Location Assignment: Iloilo City, Province of Iloilo

LGSP-LED is a collaborative, eight-year Program of the Governments of Canada and Philippines, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Its purpose is to reduce poverty by strengthening local governance and supporting sustainable local economic development (LED).

Duration of Assignment:

March 2012 to March 2013 with possibility of extension

Interested applicants must submit the following:

• Letter of Intent addressed to the Field Director, Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development
• Comprehensive CV, not to exceed 4 pages detailing the following:

1. Name and citizenship
2. Education and pertinent dates and degrees received
3. Language(s) spoken, read and written, and degree of proficiency in each category
4. Length of service with current employer, position and status (permanent, temporary, contract employee, associate, etc.)
5. Pertinent experience: A summary of the skills and experience that would be valuable and applicable to this project
6. A history of employment and assignments (in reverse chronological order)
7. List of publications/presentations, if applicable
8. Membership in professional associations

Please send applications via email to careers@lgsp-led.ph not later than February 14, 2012. Only short-listed applicants will be called for interview.

We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues and partners who might be interested and are qualified to apply for this position.

LGSP-LED is an equal opportunity employer.  Women are encouraged to apply.

The forum offers a succinct solution to LGUs that wish to position themselves at the forefront of agriculture and tourism development.  It will be an opportunity for select LGUs; prospective investors from the national government agencies, business and industry players; and international development partners to showcase key investment opportunities in Agribusiness and Tourism, and participate in networking sessions to forge investment partnerships with local governments.

Among the economic investment opportunities that were promoted in the forum are the:

• Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Rice programs of the One Pangasinan Alliance of LGUs (OPAL), the Clustered Upland Municipalities of Ilocos Sur (CUMILOS) and the Bohol Integrated Area Development V (BIAD V);

• the Agro-Industry (mango and cassava) and Eco-Cultural programs of the DDPKaRoMa Growth Corridor in the Province of Zamboanga del Norte;

• the Banana Industry Competitiveness and Enhancement Program of the 2^nd Integrated Area Development cluster of the Province of Iloilo;

• the Coconut Industry of the PALMA-PB Alliance in the Province of North Cotabato;

• the Community-Based Rural Tourism initiatives of the Province of Guimaras; and

• Tourism Industry development in the Northeast Iloilo Growth Corridor, the Province of Northern Samar and in the Coastal Towns in the North Clustered for Integrated Development (COINCIDE) in the Province of Ilocos Norte, where the town of Pagudpud is located.

The forum featured two guest speakers. Mr. Dan Taylor, a leading global expert and international speaker on developing creative rural economies, shared his experience in growing local economies, emphasizing the role of government as enabler and facilitator of the process.  A creative problem-solver for community and economic development growth, Mr. Taylor is currently the President and CEO of the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation and Innovation Cluster in Ontario, Canada.

Mr. Guillermo Luz, Private Sector Co-Chair of the National Competitiveness Council, provided both facts and insights on local competitiveness, saying that transparency will make us more competitive.  He encouraged local governments to work harder and pick up the pace in order to improve the country’s competitiveness ranking.  “Moving slowly is not an option. Not moving at all is suicide”.

Finally, the forum was also an opportunity to introduce the upcoming Guide for LGUs on Formulating a Local Investment and Incentives Code.  The code is a proactive measure to draw both local and foreign investments, especially in priority areas/industries in a locality.   It will also help ensure that development is consistent with the LGU’s Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), and overall local economic development vision.

This forum is organized by the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in collaboration with the National Convergence Initiative (NCI) for Rural Development, comprised of the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources, and the Board of Investments of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Venue: Cebu City

Venue: Hotel Alejandro, Tacloban City, Province of Leyte

Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Location Assignments:

1. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Central Office, Manila
2. Province of Bohol, Region 7 OR Province of Leyte, Region 8 OR Allah Valley Landscape Development Alliance, Region 12 (To be determined)

LGSP-LED is a collaborative, eight-year Program of the Governments of Canada and Philippines, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Its purpose is to reduce poverty by strengthening local governance and supporting sustainable local economic development (LED).

Duration of Assignment:

February 2012 to March 2013

Interested applicants must submit the following:

• Letter of Intent addressed to the Field Director, Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development explaining
• Comprehensive CV, not to exceed 4 pages detailing the following:

1. Name and citizenship
2. Education and pertinent dates and degrees received
3. Language(s) spoken, read and written, and degree of proficiency in each category
4. Length of service with current employer, position and status (permanent, temporary, contract employee, associate, etc.)
5. Pertinent experience: A summary of the skills and experience that would be valuable and applicable to this project and the Terms of Reference
6. A history of employment and assignments (in reverse chronological order)
7. List of publications/presentations, if applicable
8. Membership in associations

Please send applications via email to careers@lgsp-led.ph not later than January 17, 2012. Only short-listed applicants will be called for interview.

We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues and partners who might be interested and are qualified to apply for this position.

LGSP-LED is implemented by a Canadian Executing Agency which is a consortium of the Canadian Urban Institute (www.canurb.org) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (www.accc.ca), which are equal opportunity employers.  Both women and men are encouraged to apply.

LGSP-LED is a collaborative, eight-year Program of the Governments of Canada and Philippines, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Its purpose is to reduce poverty by strengthening local governance and supporting sustainable local economic development (LED).

Duration of Assignment:

January, 2012 to March 31, 2012 with possibility of extension up to March, 2013

Interested applicants must submit the following:

1. Letter of Intent addressed to the Field Director, Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development
2. Comprehensive CV, not to exceed 4 pages detailing the following:
• Name and citizenship
• Education and pertinent dates and degrees received
• Language(s) spoken, read and written, and degree of proficiency in each category
• Length of service with current employer, position and status (permanent, temporary, contract employee, associate, etc.)
• Pertinent experience: A summary of the skills and experience that would be valuable and applicable to this project
• A history of employment and assignments (in reverse chronological order)
• Membership in associations

Please send applications via email to careers@lgsp-led.ph not later than January 20, 2012. Only short-listed applicants will be called for interview.

We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues and partners who might be interested and are qualified to apply for this position.

LGSP-LED is implemented by a Canadian Executing Agency which is a consortium of the Canadian Urban Institute and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges , which are equal opportunity employers.  Both women and men are encouraged to apply.

Among the three rural development (RD) agencies, it is only the Department of Agriculture (DA) who is a member of the economic cluster of the Cabinet, but the mandates and the work of the other two rural development agencies, the Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), should be also be seen from the point of view of local economic development (LED).

In the current Philippine Development Plan (PDP) of President Benigno Aquino’s Administration, and for the first time in decades, the comprehensive agrarian reform program or CARP is now included in the chapter on competitive and sustainable agriculture and fisheries. This is a manifestation of the importance of small-holder agriculture in the development and competitiveness of the sector towards inclusive growth.

While having three separate rural development agencies (DA, DAR and DENR) has brought about focus and specialization of mandates, on hindsight, it has also resulted in a web of institutions that somehow brought about fragmentation of government management processes and programs for the agriculture sector in particular, and the rural development sector in general. Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why inclusive growth has been so elusive in the agriculture and rural development sectors.

So, what is the National Convergence Initiative for rural development?  This is not a totally new concept but a number of significant enhancements have been introduced by the current administration: an ecosystems approach (ridge to reef); a focus on constituencies; the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) assisted by DAR and upland dwellers in community-based forest management (CBFM) areas under the mandate of DENR; the coastal fisherfolk under DA-BFAR and DENR mandates; championing of the local government units (LGUs); and, measurable targets in promoting local agro-enterprise clusters.

The NCI is also working on the rationalization of the land and agribusiness investment policy and programs of the 3 RD agencies and the passage of the national land use bill.

The major benefits that are expected in the convergence work of the rural development agencies are: optimization and maximization of precious government resources, and complementation of national agency programs in partnership with local governments, civil society together with the private sector.  This partnership has been initially started in the local convergence agro-enterprise clusters (LCAECs) of 10 pilot provinces.

Other areas for major rural development policy reforms of the NCI are agri-extension services, rural enterprise development, credit and risk mitigation and management, regulatory framework on real property rights, the establishment of small-holder based agribusiness models and making government support services to small farmers more proactive.

Taking stock of DAR’s contribution to this convergence effort, I ask myself now if what we are doing in NCI is contributing towards a fuller and more robust national framework for local economic development.  It will be self-serving for me to say yes, and so let the results of our work speak for itself.

One thing that I have realized from my one year and two months in national government is that while national government provides policy guidance and strategic direction, it pays to listen from the public and the primary stakeholders and mobilize their active participation in governance and economic development efforts.

Venue: Eastwood Richmonde Hotel, Quezon City