The Western Visayas Network for Social Development NGOs (WeVNet) has taken active role to promote knowledge sharing between civil society and the academe for open government.
In the project: “Making All Voices Count: Universities and Knowledge Partnership for Open Government,” Central Philippine University (CPU) has reached out to civil society organizations in Iloilo in order to develop partnerships aimed to build on from the gains attained by the two sectors of society in promoting social accountability and open government.
The effort is being carried out together with selected partner universities in the country. In Iloilo, CPU’s Center for Local Governance and Indigenous People Studies (CPU-CLGIPS) and the Knowledge for Development Center (CPU-KDC) are implementing the project.
The project intends to institutionalize partnerships between the academe and CSOs so that universities can act as knowledge hubs and become repositories of best practices, approaches, and methods used for social development and which can be shared and replicated.
It is also initiated through partnership as a platform to tap on the expertise, tools, and facilities of the academe to organize the knowledge derived from the rich experiences by CSOs in social development work and help organizations create capacities for knowledge management by processing knowledge exchange and conducting capacity building activities on the use of new technological tools in organizing data to improve data management, data analysis, and data presentation.
The officers of WeVNet together with officers of member organizations, other civil society organizations representing different sectors, and representatives from National Government Agencies in Region VI has attended two of the workshops that were conducted to discuss their projects, programs, and advocacies and what information or data sets that they have acquired which can be used and shared.
Likewise, the workshops discussed the crucial role that data management and information sharing play in attaining the social development agenda of the different sectors.
During the August 22 workshop, WeVNet presented “How Knowledge Centers can Help CSOs” which examined the current situation of CSOs and the challenges that most CSOs confront as far as Knowledge Development and Management (KDM) programs is concerned.
Among the challenges that it underscored were traditional practices by CSOs that heavily rely on verbal practice, highly centralized decision-making processes, poor communications management system, low technical capacity, lack of competent personnel to handle KDM programs, under-developed KDM programs, and minimal financial investment for KDM.
Through the project, WeVNet hopes to create stronger partnership with CPU in order to acquire needed capacities to analyze its information management system, design appropriate information management and KDM program, planning facilitation, and what suitable management solutions to adopt.
The “Making All Voices Count: Universities and Knowledge Partnership for Open Government,” is implemented in partnership with the Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance of the De La Salle University and supported by Hivos, Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex, and Global Integrity. -30-
Ted Aldwin Ong is the Program Officer of WEVNET. He is also the Vice-Chairperson of CODE-NGO’s Advocacy Commission.