Taguig City, Philippines | 6 February 2026 — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) conducted the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Workshop Series under the Accelerating Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals for the Philippines (STI4SDGs) Project, with its first workshop focusing on Building the Theory of Change, held at the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Auditorium, DOST South Complex.
The workshop marks a key step in strengthening how science, technology, and innovation (STI) investments are planned, monitored, and translated into measurable contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in addressing long-standing challenges related to data use, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making.
In his opening remarks, Assistant Secretary Napoleon K. Juanillo Jr. emphasized the importance of moving beyond compliance-driven monitoring toward a system that deliberately links evidence, learning, and adaptive action. He noted that while the Philippines remains committed to the 2030 Agenda, progress across SDG indicators remains uneven, underscoring the need for clearer pathways that connect STI investments to development outcomes.
The MEAL Workshop Series is being guided by Dr. Ivy P. Mejia, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Consultant for the STI4SDGs Project. In her discussion, Dr. Mejia introduced the Theory of Change as a practical and analytical tool that explains how and why change is expected to happen, emphasizing that it is not merely a diagram but a shared explanation of causal pathways, assumptions, and results.
Dr. Mejia led participants through a structured and participatory process to unpack development problems, identify key actors, map short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes, and articulate the “if-then” logic underlying STI interventions. She highlighted the importance of surfacing assumptions, identifying weak links in causal pathways, and recognizing convergence points across priority SDGs to strengthen coherence and reduce fragmentation in planning and implementation.
The STI4SDGs MEAL Framework seeks to address existing challenges by strengthening and aligning current DOST monitoring mechanisms rather than creating parallel systems. It aims to clearly articulate how STI investments contribute to priority SDGs while supporting accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
The first workshop convened members of the STI4SDGs Technical Working Group from across the DOST system, who collaboratively worked on mapping assumptions, inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and intended impacts that will inform the roadmap.
As output of Workshop 1, participants produced an initial, co-created Theory of Change framework that defines the problem statements, desired outcomes, key actors, causal pathways, and underlying assumptions for priority SDGs. This workshop formally marks the start of the MEAL Workshop Series, which will continue with succeeding workshops on crafting the MEAL plan, designing the framework, and selecting appropriate digital platforms to institutionalize monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning across DOST.
by Ryan Ray D. Limos, Project Technical Specialist V.