The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and the Socio-Economics Research and Data Analytics Laboratory (SERDAL) spearhead the online Midterm Review of the project, “Strengthening Policy Analysis in the Regions: Mentoring on the Development of Policy Research Proposals" (PA Mentoring Program) on August 22, 2023.
Since the PA Mentoring Program Orientation held in July, the mentors and mentees have engaged in a series of one-on-one sessions to develop the mentees’ concept notes into full-blown policy research proposals. The Midterm Review, second of three plenary sessions, served as a venue for the mentees to present the progress of their proposal development.
The first part of the event featured lectures to assist the mentees complete the DOST forms necessary for proposal submission and potential project funding. Ms. Mia Barbara Aranas, head of the Policy Analysis and Information Management Unit (PAIMU) of the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD), presented a guide for identifying and developing policy outputs under the DOST 6Ps Framework. Ms. Monica Castillo, Science Research Specialist II, then provided reminders and tips on preparing the project line-item budget and workplan. A step-by-step guide for scoring the Gender and Development (GAD) Checklist, was delivered by Ms. Annette Tobias, head of SERD’s Gender and Development and Special Projects Unit (GADSPU).
Dr. Romiel John Basan, a mentee from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), presenting the framework of their proposal. The USM group is being mentored by Dr. Isabelita Pabuayon of UPLB.
The event continued with the mentees presenting their draft policy research proposals followed by a question-and-answer session for mentees to learn and to improve their proposals. The PA Mentoring Program aims to enhance the capacity of researchers in developing and implementing policy research in the regions.
Nine proposals are currently being developed by the 20 mentees of the PA Mentoring Program. The proposed projects aim to assess and strengthen policies covering various topics, including the African swine fever control measures, adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), marine protected areas, agritourism development, garlic production, aquaculture, community-based forest management, and the adoption of digitalized extension services.
The mentees will present their final outputs during the third plenary session, which will be held on October 6, 2023 via Zoom.
If you can provide a sentence which is a reiteration of "this mentoring program aims to strengthen policy in the region," it would be great.