To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau Directors
Directors of Services, Centers and Heads of Units
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
All Others Concerned

1. The Department of Education (DepEd) has established the Office of Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages (OUPEL) which is composed of the Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages, its executive assistants, project manager and members of the Adopt-a-School Program (ASP) Secretariat, and personnel and staff of the International Cooperation Office (ICO), among others.
2. The OUPEL works in the following areas of partnerships:
   1. Partnership with the private sectors through the ASP;
   2. Partnership with the local government units (LGUs);
   3. Partnership with the national government agencies;
   4. International partnership grants through the ICO;
   5. Multi-Sectoral alliances for Basic Education; and
   6. Citizen Participation through the Civic Society Organizations (CSOs) and other groups.
3. The OUPEL has the following functions and responsibilities:
   1. Cultivate and coordinate partnerships with the private sector, international agencies, national government agencies, LGUs, CSOs and other community-based groups involved in mobilizing donations, cooperative agreements, volunteer work, and other similar undertakings, and to ensure that these are consistent and aligned with the goals of the DepEd;
   2. Provide policy directions and inputs in promoting and managing engagement with the partners mentioned above and to define parameters and guidelines for DepEd in handling such partnerships;
   3. Establish and maintain a database of all existing partnerships of DepEd and cause the submission of all relevant agreements and documents by all responsible officials in the central, regional and division offices;
   4. Formulate programs aimed at strengthening the capabilities of DepEd units in the field of partnership-building;
   5. Organize and provide leadership to multi-stakeholder alliances, consortia, committees, task forces, or technical working groups involved in school feeding, water and sanitation, out-of-school youth (OSY) programs, and other areas to be determined by the Secretary;
   6. Assist and support the Office of Undersecretary for Regional Operations in cultivating community support for basic education by designing and conducting local education summits, working with the local school boards (LSBs) and other relevant stakeholders to define local education issues and concerns to formulate plans and to implement them through a multi-stakeholder effort;
   7. Participate in the preparation and implementation of the K to 12 Program and its transitional requirements by establishing and nourishing partnerships with various stakeholders such as private schools, industries, national government agencies, LGUs, CSOs, among others;
   8. Monitor the progress of the different DepEd partnerships and establish mechanisms to keep track of how such partnerships are carried out; and
   9. Serve as the clearing house for all local, national and international transactions on partnerships and external linkages including bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
4. All offices, bureaus, centers, regions and divisions are enjoined to coordinate/cooperate with the OUPEL on partnership requirements and to lend support in terms of providing relevant data, information, documents, and other things which this Office needs assistance on through the ASP regional and division coordinators who shall also serve as the official coordinators of the programs, projects and activities of the OUPEL at the regional and division levels.
5. All concerns on local, national, and international partnerships and external linkages of this Department shall be coursed through the Office of the Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages (OUPEL), Department of Education (DepEd) Central Office, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City at telephone no.: (+63.2) 633-7207 and telefax no.: (+63.2) 637-4211 with email address: oupel@deped.gov.ph
6. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance of this Order is directed.

References:
DepEd Memorandum: No. 115, s. 2013 DepEd Order No. 2 s. 2013 DepEd Order: No. 19, s. 2010 DECS Order: No. 106, s. 1999 DECS Order: No. 80, s. 1998

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
BUREAUS & OFFICES
OFFICIALS
PROGRAMS
SCHOOLS
UNITS

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