Approach to Enhancing the Participatory Process in Reviewing the Five-Year Operational Plan of the Women’s Development Fund

Abstract

Abstract

This article aims to present an approach to reviewing the Five-Year Operational Plan of the Women’s Development Fund by integrating academic frameworks with participatory input gathered through a consultative meeting involving 54 fund practitioners from both local and central levels.

The review process begins with a comprehensive examination of credible sources, including relevant research studies related to the operations of the Women’s Development Fund, data collection on issues and needs from fund staff, online surveys, and stakeholder consultations. The insights obtained from these sources are used to formulate strategic directions aligned with the fund’s three development themes: 1) Enhancing women's careers and income generation. 2) Strengthening women, women’s organizations, and improving quality of life. 3) Enhancing organizational capacity to manage the fund in accordance with good governance principles.

This process has led to the expansion and refinement of strategies and indicators to comprehensively cover all aspects required by the Ministry of Finance's evaluation standards. The updated strategies and their corresponding performance indicators include:

1) Strategy to reduce overdue debt, to achieve the indicator of reducing the percentage of overdue loans below the target threshold. 2) Strategy to increase repayment rates, to achieve the indicator of increasing the proportion of loans repaid on schedule above the target. 3) Strategy to promote livelihoods for borrowers, to achieve the indicator on the number of projects approved for working capital to support occupations. 4) Strategy to promote income generation, to achieve the indicator on the percentage of projects approved for working capital that result in increased income. 5) Strategy to develop women’s organizational networks, to achieve the indicator on the number of organizations that play an active role in capacity and quality-of-life development, supported by grants from the Fund. 6) Strategy to strengthen women's roles and quality of life, to achieve the indicator on the number of projects supported by grants to enhance the roles and well-being of women. 7) Strategy to improve information technology systems, to achieve the indicator on the number of projects that enhance the efficiency of the fund’s IT system. 8) 

Strategy to develop management systems, to achieve the indicator on the fund's operational performance meeting the Ministry of Finance’s standards. 9) Strategy to strengthen management capacity, to achieve the indicator on the regular review of strategic plans, annual action plans, digital plans, and personnel development plans. 10) Strategy to develop personnel, to achieve the indicator on the number of projects that contribute to improved efficiency among fund staff. Furthermore, action plans and project frameworks have been developed to align with the expected outputs, ensuring that implementation effectively supports the fund’s overall mission.

Keywords :  Review of the Five-Year Operational Plan, Strategy, Key Performance Indicator (KPI), Women’s Development Fund