The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), through its Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines (SERP-P), recently conducted a training program to boost the policy research capabilities of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-RFO-CAR).
Held on July 29-30 at the City Travel Hotel, Baguio City, the hybrid training gathered 32 participants—21 research staff from the DA-CAR’s Research Division and 11 online attendees from Benguet State University.
The sessions focused on deepening participants’ understanding of policy research concepts, frameworks, and methodologies, with a particular emphasis on gender-responsive, socially equitable, and culturally relevant approaches.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Roehlano Briones, one of the country’s experts in agricultural economics and rural development policy, served as subject matter expert for the program. He guided participants in designing policy research and framing region-specific policy issues.
The training produced three topic proposals, which will be refined and turned into policy briefs over the next five months and later developed into full-length studies.
Atty. Jennilyn M. Dawayan, Regional Executive Director of DA-CAR, welcomed the initiative.
“We are thankful for this collaboration with PIDS as they help us improve our research as inputs to policymaking,” she said.
To further align research with policy and program priorities, commodity banner program coordinators from DA-CAR also presented their respective programs and identified areas requiring policy research, creating opportunities for collaboration that could directly support implementation.
In addition, Dr. Susan Balansa, Chief Planning Officer of the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division (PMED), emphasized the agency’s commitment to supporting policy research.
She noted that funding support is available for proposals that align with the department’s flagship programs and strategic needs.
In support of open knowledge sharing, participants’ research outputs will be uploaded to the SERP-P, an online repository managed by the PIDS that houses policy studies and research materials produced by academic and government institutions.
This move aims to amplify the reach and policy influence of grassroots research coming from the Cordillera region. A key highlight of the event was the presentation of the regional policy agenda of Benguet by Gerson Domoguen, chairperson of the Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Council (PAFC).
Speaking on behalf of the private sector, he emphasized the AFCs’ role in shaping local policy directions and the urgent need for evidence-based research to support their policy resolutions. “As AFCs, we need data and research to strengthen our lobbying efforts for policy improvements in the agriculture sector,” Domoguen said, citing the importance of research demand from the ground up.
By aligning regional research efforts with stakeholder demands, enhancing the technical capacity of research staff, and connecting local outputs to national platforms like SERP-P, this partnership signals a critical shift toward a more inclusive, data-driven policy ecosystem in the Cordillera highlands.