onstration company is Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint-Stock Bank, Hanoi. Both projects were expected to be completed in mid-2010. BCBN The APO sponsored 10 BCBN projects in <strong>2009</strong> involving 43 participants from 13 member countries. The participating countries were Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The host countries were Japan (five), Republic of Korea, (one), Malaysia (two), Philippines (one), Singapore (one), and Thailand (one). INDIVIDUAL-COUNTRY PROGRAMS APO ANNUAL REPORT <strong>2009</strong> 57 INDIVIDUAL-COUNTRY PROGRAMS
EVALUATION OF APO PROJECTS 58 EVALUATION OF APO PROJECTS In continuing efforts to improve its project planning and implementation, the APO actively seeks feedback from the people and organizations associated with its projects. This feedback takes the form of evaluations, which are carried out by various stakeholders according to the type of activity. For multicountry (Category A and B) projects, the feedback comes mostly from participants, resource speakers, and implementing organizations. However, in the case of individual-country projects, it is the participants and member countries that conduct the evaluation. In 2007, the APO began an online survey to evaluate the impact of training courses to determine their effectiveness and gauge the extent to which participants utilized the knowledge and skills acquired. In <strong>2009</strong>, along with the online survey, a new form of impact evaluation was undertaken by an independent third party utilizing improved evaluation methodology. Onsite Evaluation In <strong>2009</strong>, the APO conducted evaluations of 80 multicountry projects implemented in 2008 with 2,968 participants. Those 80 projects comprised 14 workshops, 15 study meetings, 25 training courses, seven seminars, six multicountry study missions, five study missions to nonmember countries, five forums, and three conferences. Compared with 2007, the total number of projects decreased from 98 to 80. However, the number of participants per project increased from 32 to 37 due to the increase in e-learning participants. Participants’ feedback on project implementation indicated a 95% rate of overall satisfaction. The percentage breakdown was: Program Contents (97%), Physical Arrangements (96%), Resource Speakers (95%), Program Schedule (95%), and Methodology Used (95%). However, observational/field visits received a comparatively low evaluation of 90%. For the improvement of site visits, it is recommended that NPOs identify relevant enterprises suited to the project topic and advise the Secretariat of the logistics and company information well in advance. Individual-country (Category C) projects were also evaluated. Category C projects include Individual-country Study Missions (OSM), Technical Expert Services (TES), Member Country Support Program, Demonstration Projects (DMP), Bilateral Cooperation Between NPOs (BCBN), and a new initiative called In-Country Training Programs. Support from the Government of Japan for the Dissemination of the <strong>Productivity</strong> Movement in Africa Program continued. In 2008, about 9,223 participants and 10 demonstration companies received human resources development and capacity building assistance via APO Category C projects. While Category C projects successfully accommodate individual member countries’ needs, some issues still need to be addressed such as a comprehensive review of country needs and the selection of the host country by OSM applicant countries; active participation and utilization of TES for building the capacity of NPOs; dissemination of successful DMP results; and further utilization of BCBN and proper submission of its reports. Based on the successful implementation of three pilot in-country training programs conducted in 2008, this project modality became a regular incountry program in <strong>2009</strong>. Impact Evaluation The impact evaluations covered multicountry, incountry, and e-learning projects. For multicountry and in-country projects, the evaluation was done through a survey questionnaire, conducting field visits, and interviewing participants and their superiors/supervisors by an external expert as an independent third party. The external expert was Dr. Serafin Talisayon, Professor, <strong>Asian</strong> Center, University of the Philippines. He was assisted by the respective NPOs onsite and a Secretariat officer. For e-learning projects, an online survey was carried out. The evaluation focused on DMPs implemented during 2005–2007; TES with consultancy elements during 2007–2008, and 40 multicountry projects implemented at least six months prior to the impact evaluation. For e-learning, all the five courses conducted in 2008 were assessed. Overall, APO multicountry projects, DMPs, and deployment of TES evaluated in this study were found to have excellent results at the personal and organizational levels. In some cases visited by the evaluation
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