Human Resources Development Component, Judicial Reform Support  
      Project (JRSP)

OIDCI commenced work for this project in February 2005 with the Assessment of the Judiciary’s Training Programs and Related Policies and Practices that determined the capacity of the Judiciary in addressing the human resource development and capability building (HRD/CB) needs of its workforce. Subsequently, an in-service training (INSET) framework (Principles, Criteria and Human Resource Development Framework for the Judiciary) was formulated to guide the development of an enabling policy and institutional environment for an effective and sustainable HRD/CB program. This report, as well as succeeding outputs of the project, went through a series of review by the Oversight Committee of the Supreme Court.

Based on the approved framework and the assessment, OIDCI administered from August to September 2005, a nationwide Training Needs Assessment (TNA) covering 84% of the 27,341 personnel of the Judiciary, excluding justices of the Supreme Court and Appellate Courts. Results of the TNA and subsequent focus group discussions became inputs to the formulation of the 5-year Human Resource Development and CapabilityBuilding Plan of the Philippine Judiciary, a document that provides the HRD vision, strategies and programs for personnel performing non-adjudicative functions in all courts. The formulation of the Plan was also based on insights from another output under this project, the Documentation of HRD Best Practices in the Judiciary of such countries as the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Japan and parallel practices in Philippine civil service and industry.

A subsequent project output was the Training Management Manual that was developed in line with the 5-Year HRD/CB Plan. The highlight of the Manual is the in-depth discussion of the elements of training management and the unit responsible for each training activity. Finally, a Computerized Training Management System (CTMS) anchored on the elements defined in the Manual was designed to provide IT solutions that will support the different aspects of training management. The CTMS was approved by the Supreme Court’s Computerization Committee in August 2006. Currently, OIDCI is providing technical assistance in the installation of the CTMS in the concerned offices of the Supreme Court and Appellate Courts.

   Towards a Strengthened HRMD of the Judiciary

This training activity was conducted for officers and staff who perform HR functions at the Office of Administrative Services and the Office of the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court, Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJA), Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, and Sandiganbayan, as well as representatives from the Program Management Office. Comprising four components implemented over a four-month period, resource persons touched on HRMD theories and concepts , career planning and management system, HR policies, and best practices. OIDCI’s consultants for the HRD-JRSP also presented the project outputs focusing on the results of the TNA and the 5-yr HRD/CB Plan. These became the bases for the formulation of the framework of the Career Development Management Plan (CDMP) that the participants crafted in Component 1 of the course.

Consistent with the learning approaches advocated by PAHRDF, the training participants underwent the whole process of preparing the CDMP through a 20-day coaching and mentoring in the workplace. The participants’ learning journey was further enhanced by a benchmarking visit to New South Wales, Australia. They were provided an orientation on the HR-related policies, functions and processes of the NSW Supreme Court, Attorney General’s Department, and the Judicial Commission. The participants’ insights from this benchmarking were incorporated into the CDMP.

The CDMP was approved by the Supreme Court en banc in October 2006 for implementation in the entire Judiciary. Efforts are now underway for the development of information materials on the CDMP and for its updating and further refinement. An orientation program on CDMP is also being prepared by PhilJA.

    Performance Monitoring and Evaluation of the APJR in the Philippines

Twenty-six officers and staff from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, and Regional Trial Courts were participants to the course designed to develop skills on M&E. Among the participants were court employees occupying the following positions: Associate Justice, Chief of Office, Clerk of Court, Court Attorney, Department Director, and other technical and administrative support positions. The course gave particular emphasis on the performance indicators and standards relative to the implementation of the reform areas of the APJR.

The training activity initially focused on the APJR, its critical elements and logical framework, and the basic M&E concepts and principles, tools and methods of data collection, and development of a Management Information System. The participants engaged in workshops and group activities in which they assessed the current M&E systems and procedures in the Judiciary, updated the APJR logical framework, and established benchmark figures for selected major performance indicators. Follow-on coaching and mentoring in six offices provided the venue for the participants to go through the process of refining and finalizing the M&E System by test applying in their work stations what they learned in previous sessions.

The final training output of this activity was the Monitoring and Evaluation System for the Action Program for Judicial Reform. Refinement and seeking the approval for the new M&E System rest upon the participants who, as designed, will eventually assume the monitoring and evaluation functions relative to the performance and progress of the APJR.