The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), in partnership with the Socio-Economic Research and Data Analytics Centers (SERDACs) in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao held three batches of a week-long training-workshop on “Strengthening Policy Analysis in the Regions” in October 2022.
The training aimed to improve the knowledge and skills of researchers from the regional consortia and various member agencies and to create a critical mass of R&D workers in the regions who will spearhead the analysis and advocacy of region-specific policy issues.
Dr. Aileen V. Lapitan, Dr. Maria Luz M. Malabayabas, Ms. Marriz M. Garciano, Ms. Karen S. Janiya, and Ms. Therese R. Olviga, from the College of Public Affairs and Development of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (CPAf-UPLB), served as the resource persons for the training.
The sessions were conducted through lecture discussions, hands-on exercises, and workshops on policy analysis and development focused on the following subtopics: analyzing and structuring policy problems, developing policy goals and alternatives, assessing policy alternatives, and developing a policy research proposal. After the training, participants were expected to contribute in identifying regional policy concerns and in developing policy analysis or advocacy proposals that may be submitted for potential funding support.
The series of trainings was conducted from October 3 to 7 for Luzon, from October 10 to 14 for Visayas, and from October 17 to 21 for Mindanao. In all three batches, 50 state universities and colleges (SUCs), regional government agencies, research and development institutes (RDIs), and local government units (LGUs) participated with a total of 71 participants. The training sessions were conducted via an online video conferencing platform.
This training series, which followed the first Training-Workshop on Strengthening Policy Analysis in the Regions, was conducted last May to July 2021 in collaboration with SERDAC and UPLB. A total of 125 researchers from 78 agencies and LGUs were involved in all four batches.
This training series is organized by the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD) as part of the DOST-PCAARRD’s initiative in enhancing the Council and its network’s role in policy analysis and advocacy in the Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources (AANR) sector.