Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives

Track Record

The Collaborative Future Alliance (CoFA) was formally launched during the 50th Anniversary of the Australian-Philippines Business Council at the Australian Parliament in Canberra in September 2025.

As a newly established organisation, CoFA’s track record reflects early-stage programme implementation delivered through strategic partnerships, as well as the extensive prior experience of its leadership in designing and implementing development, sustainability, and community-based initiatives across the energy, climate, and inclusive-growth sectors.

Agri-Scholarship and Community Development Programme

Ongoing

Donors / Partners:

• Renesource Inc.
• Ironwood Institute (Australia)
• CN Greenroof Asia Inc.

Related Investors and Stakeholders:

• Norfund
• Climate Fund Managers

Form of Assistance:
Private-sector and institutional support, including scholarships, community development planning, capacity-building, and programme coordination.

Since its establishment, CoFA has been supporting the design and coordination of an agri-scholarship and associated community development programme linked to Renesource’s 22.79 MW solar project in Hermosa, Bataan. The programme forms part of the project’s ESG and investor-aligned community development commitments.

The initiative focuses on strengthening skills development, improving access to education, and creating sustainable livelihood pathways for youth and community members in project-affected areas. Core activities include:

• Programme design and implementation planning
• Stakeholder and community engagement
• Coordination with project sponsors, investors, and academic partners
• Selection and deployment of scholars for agricultural and agribusiness training in Adelaide, Australia
• Structured return and reintegration pathways to ensure graduates contribute directly to the farming and agribusiness ecosystem of Hermosa, Bataan

The programme is designed to meet investor expectations for community development planning, while ensuring that benefits are locally embedded, durable, and aligned with long-term regional development objectives.

Why Hermosa, Bataan

Hermosa has long functioned as an agricultural municipality, with large portions of its land area devoted to rice cultivation, mixed cropping, and smallholder farming. Despite its proximity to major industrial and logistics corridors in Central Luzon, the local economy in many barangays remains anchored in agriculture, seasonal farm work, and informal agribusiness activities.

Farming households in Hermosa are typically engaged in low-margin primary production, with limited access to modern agricultural techniques, post-harvest facilities, and structured pathways into higher-value agribusiness roles. Opportunities for youth are particularly constrained, contributing to underemployment and outward migration in search of work.

The presence of Renesource Inc.’s solar project in Hermosa introduces not only clean energy infrastructure, but also a responsibility and opportunity to support the long-term resilience of the surrounding agricultural communities. Backed by institutional investors such as Norfund and Climate Fund Managers, the project’s ESG framework emphasizes community development that is locally grounded and economically relevant.

CoFA’s agri-scholarship and community development programme was designed in direct response to this context. By focusing on agricultural and agribusiness training, the initiative strengthens the existing economic base of Hermosa rather than displacing it. Scholars are equipped with practical skills in modern, climate-resilient farming and agribusiness, and are supported through structured return pathways that enable them to apply their training within local farms, cooperatives, and emerging value-chain activities.

Hermosa was selected because it represents a clear case where agriculture remains central to livelihoods, and where targeted investment in skills, education, and local capacity can generate durable benefits, ensuring that the energy transition contributes meaningfully to inclusive rural development.

Students from Hermosa, Bataan attending the agri-scholarship programme briefing on 12 December 2025, introducing the Australia-based training pathway, programme expectations, and return to community commitments under the Collaborative Future Alliance and Ironwood Institute.

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