New Zealand-Asean Scholars grad shares ‘big picture’ learnings

MANILA, Philippines - “The government’s resources are finite. So we always have to ask ourselves: Are we spending on the right things?”

This is one of the crucial thinking process that JeanPacheco, a former New Zealand-ASEAN Scholar (NZAS) and now the policy and planning director of the the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), goes through.

“Before I left for New Zealand, a system called the Public Expenditure Management was being introduced – and it came from Australia and New Zealand.” Armed with a desire to learn, Pacheco set out to join the 2006 batch of the New Zealand-Asean Scholars (NZAS) awards. “Through the NZAS program, I was able to get a first hand, macro view of how that system worked”

NZAS is a postgraduate scholarship program funded by the New Zealand government through the New Zealand Aid Program. It invites Filipinos to pursue postgraduate development-related degrees in areas where New Zealand has globally recognized expertise.

Course cost, international air travel at the start and end of the scholarship and visa fees, basic stipend, medical and travel insurance and travel to home country during scholarship for work, establishment allowance, attachments or trainings, home leave, compassionate travel, home-located research, and reunion travel are just some of the entitlements and allowances included in the scholarship. Under the program, scholars’ spouses may be given a work visa and their children a student visa. The issuance of visas for spouses and children are subject to Immigration New Zealand rules and regulations.

Pacheco earned a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Massey University in 2008. She received second class honors, division 1, a distinction given to students with a GPA (grade point average) of 5.50 to 6.99. The university’s highest GPA is 7.0.

Pacheco states that learning about the Principles of New Public Management (NPM) was highlight of her academic experience. NPM emphasizes that measuring a public sector unit’s performance must be based on cost-efficiency, labor discipline, and services citizen enjoy.

“Being familiar with NPM is very valuable to me. Especially now with the work I do on good governance in the area of planning and budgeting.” Pacheco explains that NPM, as a framework, helps her and her team at the Office of Planning and Policy (OPP) to identify what services to prioritize and allocate funds for.

Other top partner universities for the program includes University of Canterbury, University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, Lincoln University, University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, and University of Waikato.

Eligible fields of study include public sector management, agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, governance, trade development, disaster risk management, and climate change adaptation. These are fields where New Zealand has developed expertise and where it can share well for its chosen Filipino scholars.

The scholarship program is open to Filipinos from the public, private, and civil society sectors not more than 40 years old and with at least two years work experience relative to the chosen career.

Interested applicants may contact Reina P. Lino, NZAS Programme Administrator of Bato Balani Foundation Inc., at email address: [email protected] or at tel. no. (632) 8925462. Further information, including eligibility criteria and application forms, can be found at the New Zealand Embassy website: http://www.aid.govt.nz/funding-and-contracts/scholarships/eligible-countries/philippines.