Manila City, Philippines, 27–28 January 2026 – The 1st Regional Consultation with ASCC Sectoral Bodies on the Baselining and Target-Setting for the ASCC Results Framework was held on 27–28 January 2026 in Manila City, Philippines, and via video conference. The 1st Regional Consultation brought together members of the Ad Hoc Working Group to Develop the ASCC Strategic Plan (AHWG), Senior Officials Committee for the ASCC (SOCA), ASCC sectoral bodies, national planning and statistical agencies, Socio-Cultural Officials and the ASEAN Secretariat to deliberate on the ASCC Results Framework, particularly on the indicators’ operational definition, indicative target setting and available data sources.

In his welcome remarks, Assistant Secretary of Social Protection Policy of the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines, Mr. Rodolfo M. Santos, underscored the importance of a strong results framework in ensuring coherence and accountability within ASCC. He highlighted the holistic and participatory approach in developing the ASCC Results Framework through engagement and consultations with ASCC sectoral bodies.

San Lwin, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASCC, echoed the importance of ensuring that the ASCC Strategic Plan remains results-oriented through a clear and well-defined results framework. He highlighted that the ASCC Results Framework will further translate ASCC’s evidence-based policy and decision-making into practice, ensure accountability and transparency, and demonstrate the tangible impact of the ASCC Strategic Plan.

The Australian Ambassador to ASEAN, Tiffany McDonald, in her key message, emphasised Australia’s commitment in realising the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and highlighted the long partnership between ASEAN and Australia in supporting initiatives that advance ASEAN’s community-building efforts, including through the Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative programme. She further highlighted that the Australian government would continue to support the robust development of the ASCC Results Framework and its baselining process to enable accurate and comprehensive progress tracking of the ASCC Strategic Plan.

The two-day consultation provided a platform for refining the ASCC Results Framework’s key performance indicators and their operational definition, as well as the method for baseline data collection, timeline and available data sources. During the consultation, representatives from the planning ministries of Indonesia and the Philippines also shared their experiences and good practices in conducting baseline data collection and setting targets for regional and national plans, including the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Siu Lin Leow, Director of the International Relations Division of the Strategy, International and Research Directorate of the Ministry of Social and Family Development of Singapore, and Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group to Develop the ASCC Strategic Plan, highlighted the importance of the regional consultation, which reaffirmed ASCC’s commitment to a results‑based implementation of the ASCC Strategic Plan. She emphasised that the outcomes of the regional consultation represent an important step toward ensuring that the ASCC Strategic Plan is implemented in a systematic, measurable, and results‑oriented manner.

The 1st Regional Consultation was co-hosted by Department of the Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines and is part of the activities under the development of the ASCC Results Framework and Baselining of the ASCC Strategic Plan Project supported by the Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative.