of
agricultural support
beneficiaries * *
2. Total number of fisheries * *
support beneficiaries

Quality
Production-related and post- >35 >34 1 -97.0%
production technologies
commercialized
Timeliness
(There were no timeliness PIs
included in the reported
OPIF PIs)
Cost
Total cost of output in P,000 20,802,65 36,006,131 35,908,8 -0.27%
8 88

Analysis:
1. The MFO shows a significant shortfall in the numbers of individuals and groups
assisted compared to the target. However, the target was ambitious and represented
an increase over 100% of the previous year’s target compared to funding, which
increased by a little over 50%.
2. While the only quality measure for this MFO shows an extreme underperformance, it
is not unusual for commercialization of technologies to be extremely variable from
one time period to the next, as it is often hit-or-miss. Setting targets for
commercialization of technologies is problematic.
3. This MFO was delivered satisfactorily and within budget.

Recommendation/s:
Agriculture, particularly the development of one to two million hectares of land for
agricultural business, is a sector priority of the Administration. It is recommended that
funding for this MFO continue at existing levels.

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Example 2- Department of Education

MFO 2: Public Secondary Education Services

Performance Indicators Notes Actual Target Actual Variance

2007 2008
Quantity
Total number of students 5,126,459 >5,308,66 5,400,023 1.72%
1
Quality
Participation rate 46.40% > 49.50% 50.01% 1.03%
Completion rate 71.23% >71.80% 72.15% 0.49%
Mean percentage score of Year 2
secondary school students in 1.
NAT
Total test 49.26 > 54.25% 54.50% 0.46%
English 53.46 >57.80% 57.90% 0.17%
46.71 >50.50% 50.25% -0.50%
Science
42.85 >46.32% 47.34% 2.20%
Math
47.64 > 51.48% 52.86% 2.68%
55.63 > 60.13% 61.20% 1.78%
Filipino
2.
Araling Panlipunan
Mean percentage score of Year
4 secondary school students in 45.99 >50.22% 50.12% -0.20%
NCAE 56.30 >62.44% 64.5% 3.30%
General scholastic aptitude 47.92 > 52.05% 54.38% 4.48%
Technical vocational aptitude 75.00 > 76.35% 75.34% -1.32%
Non-verbal ability
Entrepreneurial
skills

Timeliness
(There were no timeliness PIs
reported in the OPIF Book)
Cost
Total cost of output in P,000 42,161,89 42,173,237 41,923,12 -0.59%
1 7
Notes:
1. National Aptitude Test (NAT).
2. National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE)
Analysis:
1. This MFO shows a steady performance with an increase in productivity over the
previous year.
2. Generally, the quality of education appears to have been delivered at an improving
level, with an increase in students being retained to completion of their schooling and
an increase in participation above the target that had been set for 2008. While these
tend to be lagging indicators, more reflective of the quality of teaching and education
services in previous years, there is little choice but to use these indicators for

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performance.
3. This MFO was delivered within budget, and agency performance exceeding most
targets.

Recommendation/s:
Education is a high priority societal goal by the Administration. It is recommended that
funding for this MFO continue at existing levels, adjusted upwards for an expected
increase in participation and retention rates in 2009.

***********

PART 2 – PROJECT DELIVERY

1. Identify and generate a list of capital expenditures amounting to, for example, P50
million and above* and those that support the KRAs, including a description of the
expenditures. Select the projects for analysis in consultation with DBM.
2. Incorporate the selected capital project/s in the table of PART 2, including the MFOs
and MFO PIs on which the capital expenditures will have an impact and the various
milestones that are set out in project documentation. Project documentation will
include documents submitted to ICC and agreed as part of construction contracts, etc.
3. For each project, calculate variances between milestone targets, revised milestone
targets, and actual completion dates of milestones.
4. The analysis should summarize the performance of the agency in delivering the
project/s. Provide explanations for variances that are greater than, say, 5%. Explain
why and how performance variances occur, and their implications (i) to future funding
and capacity of the department/agency to deliver/complete the projects and
(ii) to the achievement or contribution to relevant key result area/s as enunciated by
the Administration.
5. Synthesize the discussion of variances of one or more milestones with the variances
(or lack thereof) of other milestones.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for all projects selected for analysis. Use report format provided
below in preparing the report.

(*The final amount for projects to be included in BPR will be specified in the policy guidelines to be issued
by DBM).

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PART 2: PROJECT DELIVERY

PROJECT 1: [Insert name of Project]

Description of capital formation project: xxxxx

Associated MFOs MFO 1 MFO 2 MFO 3 MFO etc…
Percentage of capital usage e.g. 20% 20% 23% 37%
estimated for each MFO

Project Implementation Target Revised Variance Explanation

Performance Target
Milestone 1 (or Project PI)
Milestone 2
Etc…
Progress Payments Budgeted Revised Variance Explanation
Amount Amount
Milestone 1
Etc…
Forecast Impact on MFOs Targeted Revised Variance Explanation
Impact Impact
MFO 1- Indicator(s)
MFO 2 - indicator(s)
Etc…
Summary: [Insert written analysis of variances]

Recommendation(s): [Insert recommendations based on analysis]

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Appendix 5.
Glossary
Activity A work process that contributes to a program or sub-program
or project (See: PAP, Program, Project)
Agency Budget Matrix A document showing the disaggregation of the agency budget
(ABM) into components such as by source of appropriations, by
allotment class and by need of clearance, i.e., amount to be
comprehensively released (Not needing clearance) and
amount to be covered by a special allotment release order
(SARO) (Needing clearance/For later release), among others.
Appropriation An authorization made by law or other legislative enactment,
directing the payment of goods and services out of
government funds under specified conditions or for specific
purposes
Appropriation, An authorization made annually or for some other period
Automatic prescribed by law, by virtue of standing legislation which does
not require periodic action by the Congress of the Philippines
Appropriation, An authorization to support obligations for a specified
Continuing purpose or project, even when these obligations are incurred
beyond the budget year
Appropriation, An authorization for incurring obligations during a specified
General budget year pertains to the annual appropriations under the
General Appropriations Act (GAA) which are presented by
Programs, Activities, and Projects (PAP)
Appropriation, Additional appropriation authorized by law to augment the
Supplemental original appropriations which proved to be inadequate or
insufficient for the particular purpose intended, due to current
economic, political, or social conditions supported by a
Certification of Availability of Funds from the Bureau of
Treasury
Budget An estimated schedule of expenditures, based on either
obligations or cash concepts and sources of financing, either
from revenues, borrowings, or cash balance drawdowns
Budget Accountability Report on an agency’s actual financial and physical
Report (BAR) accomplishments/ performance for a given period
Budget Execution Annual documents required at the onset of the budget
Documents (BEDs) execution phase which contain an agency’s targets and plans

Budget Performance The process of monitoring and evaluating the performance of

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Review (BPR) a department/agency in delivering its MFOs with respect to

the budget provided, and reporting evaluation results to the
President and Congress
Business Plan (BP) An extension of the Corporate Plan (CP) designed to
operationalize the strategies identified in the CP by breaking
down the strategies into their component activities or tasks,
which should be completed within a time-bound action plan
(See: Corporate Plan, Unit Work Plan, and Individual Work
Plan)
Capital Outlay (CO) or Appropriations for the purchase of goods and services, the
Capital Expenditure benefits of which extend beyond the fiscal year and which add
to the assets of the government, including investments in the
capital stock of GOCCs and their subsidiaries
Consolidated A consolidation of the organizational outcomes and MFOs of a
Logframe department’s Office of the Secretary (OSEC) and those of its
attached agencies
Corporate Plan (CP) A plan that proposes strategies to be implemented over the
coming planning period that are designed to improve the
department/agency’s contribution to societal and/or sector
outcomes by either improving performance in respect of
existing outputs (MFOs) or changing the mix of MFOs (with
government approval). The document is made available to the
public, unlike the business plan, which is internal to the
department/agency (See: Business Plan, Unit Work Plan,
Individual Work Plan)

Corporate Planning A process undertaken by a department/agency to develop the

Corporate Plan, Business Plan, and Unit Work Plans for
improving organizational performance and an agency’s ability
to deliver MFOs

Cost, Direct Costs that can be clearly and specifically identified with, and
attributed to, a program, project, or service contributing to
the delivery of an MFO (See: Indirect Cost)
Cost, Indirect Costs that are necessary for the functioning of the
department/agency as a whole, but which cannot be directly
and easily traced to or contributory to the production or
achievement of a particular MFO (See: Direct Cost)
Efficiency and The process of prioritizing, reviewing, and classifying PAPs in
Effectiveness Review accordance with the PDP and their relevance in achieving
(SEER) desired sector and department outcomes

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Forward Estimates Projections or estimation of the future costs of existing

(FEs) policies. It also serves as the validation instrument of
determining the reasonableness of agency proposals on
existing programs/projects/activities
General Activities dealing with the provision of overall administrative
Administration and management support to the entire agency operations, e.g.,
Support (GAS) general management and supervision, legislative liaison
services, human resource development, and financial and
administrative services. Funds provided for GAS are
management overhead expenses and are therefore indirect
costs of delivering MFOs
Individual Work Plan A summary of activities/tasks allocated to individuals
(IWP) (reporting to their respective managers) to implement
strategies in the Unit Work Plan. At this level, organizational
strategies are broken down into tasks for individuals so that
concrete actions are identified and responsibility allocated
(See: Unit Work Plan, Business Plan, Corporate Plan)

Internal or The output delivered from one part of a department/agency

Intermediate Output delivered to other parts of the same department/agency;
contributes to the production of an MFO, but does not form
part of the performance measure for the MFO to which it
contributes (See: Major Final Output)
Logical Framework Management tool used to improve the design of
(Logframe) interventions, most often at the project level. It involves
identifying strategic elements (inputs, outputs, outcomes,
impact) and their causal relationships, indicators, and the
assumptions or risks that may influence success and failure. It
thus facilitates planning, execution, and evaluation of a
development intervention (See: OPIF logframe, Results
framework)
Maintenance and Expenditures to support the operations of government
Other Operating agencies, such as expenses for supplies and materials;
Expenses (MOOE) transportation and travel utilities (water, power, etc.) and
repairs, etc.

Medium-Term A planning and budgeting framework of the government

Expenditure which provides a medium term three-year perspective to
Framework (MTEF) decision making process during budget preparation
Major Final Output A good or service that a department/agency is mandated to
(MFO) deliver to external clients through the implementation of

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programs, activities, and projects (See: OPIF Logframe)

National Expenditure A document that reflects the annual program of estimated
Program (NEP) expenditures presented by the government to Congress for
spending authority
Operations Activities directed toward fulfilling the department/agency’s
mandate, e.g., regulatory services, provision of goods, delivery
of services such as health care or education, national
economic planning, and central statistics administration and
management. However, some activities classified as GAS or
STO may represent the core functions of a
department/agency. For example, NEDA’s economic planning
function, DBM’s budgeting function, CSC’s personnel
management function, DAR’s legal and adjudication services,
and NSO’s statistical activities should be classified as
Operations. Funds provided for Operations are direct costs of
delivering MFOs
OPIF Cascading The process of aligning plans from the OPIF level downwards
to the corporate, business, unit, and individual levels.
Organizational The short- to medium-term benefits to the clients and
Outcomes community as a result of delivering MFOs
Organizational An approach to expenditure management that directs
Performance resources for major final outputs toward results and measures
Indicator Framework performance by key quality, quantity, timeliness, and cost
(OPIF) indicators
OPIF Agency Logical A planning and budgeting tool used to establish the link of
Framework (OPIF MFOs that department/agency delivers or produces through
logframe) the implementation of PAPs to the sector outcomes and
societal goals it seeks to influence. As part of the results
framework, it shows the focus of resource allocation,
spending, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of results
based on a set of performance indicators and targets (See:
Results Framework)
PAPs Activities undertaken by a department/agency to achieve the
purpose for which it is established or created or to deliver its
MFOs (See: Program, Activity, Project)

Performance A characteristic of performance (quantity, quality, timeliness

Indicator (PI) for MFO or cost) that will be measured and will illustrate the standard
of performance by which a department/agency has delivered
its MFO. There are four classes of indicators used in this Guide:

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Quality – indicates how well output is delivered; Quantity –

indicates volume of output; Timeliness – indicates a measure
of the availability of the output as and when required by the
client; and Cost – indicates amount of input or budget
allocation to produce an output
Performance Consists of interrelated performance indicators from each
Indicator Set (PI Set) class, i.e., quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost to describe a
single MFO
Performance Target A predetermined level (numerical target) of quantity, quality,
timeliness, and cost of an output (See: Performance Indicator,
Variance Analysis)
Personal Services (PS) Provisions for the payment of salaries, wages, and other
compensation (e.g., merit, salary increase, cost-of-living-
allowances, honoraria, and commutable allowances) of
permanent, temporary, contractual, and casual employees of
the government

Philippine A plan that lays down the broad societal and sector goals and
Development Plan priorities of the government within the medium-term
(PDP)
Program An integrated group of activities that contributes to a
particular continuing objective of a department/agency (See:
PAP, Project, Activity)
Project A special department or agency undertaking carried out within
a definite time frame and intended to result in some pre-
determined measure of goods and services (See: PAP,
Program, Activity)
Public Investment A list of priority programs and projects that contribute to the
Program (PIP) societal goals, sector outcomes, and outputs spelled out in the
Philippine Development Plan
Results-Based A management strategy focusing on performance and
Management (RBM) achievement of outputs, outcomes, and impacts
Results The output, outcome, or impact (intended or unintended,
positive and/or negative) of a development intervention (See:
Major Final Output)
Results Chain The causal sequence for a development intervention that
stipulates the necessary sequence to achieve desired
objectives beginning with inputs, moving through activities
and outputs, and culminating in outcomes, impacts, and
feedback. In some agencies, reach is part of the results chain.

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A development intervention is used in a generic sense to mean

policy, plan, program, or project of government
Results Framework a planning tool that illustrates how the results statements at
the PDP level (sector and sub-sector outcomes) will link to the
OPIF logframes (outputs and organizational outcomes) at the
organizational level (See: OPIF Agency logframe)
Retirement and Life The share of the national government in the premium
Insurance Premiums payments to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
(RLIP) for the life insurance and retirement benefit fund of
government employees
Sector Outcomes The longer-term benefits for the sector from initiatives of the
department/agency
Societal Goals The societal benefits sought from sector-based economic
activity; they describe the intended desirable impacts of MFOs
on society
Special Allotment A document issued by DBM to identified agencies containing
Release Order (SARO) the authorization, conditions, and amount of an agency
allocation to cover expenditures, the release of which is
subject to compliance with specific laws or regulations, or is
subject to separate approval or clearance by competent
authority.
Support to Operations Activities that provide technical and substantive support to
(STO) the operations and projects of the department/agency, e.g.,
planning and policy formulation, program monitoring and
evaluation, public information programs, research and
development, statistical services, and information systems
development. The types of services included under STO are
likewise common across agencies, and are considered indirect
costs of delivering MFOs

Unit Work Plan (UWP) The annual work plan programmed for the organizational unit
of a department/agency. As a subset of the business plan, it
contains the activities and tasks of the organizational unit,
which are implemented through the tasks allocated to
individuals in the unit
Variance Analysis In measuring MFO performance, the variance is calculated as
the difference between the target set for a performance
indicator and the actual measured performance for that
indicator over the time period in question, as a percentage of
the target, i.e., (PI actual-PI target)/PI target x 100.

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Zero-Based Budgeting A budgeting approach that involves a review/evaluation of

(ZBB) major ongoing programs and projects implemented by
different department/agencies to: (1) establish the continued
relevance of program objectives given current
development/directions; (2) assess whether the program
objectives/outcomes are being achieved and; (3) guide
decision makers on whether resources for a program/project
should continue at its present level, or be increased, reduced,
or discontinued

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