An inside look at corporate social responsibility and the digital divide.
By Heinz Bulos June 2003
icture these scenes in your mind: a class o blind teenagers learning how to sur the Internet, hundreds o out-o-school youth making their personal \eb sites, a boy rom the Iugao proince winning a spreadsheet preparation design contest, kids in a museum interacting on a science project with kids across the globe, underpriileged high school students training to be system administrators, and public school teachers adding computer literacy in the curriculum.
1hese scenes are happening eery single day een as we go about our lie checking e-mail, preparing PowerPoint presentations, accessing the company intranet, doing spreadsheets, querying databases, reading \ord documents, searching or MP3s, and inadertently downloading the occasional irus.
I you elt pleased when you read the irst paragraph aboe and elt, well, nothing when you read the second, then there`s no need to explain the digital diide. \hen the things that we ind mundane sound noel when applied to the disadantaged sectors o society, something obiously is wrong.
In the past ten or so years, both the goernment and priate sector hae been righting this wrong. 1he last ie years in particular saw a jump in actiity in bridging the digital diide: the chasm between the technology haes and hae- nots.
A rich history of CSR he Philippines has, in act, a rich, long history o organized philanthropy and institutionalized giing. As early as 1952, leaders o welare agencies that supported post-war relie and reconstruction work expanded their social work through umbrella organizations such as the Philippine National Committee o the International Council on Social \elare.
In the social and political turmoil o the sixties and seenties, seeral social organizations were ormed. 1here was the National Secretariat or Social Action in 196, the Philippine Business or Social Progress ,PBSP, in 190, the Bishops- Businessmen`s Conerence or luman Deelopment in 191, and the Association o loundations in 192.
1he PBSP, in particular, is noteworthy or pioneering what is now termed as corporate social responsibility ,CSR,, being second only to the ground-breaking Diriaevao 1otvvtario ara ta Covvvviaaa o Venezuela, which was ormed six years earlier and became a model or PBSP. It was only until 1982 that Business in the Community ,Bi1C,, a pioneering initiatie by the business community, was set up in the United Kingdom. 1oday, there is a prolieration o CSR initiaties worldwide.
In the Philippines, because o the pioneering eorts o the likes o PBSP, the concept and practice o CSR continues to grow. \e are, in act, a world leader in CSR, oten cited or our sophistication in social deelopment.
1he original 50 corporate members o PBSP contributed a modest P5 million in P 1 its irst year in 190. Last year, donations rom more than 160 members topped P4 million. Add the grants and other donations it raised, and the amount totals P223 million. 1he League o Corporate loundations ,LCl,, ounded in 1992, had a combined asset base o P4 billion, rom its membership o 42 corporate oundations and eight corporations, as o 1998. 1he consolidated contribution o LCl and 6 other industry associations rom 199 to 2002 amounted to P.6 billion.
1he Synergos Institute reported in a 2001 study that the Philippines had some 56 oundations in 2000, around 36 percent being corporate oundations, and up rom 22 oundations in 1980.
1he same report noted that in certain countries like the Philippines, a more institutionalized, more deelopment as opposed to charity-oriented philanthropic ethos is emerging, among many wealthy indiiduals and corporations.`
An earlier Synergos report in 1998 on ciil society resource organizations ,CSRO, in Asia also lauded the Philippines. It pointed out, O the ie countries sureyed, the Philippines has the longest and richest history o corporate,ciil society partnerships. Lmerging rom a Christian tradition, corporate philanthropy has gradually shed its charity` character and taken a more proessional approach and is increasingly reerred to as corporate citizenship`.`
Iocusing on education ducation remains a aorite sector or CSR actiities, according to a report by the Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr.-Asian Institute o Management ,RVR-AIM, Center or Corporate Responsibility. A surey o 122 companies using 1999 igures indicated that the bulk o assistance goes to education ,23,, social serices ,13,, organizational support ,11,, health ,10,, culture and arts ,8,, and support or goernment programs ,8,.
1he LCl also reported that 82 percent o its members contributed to programs related to education, ollowed by entrepreneurship deelopment ,38,, community deelopment ,35,, enironmental protection ,33,, and in housing and related serices ,33,.
According the AIM study, 18 o the respondents indicated that schools and educational institutions remain the major channel or corporate giing, ollowed by oundations ,16,, and trade, ciic, and proessional organizations ,14,.
Lducation is likewise a priority area or expansion o corporate giing programs, along with the enironment and health. Guillermo Luz, Lxecutie Director o the Makati Business Club, who also heads ConnectLD.ph, a priate sector consortium in support o the goernment`s PCs or Public Schools Project ,PCPS,, notes, In the past, a large portion o education support went to uniersities, proessional chairs, and indiidual scholarships.`
\ithin the sector is the ast-growing I1 in education segment, the ocal point or eorts in bridging the digital diide. 1here are two aspects o this: one is computer literacy, i.e., learning how to use computers, and the other is computers in education, i.e., using computers to learn. Bridging the digital diide is about equity in access to inormation, through the use o technology. 1his requires inestments in inrastructure-the computers, peripherals, local area network, Internet connection, multimedia equipment. It also requires training and support. L
\hile some actiities are aimed at proiding access to inormation technology to other sectors o society, such as armers, the disabled, entrepreneurs, and local communities, the lion`s share goes to the youth sector. 1his is perhaps the hottest sector in corporate philanthropy.
PBSP is a pioneer in this segment, starting its Computer and Science Laboratory program or public high schools back in 1993, right ater it established its Center or Corporate Citizenship ,CCC,, when the term digital diide` was not yet trendy. PBSP Lxecutie Director Gil Salazar recounts one o the tasks o the CCC was to identiy major issues that aect the lies o lilipinos. One o those areas was education.` PBSP did a study that cited another study, which pointed out that the Philippine education system, particularly the math and science curriculum, is lagging. 1his prompted the oundation to make education a top priority.
Among multinational companies, IBM Philippines has been doing its part or decades. 1oday, companies such as Intel Philippines, Microsot Philippines, and Citibank, as well as corporate oundations like Ayala loundation, Coca-Cola loundation Philippines, and Mirant Philippines loundation are at the oreront in promoting computer literacy and proiding access to inormation technology among the underpriileged youth.
Noteworthy are newly ormed priate oundations, particularly the loundation or Inormation 1echnology Lducation and Deelopment ,lI1-LD, and ConnectLD.ph, the priate sector counterpart o the PCPS project, which is spearheaded by the Department o 1rade and Industry ,D1I,.
Dita Maralit, who heads D1I`s Oice o Special Concerns, which oersees the PCPS project, lauds Intel Philippines, which has been most unselish,` Microsot Philippines who gae ery generous discounts`, AMA and S1I which oered ree training or teachers.
Luz lists Ayala loundation, Microsot, Intel, Citibank, Coca-Cola, and the Sarmiento loundation as some o its biggest donors.
lI1-LD is the only oundation dedicated to this area o I1 in education. Its projects include Pilipinas SchoolNet, a network o schools that leerage the Internet or learning. It also seres as regional secretariat o the e-ASLAN 1ask lorce and project manager o Coca-Cola loundation Philippines` ed.enture project, a pan-Asian initiatie. lI1-LD likewise trains the teachers or the ed.enture project. It`s also inoled in the Oracle Academic Initiatie and is collaborating with the Ateneo Center or Lducational Deelopment on an educator training program.
Coca-Cola has so ar contributed >350 thousand to the ed.enture project, and is adding >650 thousand or the second phase. liteen ully-equipped, Internet- connected, and air conditioned computer labs in public high schools hae been built, selected by lI1-LD in coordination with the Department o Lducation. liteen thousand students, teachers, and administrators hae beneited rom the program. And six hundred public high school teachers and administrators hae participated in workshops introducing them to educational telecollaboration. 1hirty ie more beneiciary public high schools are targeted up to 2004.
Other companies and oundations actie in supporting I1-related social projects include Citibank, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, PLD1, DotPl, Sarmiento loundation, lort Boniacio Deelopment Corporation, Cemex Philippines, Insular Lie, lSBC, and LxxonMobil.
1he computer labs projects hae been a aorite outlet or social projects because they are tangible. Unlike scholarships, or instance, where there is a long gestation period and it`s diicult to immediately see the eects, computer labs projects are high-impact and high-proile.
Doing well by doing good he idea o corporate philanthropy is not exactly a new phenomenon. Companies, particularly conglomerates, hae long acted as paternal igures to employees and the communities they sere.
But the concepts o corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility-that corporations should think beyond their immediate community and assume responsibility or social causes-are only airly recent.
1his is, in a way, an aberration, as it is the goernment`s role to cure social ills, including the deteriorating public education system and the digital diide.
\et, it`s no dierent rom indiidual citizens who, gien the capacity to gie and the assumption o responsibility to help the community, go out and gie to charities, olunteer their serices, and een orm their own oundations. As legal entities, with rights and responsibilities similar to indiiduals, some companies hae decided to become good corporate citizens.
1he message is that proits and social responsibility are not mutually exclusie. 1he phrase doing well by doing good` is the mantra or corporate do-gooders.
1here`s a strong indication that there is indeed a sincere motiation behind corporate giing. 1he AIM study conirms this. At least or the surey respondents, the top reason or their giing to social causes is response to national issues` ,34,, ollowed by geographic presence ,32,, CLO`s ision ,30,, and response to national emergency ,25,. In other words, companies gie largely because o urgent social needs that they can help meet, whether these are ongoing issues, which are likely in tune with the CLO`s ision, or national emergencies. Many o them also gie to the immediate community where they are located.
Mario Deriquito, Ayala loundation Director or the Center or Social Deelopment, says o its own computer laboratory program: \e based \outh 1ech on a goernment study o DLCS ,Department o Lducation, Culture, and Sports,, which showed that o the more than our thousand public high schools, only 30 hae PCs and 2 hae Internet access. \e elt we needed to do something.`
Mae Riera, Marketing Communications Manager at Microsot Philippines explains the company`s decision to start its Connected Learning Community ,CLC, program: \e saw the need or these schools to hae computers. Since we`re an I1 company, the best place to help is the one closer to home.` She adds, Our corporate oice was really looking or community programs. \e hae a stake here and we wanted to do our share to help.`
1 Luz stresses, It`s not our core business but we do it because we eel there`s a social need. I they`re doing it or PR, there are other ways to do it.`
Interestingly, a sizable 18 percent reealed in the AIM surey that their motiation or giing is that the beneiciaries are their target consumers. 1his actually makes a lot o sense. In act, I1 companies ought to be supporting I1 causes. Intel, IBM, Microsot, Sun Microsystems, and the like pursue social causes related to their business, although they do hae projects beyond it.
Also, 16 percent indicated that their motiation is or public relations and image building. Much as companies deny the PR angle-and, to be air, most companies indeed do not consider this the primary motie-they do not shy away rom publicizing their good deeds. I the eorts are sincere, there`s particularly nothing wrong with doing that. Ater all, 9 percent o the surey participants beliee in the signiicance o being iewed as good corporate citizens. And that is good business.
In act, IBM Philippines transerred responsibility or its community relations to Bernadette Nacario, Country Manager or Marketing partly or that reason. Nacario says, 1he end in mind is to hae mind share.` Obiously, companies want its internal and external publics to know that they are doing their part in helping the community. 1here are no anonymous corporate donors.
Are we doing enough? espite the laudable eorts o a number o corporations and oundations, as well as some goernment agencies, there is still much to be done. 1he D1I pegs the number o public high schools at 3,956 when they started the PCPS project. Now, that has gone up to 4,53. 1hey originally targeted a 54 PC penetration rate based on the original igure, but that has been reised to 51. Still, that`s up rom a mere 29 o public high schools with computer acilities. And with the 600 to 800 PCs installed by the Department o Lducation and the Department o Science and 1echnology outside o the PCPS project since 1996, there are now approximately 3,000 public high schools with computer labs, and that has more than doubled the penetration rate.
Still, there are more than 1,500 public high schools nationwide that do not hae access to a computer and the Internet. In act, a good number o those may not een hae access to electricity! 1hat requires at least P900 million or the computer labs, which can go up to P1.5 billion i we want to include a LAN connection and Internet access.
\e`re not een talking o public elementary schools and projects or the out-o-school youth, the disabled, and local communities. Raising P1.5 billion certainly is a daunting task. 1hat`s hal the 2001 net income o 1exas Instruments ,1I, Philippines, the largest I1 company in the country based on reenues. Put in another way, it`s hal o the 2001 rerevve. o IBM Philippines, six times the reenues o Microsot Philippines, and seenty ie percent o the net income o Intel 1echnology Philippines.
1he D1I is working on another grant, albeit slightly less ambitious. Let`s say, or simplicity, that`s another P600 million. Add the estimated aggregate planned contributions o P60 million rom Microsot, Coca-Cola loundation, and Ayala loundation, and include P40 million that can be raised rom other D corporations or good measure. 1hat`s P00 million. 1hat`s less than hal o P1.5 billion.
Looking at our own backyard, the I1 Resource 2002-2003 sourcebook pegged the combined net loss o the top 500 I1 companies at P.9 billion. 1aking out the aggregate losses o our sectors ,telecommunications serices, telecommunications equipment, sotware, and online serices,, the total is a net income o P24 billion, or some P34 billion in beore-tax income, assuming a 30 tax rate. I we apply 1 to their beore-tax income, as prescribed to PBSP member companies, we can raise around P340 million in donations. And we`ll hae our P1 billion und, still short o the target, but enough to close the gap. So, i only more I1 companies do their part, the progress in bridging the digital diide can be accelerated.
O course, it`s not as easy as it sounds. Getting 500 companies to, say, sign up as PBSP members ,only ten come rom the IC1 industry,, or join the ConnectLD.ph consortium ,only ourteen rom the IC1 industry are project partners and seen are contributors, is not that simple. Certainly, there are those that are not yet at a leel where they can aord to be altruistic. And others that are perhaps indierent. And or those that hae made a decision to gie back to the community, they do so at their own pace and preerence.
1he 1998 Synergos report concluded, 1hroughout the region, the research identiied interesting examples o corporate inolement in social deelopment. 1hese take a number o orms. lirst is the case o where the corporation establishes its own oundation or CSRO.there is a tendency or corporate oundations to manage and implement their own programs rather than gie grants to third parties to carry out projects. 1he second case is where the corporation chooses to transer resources to a CSRO to implement certain programs.`
1here is a general ramework or understanding the types o corporate CSROs. One is where the CSR arm is lodged within the company and CSR projects are directly related to the core business ,e.g. Microsot Philippines,. 1wo is where the CSR arm is lodged within the company but CSR projects are vot directly related to the core business ,e.g. Citibank Philippines,. 1hree is where the CSR arm is lodged outside the company ,oundation, and CSR projects are directly related to the core business ,e.g. PLD1 loundation,. lour is where the CSR arm is lodged outside the company ,oundation, but CSR projects are vot directly related to the core business ,e.g. Coca-Cola loundation,. In many cases, howeer, companies and oundations hae a mix o related and unrelated projects in their portolio.
Another way o looking at CSROs is their nature: there are those that are exclusiely grant-making, exclusiely operating, and both grant-making and operating. In the 1998 Synergos surey among 4 CSROs, around 18 o oundations in the Philippines are exclusiely grant-making ,e.g. Mirant Philippines loundation,, 26 exclusiely operating ,e.g. lI1-LD,, and 56 both grant-making and operating ,e.g. PBSP,.
1hen, there are those that proide donations in cash or kind, serices, or both. 1he AIM report noted that an oerwhelming 3 o its respondents gae cash donations, 21 gae in-kind donations, 3 in time and technical expertise, and 1 in acilities used. But there`s a growing trend towards proiding serices. IBM Philippines, or instance, plans to make the ratio o cash donations to serices 30:0, according to Richard Burgos, IBM`s Communications Manager.
Luz says, 1here are dierent modes o giing. Some companies take the lead in adopting the school. Some proide a component, such as the LAN. 1he telcos proided the connection, but not the equipment.`
Big Blue handles its community relations in-house, almost ad hoc in act. IBM maximizes employee olunteerism with its IBM Club by getting them to support social causes in terms o cash donations and olunteer work. It gets unding both rom headquarters and a portion rom the local operations. It gies out donations in cash and kind to arious NGOs and goernment agencies as well as operates its own social projects. It`s a ounding member o PBSP, and as such contributes regularly to the oundation`s unrestricted unds.
It also takes a dierent strategy with its KidSmart program, which targets younger kids. Instead o setting up computer labs to pre-schools or grade schools, IBM donates a \oung Lxplorer unit to magnets` or children, such as the Ayala Museum, Museo Pambata, Philippine Science Centrum, and the Philippine leritage Center, which are requented by busloads o grade school students. Burgos notes, It`s non-traditional and the impact is greater, as more students are exposed.`
Microsot Philippines also goes its own way, setting out on a homegrown project rom scratch and learning along the way. Riera notes, Lach country does its own initiaties. lor us, we decided the best sector is education.` At the same time, it participates in ConnectLD.ph ,donating to some 19 schools, and the PCPS project ,proiding the sotware,. And it recently passed on management o its Connected Learning Community ,CLC, project to another oundation, Learn.ph. She points out that it doesn`t matter how companies pursue their social programs: Lach has its dierent way, as long as you`re helping. Our dream is that other companies replicate what we`re doing. `
Intel implements both global and local initiaties, operating certain projects ,Intel 1each to the luture, and passing the management o some to other oundations ,Ayala-Intel Computer Clubhouse,. It works with the goernment ,D1I, Department o Science and 1echnology, and priate oundations ,ConnectLD.ph,. lunding comes rom either the parent company Intel Corporation, or rom the local site, Intel 1echnology Philippines.
Chit Ventura, who handles regional public aairs and community inolment or Intel, explains, \e do proide unding or projects outside Intel`s own initiaties. lor example, we unded DOS1 projects like the Mobile I1 Classroom and Project RISL ,Rescue Initiaties in Science Lducation,. Most o the projects that we und support our goal, which is to improe science and technology education in the country.`
1he Ayala loundation can be described similarly. It operates its own projects like \outh 1ech and iLink and those o others such as the Intel Computer Clubhouse and Nokia`s text2teach project. But it`s also a major supporter o ConnectLD.ph, unding around hal o the 100 or so computer labs o the consortium. Deriquito notes also why Ayala loundation decided to initiate its own computer literacy projects: Beore \outh 1ech, we were looking at those projects also ,o PBSP, Intel, Microsot, etc., and looked at what we can do dierently. \e emphasized connectiity because we hae that resource through Globe ,1elecoms,.`
1he oundation gets regular unding rom the Ayala Group o Companies, based on the budget set by the oundation. It also seeks outside grants to augment its unds. Some o the oundation`s diisions such as Ayala Museum and the lilipinas leritage Library are expected to generate income, and their expenses are more or less the same eery year. So the bulk o the donations go to its Center or Social Deelopment. Its Lducation and Inormation 1echnology core program receies 60-0 o unding support, emphasizing the oundation`s priorities. \outh 1ech, or instance, gets some P million a year.
Coca-Cola Philippines has its own local oundation but gets others to manage its ed.enture ,lI1-LD, and Little Red Schoolhouse ,PBSP, projects. Mirant Philippines does it similarly, appointing PBSP to operate its oundation`s Project Big Star initiatie.
ConnectLD.ph does not manage unds directly but mobilizes resources. Luz says either companies learn about the initiatie by word o mouth and come in to oer or they approach companies that hae allocated a budget or CSR and hae identiied education as a priority.
So, to each his own. \hile it may be ideal to hae only one umbrella oundation, say PBSP, lI1-LD, or ConnectLD.ph doing all these similar projects under one roo, that`s not how it goes.
Companies and oundations dier in that some hae their own niche. IBM Philippines, or instance, is more concerned with early childhood and the disabled. No one is ocusing on this,` Burgos stresses.
1he ed.enture labs are mostly in and Cebu and Visayas area or instance. Deriquito says they make sure not more than one oundation is sering a single school and make sure they are proiding dierent equipment.` PBSP is looking at armers and small and medium enterprises or its I1 projects.
1he book, Our Legacy`, published by PBSP, noted the increasing trend o corporations to start their own oundations. Other companies hae built oundations as a means o expressing their social responsibility. 1his direct inolement in societal deelopment is important to many corporations and companies. 1here is a need to see the company`s ownership o the programs that their oundations implement.`
\hile PBSP is let to explore means and ways to make an impact on marginalized groups as a collectie initiatie o business, indiidual members retain their own abilities to ocus their programs on their own corporate priorities. 1hose priorities may either be communities that are directly aected or touched by company operations or disadantaged or special sectors that the company eels are in need o assistance.`
\hat is important is that corporations take the initiaties themseles. Many corporations and companies who are members o PBSP hae done just that. Many hae committed their membership in the loundation while others hae taken on a separate trail to pursue their initiaties. PBSP remains a releant inolement to the members who recognize that, as a collectie, it extends the impact o their contributions beyond the areas o their interention.`
Salazar admits that there was a decrease in membership contributions in the late eighties and early nineties when there was a sharp increase in the number o corporate oundations ormed, such as the Petron loundation and the Shell loundation. 1he immediate impact is that a ew members withdrew ,rom PBSP, and there was reduced giing.`
PBSP responded by reducing the amount members are required to gie the oundation rom 40 o 1 o pre-tax income to 20 o 1. It also introduced the idea o restricted contributions, which allowed members to pinpoint speciic projects to support. Salazar says, Members will increase their donations i they hae the lexibility on where to put their unds.` Now, PBSP gets roughly hal each o total contributions rom both restricted and unrestricted unds. But it`s all or the best, he notes, as more companies are doing more. And Salazar is proud to say that many o the newly ormed oundations came and learned rom PBSP.
As such, there has been ortunately a lot o cooperation and synergy among them, without necessarily surrendering their autonomy. ConnectLD.ph, or instance, works with Intel, Microsot, Ayala, PBSP, and lI1-LD. Coca-Cola works with lI1- LD and PBSP. Intel with Ayala. IBM and Mirant with PBSP. And so orth.
1here is a common practice among CSROs o leeraging their unds to raise more unds. Ayala loundation, or example, used its unds to urge the Oice o Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. to lodge part o his country deelopment und ,CDl, to DOS1. It also tapped lilipino- American groups by challenging them: I you want the high school in your proince to be included ,in the computer labs project,, you put in this much, we put in this much. So the P million ,we put in, multiplies,` recounts Deriquito.
iLink is jointly unded by Ayala Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation on a 50:50 agreement. Ayala loundation also unds Cisco bundles worth P600- P00 thousand per school.
PBSP uses its unrestricted unds as counterpart to certain projects. Salazar says the role o its member companies is to be a magnet. 1heir unrestricted contributions are a regular, consistent, recurring source o reenues`, which PBSP can use as a leerage in getting additional contributions rom non- members. In act, the bulk o its support now comes rom grants and other contributions. O the P223 million in total support it receied in 2002, less than 12 came rom unrestricted member contributions. 1he biggest grant, P145 million, came rom an international source, the InterChurch Organization or Deelopment Cooperation ,ICCO, , Luropean Union ,LU,.
1he likes o Microsot and ConnectLD.ph also require beneiciary schools to put up a counterpart in terms o cash, plus the room, so that they can hae a greater sense o ownership o the project. Usually, the local goernment unit ,LGU, and Parents-1eachers Association ,P1A, help raise the unds.
\hat`s most interesting is that these projects, in act draw, ierce market competitors together. In some instances, Ayala loundation had to tap the serices o rials Digitel and Bayantel to proide the connectiity in those areas not sered by Globe. 1he PCPS project brought together Sun Microsystems and Microsot as well as AMA and S1I.
ConnectLD.ph`s project partners include competitors such as Bayantel, Digitel, Globe 1elecom, Islacom, and PLD1, Inocom and Sky Internet, Microsot and Sun Microsystems, AMA and S1I.
Are we doing it right? course, some people might argue that we ought to ocus on basic education issues, such as proiciency in math and science beore we een talk about computer literacy. \et, those two can go hand in hand. 1hey are not mutually exclusie. 1he same goes or the lack o classrooms, the scarcity o qualiied teachers, the outdated curriculum, and so on.
It`s important to note that while eery sector o society deseres access to inormation technology, the ocus on public high schools is appropriate, in that computer literacy prepares public high school students or work. Ater all, a lot o jobs increasingly inole some orm o technology use. Besides, Maralit notes, computer education is now a benchmark or public schools.`
Luz explains that support or education was scattered among priate and public schools. \e set out to ocus on public schools. Grade and high schools are critical areas because they receie less than uniersities.`
1here`s also the issue o sustainability. 1hese PCs are good or, at most, ie years. \ill that require a new round o donations and logistical support In all cases, these projects were implemented with the objectie that the schools and the community sustain the operation o the computer labs.
D1I ound out that teachers, school administrators, out-o-school youth, community members, the Parents- 1eachers Association, local goernment units, and goernment oicials also use the computer labs. Microsot`s computer lab in Bondoc has such a ast Internet connection that people outside the school regularly go there to use the computers.
1he computer labs or the schools hae also become computer labs or the entire community, where outsiders gain access to their usage. Some like Ayala and Microsot hae, in act, encouraged this trend, arguing that usage is being maximized. Deriquito notes that their iLink project was borne out o Project \outh 1ech, when members o the community started using the schools` computer labs.
\et, there`s the danger o accelerating the wear and tear o the computers when eeryone in the community uses them. But computer training or teachers and administrators oten include training on maintenance. 1he schools, ater the warranty expiration, are expected to end or themseles. Riera says, \e make sure that they can sustain them. \e gie training on using the computers and technical troubleshooting.`
1he schools, and the community, are likewise expected to ind ways to generate some reenue to support the computers upkeep and een upgrade, by charging non-students or access, doing undraising actiities, or getting donations rom the local community.
Besides, the computer labs can sere as a catalyst or community deelopment, Maralit explains, or instance, that schools located in communities with no electricity but want to participate in the project are prompted to ind ways to get inancial support. Leryone beneits once a local oicial or rich donor inance the O electriication o the school and in, extension, the entire community.
Another important issue is usage. Are the labs being used at all Are they being maximized
Usage is now the key,` says Luz. 1hat`s why ConnectLD.ph has shited its ocus on content and training. 1racking usage includes looking at the olume and time used in accessing the computers. Luz says, \e want to make sure they`re going to use it or learning and teaching.` 1he challenge is to get the students to start using the Internet or e-mail and research. 1hrough collaborating with students rom other schools, they may know how dierse their cultures are.` le adds, 1his can be a nation-building medium. It can hae a business application. 1here are huge possibilities, but it doesn`t happen oernight.`
Ayala loundation has a one-year monitoring and ealuation tool or Project \outh 1ech. It looks at actual usage o the acilities as well as the kind o access they proide to students. Deriquito says, \e look at the impact on students. Do they embark on I1 projects Are they more interested in I1` Still, it`s not as easy as it sounds. lor the Cisco project Ayala supports, Derequito notes the low employment rate o the irst batch o graduates, although the oundation has yet to pinpoint i the reason is the poor economic condition and discouraging job market or the eectieness o the program.
IBM has benchmarks or all its projects. Nacario says that or KidSmart, the measure includes the number o students and teachers exposed. She adds they also look at the eects on the children and the linkages with other groups that result rom the project.
1he D1I sent out a monitoring orm to all beneiciary schools to determine usage and technical problems. So ar, it has receied eedback rom 61 rom Luzon- based schools. A total o 110 thousand students use the PCs. But it has captured only usage o the labs, not the eect on the perormance o the beneiciary schools and indiidual students. Maralit acknowledges that gien time to assess, we can ealuate the school`s perormance and eect on the economy.` But it might take one to three years, she adds.
At best, there is anecdotal eidence o the project`s success. Maralit proudly says, 1wo o our schools won in the national Cyberair or public and priate schools. 1he Antique National ligh School won irst place and will go on to compete in the international competition. 1he Zamboanga National ligh School won second place.` She adds that an Iugao boy was a proincial winner in a spreadsheet preparation contest. Indeed, these are notable achieements, gien that these students receie the PCs or only a year.
Microsot also looks at similar measures, such as the number o students who use the labs and the number o teachers trained. It also takes note when students win in computer-related contests or i they get scholarships.
Luz obseres it`s beginning to see progress, as when \eb sites deeloped by public school kids can compete with priate school kids. Both now hae access to the same thing.`
But he admits measuring the perormance o schools and the students is diicult, especially with the remoal o the National Secondary Achieement 1est ,NSA1,. 1here`s no standardized test. At some point in time, there has to be some measurement. \e won`t know i their perormance improed.`
So, the most critical issue is this: are all these eorts in bridging the digital diide working
1he AIM report noted that 68 o the respondents hae no system or monitoring projects unded and hae no system or ealuating them. 39 do not een plan or reiew their corporate giing. At least, with the companies, goernment agencies, and oundations working on the computer laboratory projects, they hae measures on usage and the number o students and teachers trained.
\et, the most important measures o all- impact on academic perormance and leel o computer proiciency-hae yet to be captured.
But, o course, this isn`t to say the admirable work and inancial support o the people and organizations inoled in this endeaor are wasted. lar rom it. Giing hundreds o thousands o students and teachers access to computers and the Internet indeed brings tremendous opportunities and possibilities. 1hese organizations should be emulated. But the greatest gratiication comes with knowing that not only that they`e made sincere eorts in bridging the digital diide but that those eorts-one billion pesos worth-hae made all the dierence.
SIDLBARS:
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: Department of 1rade and Industry Lxecutie Director: Dita Maralit, Director, Oice o Special Concerns Project: PCs or Public Schools Project ,PCPS, Inestment: P600 million Number o schools: 966 Number o students: 300,000 Number o teachers: 4,980 In the pipeline: a new grant rom the Japanese goernment, but with smaller packages
On the goernment side, the most high- proile initiatie is the PCs or Public Schools Project` ,PCPS, o the Department o 1rade and Industry ,D1I,, spearheaded by Secretary Manuel Roxas II. 1he other departments pursuing a similar undertaking are the Department o Science and 1echnology and the Department o Lducation.
But it`s the ambitious PCPS initiatie that is making the most impact. Maralit, who oersees the project, calls it the single biggest purchase o PCs in the Philippines, i not in Asia`.
Maralit said that Sec. Roxas wanted to promote the country as an I1 destination, realizing that I1 can be a competitie adantage. But a major impediment was the deteriorating quality o education. 1here was an apparent need to strengthen I1 skills in our human resources. Increasing computer literacy among public high school students seemed too costly an undertaking. loweer, Maralit points out, 1here were existing programs by DepLd and DOS1 but we needed to hurry.`
1he opportunity came when ,then, President Lstrada went to Japan, and the Secretary with him,` Maralit narrates. 1he Japanese goernment gae a P600 million grant to proide PCs or one thousand public high schools, or roughly twenty PCs per school. 1he package also included two inkjet printers, a modem, an external CD-ROM drie, and an installation kit. By the end o 2000, the proposed project was approed, and the unds were released ie months later. 1he D1I started bidding by lots soon thereater, which was completed by December 2001.
A task orce was also ormed to establish the criteria or identiying beneiciary schools, which was assigned to the Department o Lducation. About hal came rom Luzon and the rest rom Visayas and Mindanao, which was relectie o the total number o schools in each area. By this time, howeer, the P600 million grant was enough or only 994 schools, as the dollar exchange rate had drastically changed by the time the D1I deliered the equipment. 1he department was able to look or additional unding or 2 schools, to make a total o 996 schools, or around 19,920 PCs.
In the irst year o its implementation, 4,980 teachers and school personnel hae passed two-day training on basic PC operations, troubleshooting, and maintenance. 941 master teachers completed the Intel 1each to the luture Program, who, in turn, trained 19,069 school-based teachers. Oer 300 thousand students hae learned to do word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations in a recently introduced computer education curriculum by the Department o Lducation.
lortunately, the Japanese goernment was happy with the way the project was implemented and with the results. Maralit says, \e submitted a proposal or phase two. And it`s now approed in principle.` loweer, this time, the package is smaller, with around 10 PCs per school, while or the bigger schools, D1I is considering additional PCs.
Maralit is most proud o the integrity and transparency o the project, a rarity in goernment. \e were careul during the bidding, een now, especially as we hae to make them ,suppliers, comply with the warranty.`
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: ConnectLD.ph Lxecutie Director: Guillermo Luz Project: PCs or Public Schools Project ,PCPS, Inestment: P100 million Number o schools: 103 ,wired 19 PCPS schools, In the pipeline: a partnership with the Philippine Normal Uniersity to set up computer labs
1he priate sector counterpart to the PCPS project was ConnectLD.ph, a consortium o companies and oundations. 1he objectie was ar more modest: target 100 public high schools on top o the PCPS project, while connecting part o the standalone computer labs o the PCPS projects to a local area network ,LAN, and to the Internet. In total, ConnectLD.ph has raised some P100 million rom the priate sector and local communities or the 100 schools ,about P800 thousand rom the consortium and P200 thousand rom the beneiciary school`s local community as required counterpart unds,.
Makati Business Club Lxecutie Director Guillermo Luz, who spearheads ConnectLD.ph, notes, \e`re complete as ar as targets are concerned. \e`e done 103 schools on our own.` It also helped out around 19 schools belonging to the PCPS project get connected to a LAN and the Internet. It inished training o master teachers or 94 ConnectLD.ph schools and implemented telecollaboration projects, usually collaboratie science projects shared by arious schools, or 41 ConnectLD.ph schools.
le adds, \e`re looking at a partnership with the Philippine Normal Uniersity or a lab school. It`s important because it trains all teachers in the country. All graduates become public school teachers.` 1his allows ConnectLD.Pl to monitor where they`ll be deployed. ConnectLD.ph plans to equip the uniersity`s grade and high schools with PCs and Internet connection.
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: Philippine Business for Social Progress Lxecutie Director: Gil Salazar Projects: Computer and Science Laboratory Project, Project Big Star ,as project manager o Mirant Philippines loundation`s computer labs initiatie, Inestment: P35 million in 2002 ,including P1 million rom Mirant, Number o schools: 20-
One o the earliest oundations to proide computer labs to schools is the Philippine Business or Social Progress ,PBSP,, a world pioneer in corporate social responsibility, haing been ormed in 190. PBSP began building standalone computer labs in 1992 as a special program.
PBSP Lxecutie Director Gil Salazar admits that its computer labs program is modest, haing built a little more than 20 labs: 1he objectie is not so much to lood the country with computer labs but to set up models so other groups including the goernment can ollow.`
So ar, it has raised P35 million or such projects, including P1 million rom Mirant loundation or its Project Big Star, a two-year program created to equip seen campuses o the Philippine Science ligh School with computer labs.
PBSP is also inoled in setting up telecenters or speciic sectors, such as the larmers Inotech Center. In 2002, PBSP allocated around P10 million or its I1- related social projects.
But its seenth 5-year plan that was updated last year called or I1 as a priority. Salazar says PBSP is ater two things: low can we make use o I1 to acilitate the deliery o serices to beneiciary programs and how beneiciaries can beneit rom I1.`
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: Ayala Ioundation Lxecutie Director: Mario Deriquito, Director, Center or Social Deelopment Projects: Project \outh 1ech, iLink, Intel- Ayala Computer Clubhouse, UP-Ayala 1echno Park, BridgeI1 text2teach Inestment: P28 million since 2000 ,or \outh 1ech, Number o schools: 58 Number o students: 29,000 Number o teachers: 400 In the pipeline: 30 \outh 1ech labs and 4 iLink kiosks
1he Ayala loundation, one o the earliest corporation oundations, haing been established in 1961, has also been actie in helping bridge the digital diide. As early as 2000, it already had Project \outh 1ech, which likewise sets up computer laboratories in public high schools, with complete packages, including Internet access, which became the template or the ConnectLD.ph project.
Mario Deriquito, Ayala loundation Director or the Center or Social Deelopment, says, \outh 1ech was borne out o the need o public high schools. It`s based on a goernment study which showed that o the more than our thousand public high schools, only 30 percent hae PCs and 2 percent hae Internet access.`
It`s targeting 100 schools and so ar, a total o 58 schools hae receied Project \outh 1ech laboratories, beneiting 29 thousand public high school students and 400 teachers.
Realizing that members o the local community are using the school`s lab, Ayala loundation decided to maximize the reach o the project by extending its use. So, it launched a new program called Internet Learning Kiosk, or iLink, to complement Project \outh 1ech, with an initial P4 million rom Ayala Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation Manila, or pilot acilities in Manila, Caite, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.
1his year, it plans to set up 30 more \outh 1ech labs and 4 more iLink kiosks.
In 2001, Ayala loundation orged a partnership with the Uniersity o the Philippines to build the UP-Ayala 1echno Park, a community o technology-based entrepreneurs. Its other partnerships include the Ayala-Intel Computer Clubhouse, sering as project manager, the Jaa Research and Deelopment Center with UP, Sun Microsystems, and Mirant loundation, the Cisco Academic Network, unding Cisco bundles, and Barangay.Net, handling the secretariat o the project.
Its latest participation in education is text2teach, a BridgeI1 initiatie, pilot- tested in the Philippines in 40 public elementary schools. Lach school gets a 1V set, a Nokia knowledge box, a satellite dish, and cell phone. I a teacher wants to discuss a topic, say, olcanoes, she`d send a text message to Pearson, a content proider, which uploads the material to a serer managed by Nokia and transmitted by satellite, stored in the set top box, and iewed on the 1V set. Ayala loundation deeloped the curriculum and trained 80 teachers, sering as project manager
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: Microsoft Philippines Project lead: Mae Riera, Corporate Communications Manager Projects: Connected Learning Community ,CLC, Inestment: P50 million since 1999 Number o schools: 22 Number o students: 25,000 Number o teachers: 300 In the pipeline: 5 labs
Microsot Philippines has its Connected Learning Communities ,CLC, project, which is actually a homegrown project started by Sam Jacoba in 1999. Riera says, 1he irst couple o years, we literally went around,` going as ar as Samar, interiewing schools. Like Ayala loundation and ConnectLD.ph, Microsot proides Internet access with its PC labs, plus a scanner, printer, digital camera, and, o course, Microsot sotware.
Riera says, \e`e been doing it or our years. \e started with one school. \e ound out that i there`s no training and connection, it doesn`t work.` So, Microsot added training or both teachers and principals ,300 teachers and 400 parents hae been trained,. So ar, the CLC projects boasts o 22 schools in really remote areas`, spending some P50 million since 1999 and beneiting some 25 thousand students.
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: IBM Philippines Project lead: Bernadette Nacario, Country Manager, Marketing Projects: KidSmart Larly Learning Program, 1ryScience, Computer Lyes, Lxcite Camp Inestment: P9 million in 2002 ,including P5 million PBSP member contribution, Number o institutions: 50 Number o students: 400,000 Number o teachers: 200 In the pipeline: 20 KidSmart beneiciaries, a partnership with the Philippine Normal Uniersity to set up computer labs
IBM Philippines also has a long history o corporate philanthropy, being a ounding member o PBSP and the irst I1 company in the country, although likely, they`e been doing it een long beore,` notes Richard Burgos, Communications Manager, who, until recently, handled IBM Philippines` community relations or three years.
Central to IBM`s community relations initiaties is the Kidsmart Larly Learning Program. IBM proides what it calls its \oung Lxplorer, a personal computer encased in Little 1ikes` urniture and loaded with Ldmark educational sotware, targeted at preschool children by proiding such computers to day care centers, pre-schools, and children museums. Nacario, who`s Country Manager or Marketing and now heads IBM`s community relations, says that 40 institutions hae gien donations to this program, with 200 teachers trained and 200 thousand students exposed.
Another global program us 1ryScience, a \eb site ,www.tryscience.org, deeloped in partnership with the New \ork lall o Science and he Association o Science- 1echnology Centers. 1he site eatures interactie exhibits, experiments, lie \eb cameras, irtual ield trips, science in the news, and a special Discoer Lxtremes` adenture at Star 1rek`s Starleet Academy. IBM Philippines has been putting up kiosks linked to the 1ryScience site or children with no access to the Internet rom home or school.
ComputerLyes, on the other hand, is a local project or the disabled. Already on its third year, the ComputerLyes program trains blind students how to use the computer and the Internet. And, o course, IBM Philippines, in a joint enture with SM loundation, built two I1 colleges, the Asia Paciic College ,APC, in 1991 and Last Asia College in 1992.
Last year, IBM Philippines spent P4 million or its local projects, aside rom its P5 million unrestricted donation as PBSP member.
Its latest project is Lxcite Camp. Nacario and Burgos explain that the ocus o this initiatie is on to get high school girls exposed to the idea o pursuing an I1 career. 1his is basically a mentoring program, with the girls gien the opportunity to know how it`s like to work in an I1 enironment. lor the irst camp, students rom Assumption College will participate.
IBM is also planning to support the Philippine \omen Uniersity, a premier teacher training institution, chosen primarily or its research capability. Burgos explains that IBM will set up computer labs in the in-house pre-school that will beneit students and expose new teachers to new technology.
1his year, the company plans to gie \oung Lxplorer units to 20 institutions. It will also support the Bantay Bata project o ABS-CBN loundation or a children`s illage.
PROIILLS IN PHILAN1HROPY: Intel Philippines Project lead: Chit Ventura, Public Aairs Projects: 1each to the luture, Intel Philippine Science lair, Ayala-Intel Computer Clubhouse, Mobile I1 Classroom and Project RISL Inestment: >20,000 or each Clubhouse Number o clubhouses: 3 Number o students: 25,000 Number o teachers: 35,000
Intel Philippines, on the other hand, implements global initiaties under its Intel Innoation in Lducation program, including the Intel 1each to the luture and the Intel Computer Clubhouse.
Ventura notes that Intel has initiated social projects since it established its plant in 194, albeit not as large scale.
1he Intel 1each to the luture program has trained 35 thousand teachers in using computers or instruction. Lach master teacher is committed to train 20 participant teachers in their respectie schools. It consists o a 10-day training o 40 hours lecture and 40 hours hands-on exercises. Ventura adds, More importantly, we hae proided a model on IC1 integration in the curriculum, which can be adopted by the Department o Lducation.`
Intel Philippines also resered three computer clubhouses o the 100 clubhouses Intel Corporation pledged worldwide, proiding unding o around >20 thousand per clubhouse. Dubbed the Ayala-Intel Computer Clubhouse, with Ayala loundation as project manager, it`s intended to proide a sae, ater-school acility or underpriileged youth to deelop creatie pursuits using the acility`s technology. Around 385 kids regularly go to the current two clubhouses in Makati and Caite.
Apart rom its global projects, Intel Philippines supports other related programs. Ventura explains, \e do proide unding or projects outside Intel`s own initiaties. lor example, we unded DOS1 projects like the Mobile I1 Classroom and Project RISL ,Rescue Initiaties in Science Lducation,. Most o the projects that we und support our goal, which is to improe science and technology education in the country.`
She adds, 1ogether with the Department o Lducation and the Department o Science and 1echnology, Intel Philippines has sponsored talented and award- winning students to the Intel International Science and Lngineering lair ,Intel ISLl,. Last year, the Philippines scored three major wins in the international eent: Second Grand Award Indiidual Category in Microbiology, lirst Grand Award 1eam Category in Physics and the Intel Lxcellence in 1eaching Award which was won by Dr. Josette Biyo, Asia`s irst recipient o the accolade.`
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