Following the capacity development gap observed among the members of the Local Government Academy (LGA) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Local Governance Regional Resource Centers (LGRRCs), the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) will be launching the first phase of Policy Research Ideation through Mentorship and Engagement or PRIME on 21-24 May 2024 through a collaboration between the Policy Innovation and Learning Laboratory for Sustainability (PILLS), Diploma in/Master of Research and Development Management (D/MRD&DM) and Master of Public Management (MPM). By focusing on SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, this collaborative program aims to boost an interdisciplinary research- and extension-oriented program, particularly in strengthening government R&D capabilities and empowering institutions such as LGA and LGRRCs.
In preparation for the upcoming workshop, a pre-event meeting was held between the FMDS-UPOU team and DILG-LGA on 17 May 2024 led by Dr. Leo Mendel Rosario, Assistant Professor and D/MR&DM Program Chair and Technology and Innovation Policy Group, Policy Innovation and Learning Laboratory for Sustainability (PILLS) Principal Investigator, together with Asst. Prof. Lianne Angelico Depante, Assistant Professor and MPM Program Chair, Asst. Prof. Regina Mendoza-Armiendo, Assistant Professor of MPM Program, Ms. Dona Lyn Piamonte, UPOU University Extension Associate, and Ms. Raizza Anna Alforja, research assistant. Representatives from LGA include Ms. Leah Marie C. Sanchez, Chief of the Research and Policy Development Division (RPDD), Mr. Euly Q. Enrique, RPDD Assistant Chief, and valuable team members such as Mr. Jason Patrick N. Carreras, Ms. Jade Lopez, Ms. Felisa Megia, Mr. Christopher Llarenas, Ms. Angelina Layugan, Ms. Myra Gialogo, and Mr. David Semilla.
SDG 4: Quality Education
This initiative contributes to the trifocal function of FMDS-UPOU including instruction, research, and public service by utilizing the market data to develop micro-credentials for DILG personnel, exploring PRIME facilitators and panel in research collaborations and mentoring on the policy research proposals of LGRRCs, and its contribution to the Community Inclusivity, Digital Transformation, and Acceleration towards Sustainability (CIDAS) of FMDS under the Application of Research Towards the Advancement of Regional Communities subtopic, respectively.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
There will be more than 100 participants consisting of personnel from DILG-LGA and LGRRCs across the country and will be attending a 1-week synchronous online seminar-workshop, to build knowledge of the participants on research agenda setting, and a 2-week asynchronous modules to further review on the concepts learned from prior activities while revising their policy research proposals. PRIME participants will be grouped to collaborative research teams and expected to produce a medium-term road map of the research agenda based on the policy research proposals.
Written by: Raizza Anna Alforja • Edited by: Dr. Leo Mendel Rosario
Sustainable Development Goals
