The Metrics: How to measure better quality of life through PPPs
Achieving better quality of life through PPPs
Conclusion
PUBLIC-PRIVATE partner-ships (PPPs) are generally welfare-driven, in terms of content and process. Thus, because of PPPs, people’s lives must become better socially, economically, environmentally and politically. Change must be for the better. Quality of life must be enhanced. People must become happier.
If better quality of life is the goal of public-private partnerships (PPPs), how can this be measured? There are six possible metrics.
(1) SWDI-DSWD. The Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDIs) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can be used to determine the level of well-being of a family, which serves as the basis for the planning of possible interventions, like PPP, and to monitor activities, accomplishments and improvements in the family after the provision of an intervention. The SWDI measures two levels of well-being, i.e., economic sufficiency and social adequacy. Family income and access to water are just some of the indicators.
(2) KPIs. The “better” and “more” are measured by the accomplishment of the purpose set by the agreement. The PPP contract must stipulate the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and targets of the project, where parties to the contract must be bound by. There are operational, financial, relational, environmental and social KPIs. Lowering of nonrevenue water, delivery of market stalls and housing units within a certain timeframe are examples of KPIs.
(3) CBMS. While KPIs are project-specific and SWDIs are focused on the well-being of families, data must also be generated at particular communities relative to the impact of PPP projects. The Community-based Monitoring System (CBMS) can be this system. CBMS is an organized process of data collection and processing at the local level and of integration of data in local planning, program implementation and impact-monitoring. CBMS’s core indicators are health, nutrition, housing, water and sanitation, education, income, employment and peace and order.
(4) HRIA. The PPP project itself, aside from promoting the general welfare, must also promote and not infringe upon human rights. Human-rights due diligence must be conducted to ascertain if human rights will be violated by a PPP project. The Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) can be such a tool. Gender and environmental justice must be at the forefront.
(5) MCC-ERR. The Millennium Challenge Corp.’s Economic Rate of Return provides a comparison of the costs and benefits of a public investment. This measures the expected increases in household incomes or the value-added of individual firms and the likely economic impact of the proposed investment or PPP.
(6) CSO participation. Another level of SWDI, KPI or HRIA would be political participation. Aside from being beneficiaries, civil-society organizations (CSOs) and the people they represent must be part of the process and not be treated as fencesitters. Aside from the participation of the private-sector proponent, a party to the PPP, CSOs must be guaranteed their meaningful involvement in the whole spectrum of the PPP cycle, from PPP framework development, project identification, PSP selection, regulation, monitoring and evaluation.
With these metrics, this columnist hopes that better quality of life will not remain an empty promise or a parenthood statement.