Doing Business in the Philippines: timeline

1. Subnational Doing Business:The “How-to” on data collection and verificationDoing Business in the PhilippinesTraining May 29, 2007

2. Doing Business in the Philippines: timeline

3. DB in the Philippines: data collection process Recruit contributors One-on-one interviews Send surveys to contributors “Train” contributors Quality check Tailor surveys Receive surveys Comments: Contributors must have done the research before interview Goal of interview: verify responses and clarify questions If gaps are found, return survey to contributor or identify new contributor Contributors-5 per topic-must be local experts in each field Verify contact information Contributors have 10 days to complete survey after training Timeline: July 2 July 6 August 17 August 31 July 27

4. Training contributors • Objective: Explain project and describe Doing Business methodology for each indicator • Outline: Aprox. duration • Context of the project 5 min • Starting a business 10 min • Registering property 10 min • Dealing with licenses 10 min • Follow training notes to explain methodology • Mention our interest in learning about reforms

5. Training contributors: context • Doing Business is a global World Bank report: 175 countries, more than 5,000 contributors, over 2,000 media articles worldwide. • DB in Philippines will allow comparing business regulations in that city with Manila City and rest of the world • DB in Philippines will identify bottlenecks and recommend reforms: it is important to provide an accurate image of the reality in that city (goal is not promotion of city) • DB in Philippines will be a high visibility publication. Their contribution will be amply acknowledged. They will join global network of respondents.

6. One-on-one interviews: three key questions • Do we have the right data? Break down the process step by step. • “This is the situation, now what happens” • What lies behind the numbers? Reasons for delays or why things work? • Always ask “WHY?” • What is the difference between theory and practice? • Check official time limits and requirements with practice

7. Three common confusions Q: When does a procedure start? A: With the first contact from the entrepreneur’s pont of view, i.e. time since first request Q: When does a procedure end? A: When the procedure is complete, not only filing Q. How to account for interactions with private professionals? A: Interactions by private professionals on behalf of the entrepreneur count as separate steps

8. Time: how to get an accurate time estimate? • Time is recorded in calendar days • Always keep the entrepreneur perspective • Remember: the entrepreneur does not have special connections • Get hard data to back up estimates, where possible • Ask about recent case examples • Ask for maximum-minimum values • Always ask about parallel procedures

9. Cost: some remarks • Professional fees: not counted, unless required by law • Always ask for official fee schedules and calculation formulas.

10. One-one-one interviews: checklist P • Complete case study with procedures, name of agencies, time and cost • Contributor contact information section • Information on past, ongoing and future reforms and their impact • Copies of relevant regulations and fee schedules P P P

11. Quality check • First filter for survey quality • The objective is to assess that the questionnaires are complete: no information gaps exist • Some warning signs: • Identical responses from different contributors in the same city • Very large discrepancies in responses for same city • Blank sections • Overly optimistic surveys: everything cannot be perfect • Remember: the indicators will only be as good as the data provided by contributors!