Category: Service Quality

Name of the Organization

Technology Application and Promotion Institute

Name of the Office/Unit that leads the implementation of this best practice entry

Invention Development Division (IDD)

Focus Area of the Best Practice

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, Risk Assessment

Date the best practice was first implemented

16 July 2015 – up to present

Summary of the Best Practice

One or two decades ago, technology transfer enticed potential takers to adapt, use, or buy a technology package. When the Philippine Technology Transfer Act (Republic Act No.10055) came into law in 2009, due diligence seemed like a textbook theory. But things changed in 2015 when the DOST-Technology and Promotion Institute (TAPI) started to prepare for the possible receipt of requests for fairness opinion issuance that the said law requires in all commercialization efforts from publicly-funded research.

DOST-TAPI, through its Invention Development Division (IDD), developed its intellectual property (IP) due diligence mechanisms, in particular, Freedom to Operate (FTO) and IP valuation, essentially to provide technical support to the Fairness Opinion Board. The efforts either can be supported by or lead to the pioneering publication of FTO and IP valuation books, issuances of guidelines and protocols, and later adoption by the regional offices of the DOST that serve as the current Fairness Opinion Board Secretariat.

The Challenge

In bringing a research product into a market, there is a need to ensure that preparatory works are in place to increase its success and avoid waste of government resources or unnecessary legal battles. Part of the work requires looking into possibilities that there could be blocking patents that would impede market entry through Freedom to Operate assessment, IP valuation to serve as leverage during negotiations and licensing, and dealing with regulatory requirements. On equal footing, the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009 encourages technology commercialization and explicitly requires that publicly funded researches undergo fairness opinion. Since there were no existing models, local or abroad, to use before the first request was received in 2015 for fairness opinion issuance, the DOST-TAPI, as the then secretariat of the Fairness Opinion Board, established the mechanisms from scratch, which included issuances of guidelines and protocols, and later fast-tracking of the services. The Best Practice is now being used by DOST’s regional offices and is now adopted by Research and Development Institutes (RDIs) around the country.

Solution and Impact

DOST-TAPI’s best practice is a due diligence mechanism that was first assessed through environmental scanning to determine whether there are existing models that can be adopted for the instant takeoff of the fairness opinion issuance. There appeared to be none, which became the basis to secure funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that aimed to support the commercialization of locally-developed technologies and the operationalization of the Fairness Opinion Board (FOB) Secretariat by the DOST-TAPI. In-house capacity building, drafting and issuance of protocols and guidelines, and later training of other agencies were done. Towards the end of 2019, the experiences obtained from the development and use of the Best Practice inspired the amendment of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act (RA) No. 10055, which decentralized the role of the FOB Secretariat from DOST-TAPI to the regional offices of the DOST. DOST-TAPI capacitated all of the DOST regional offices to allow them to absorb requests for fairness opinions from their respective jurisprudence.

The best practice of the Institute led to the issuance of several memorandum circulars, such as guidelines to determine licensing royalties, technology commercialization policies, and fast-tracking options to issue fairness opinion reports. It also led to capacity-building activities of DOST stakeholders where thousands of researchers, scientists, policymakers, technology transfer professionals, intellectual property (IP) professionals, government specialists, professors, and students around the country were trained on fairness opinion issuance, Freedom to Operate (FTO), and IP valuation.

The most striking impact, however, that the best practice contributed to public sector innovation is the amendment of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 10055. While many parts of the IRR were revised after thorough public consultations around the country, it would be highly distinguishable that Rule 11 was overhauled to present a better modality to issue fairness opinion reports. The following summarizes the revision as triggered by the best practice:

1. What cannot be considered as commercialization (Section 2)
2. Minimum required documents (Section 6)
3. Criteria for fairness, which guides the Fairness Opinion Board to evaluate the financial capability of the technology transferee and its ability to sustain the production, competitive position of the technology transferee, marketability of the product or service that shall be produced from the subject technology(Section 7)
4. Contents of the Fairness Opinion Report (Section 8)

The pre-commercialization due diligence mechanism of DOST-TAPI also contributed to the separation of the fairness opinion report to focus on the financial aspects of the transaction and to be issued by an independent third-party body of experts, with that of a Written Recommendation, as elucidated in DOST Memorandum Circular No. 002 s. 2019.

Milestones

With the due diligence mechanism getting handy, the DOST-TAPI was able to operationalize the FOB and created and streamline the processes, in particular Rule 11 of the IRR of RA 10055, leading to 102 IP valuation reports, 313 licensing agreements and term sheets, 61 written recommendations, and 159 fairness opinion reports from 2016 to 2020 as commissioned by theDOST. This also motivated launching of a technology transfer fellowship known as HIRANG: Honing Innovations, Research, Agreements and Negotiations of the Government-Funded Technologies Internship Program, which led to the graduation of 23 technology transfer interns and the signing of 12 licensing agreements.

In 2017, the pioneering team was nominated for the First Annual Awarding Ceremony of BCYF Innovation Awards in Malacañang Palace. The FTO and IP valuation teams of the DOST-TAPI were able to assess several local technologies, including the portfolio of potentially the country’s first unicorn. In July 2021, DOST-TAPI launched its Week-long Accomplishment and Culminating Activity of Special Projects (WACAS) to honor the project team’s accomplishments and included specialized public presentations dubbed “The Specialist” where the Best Practice was presented on two (2) topics, “Assessing IP Quality and FTO through IP Analytics” and “Demystifying IP Valuation”.

The specialists comprising the pioneering team from the Invention Development Division are now recognized as subject matter experts on the Best Practice. As proof of interest and adoption, DOST-TAPI specialists are now regularly requested as experts and resource persons by other agencies to teach or discuss FTO, IP valuation, and fairness opinion issuance.

Organization

Department of Science and Technology II

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Human Resource

Year Implemented

January 2019

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

The World Health Organization underscored that a healthy workforce plays a vital role in social and economic development at the global, national, and local levels. Employees are considered important assets of any organization, contributing to delivering quality services. Hence, organizations should consider employees’ health a top priority.

Considering the employees’ exposure to various health hazards such as pollution and diseases, as well as having a sedentary lifestyle and stressful environment, the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office 02 (DOST 02) decided to launch the DOST Care. This is spearheaded by its Human Resource and Health and Wellness Team to monitor and promote the overall health of the DOST 02 employees. The DOST Care was implemented in January 2019, starting with the patient profiling of employees and the provision of basic healthcare consultation and counseling by the DOST Care Team.

The monitoring of employees’ health serves as the basis for the constant provision of health care tips, necessary first aid, medication counseling, and recommendation to visit a physician if recorded vital signs are continuously abnormal. With the support of its Human Resource, DOST Care also initiates health-related seminars with themes that depend on the current problems the workforce is facing. The practice is still for improvement, but it has already provided vital health information to the DOST 02’s employees, most of whom had not known about their health risks. Now with DOST Care, all employees can keep track of their current health status and can prevent different possible diseases.

Background and Problem

The DOST 02, the lead agency that promotes and supports science, technology, and innovation, implies that it has a vast responsibility. From its flagship program, the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), and the different regional committees it handles, the agency has a huge workload for its limited number of employees, making them vulnerable to certain diseases.

The agency staff spend most of their work hours in their respective offices drafting proposals and doing clerical work and are hardly deployed for field assignments. Aggravating the lack of physical exertion is the mental stress experienced by staff who usually resort to stress-eating, which further contributes to risk factors of non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension. Other diseases may also arise from these practices, like stroke and cancer. The combination of (1) minimal physical movements to burn excess calories and body fat and (2) relying on fast-food as a means of immediate comfort makes it almost inevitable for DOST 02 employees to be at risk of developing non-communicable diseases.

In the last quarter of 2018, the regional director and the human resource management observed that employees were gaining weight and increasing utilization of their sick leaves. The agency is aware of the hazards of exposure to situations that may affect an employee’s health and recognizes their need for protection. Additionally, the agency heads acknowledged that health challenges may still be unknown to some staff, and they anticipate the staff may ask for help in the future. These concerns led to establishing the DOST Care Team, which would provide healthcare services to the entire agency workforce.

The overall objective of DOST Care is to monitor the basic health status of the DOST 02 personnel by offering the following tests: blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and fasting blood glucose/ random blood glucose. These tests provide important information and impose a concern for health among their staff, encouraging them to be checked by a physician and educating them on the advantages of possibly obtaining an early diagnosis should they have a disease or condition needing attention. The project also raises employees’ awareness of their health situation and enables them to seek immediate intervention. Other than that, DOST Care also provides basic health interventions to address health issues experienced by the DOST 02 employees, enabling them to be more efficient in the organization by preventing further damage to their health.

Solution and Impact

DOST Care was one of the workplace health promotion practices of the agency targeting the prevention of non-communicable diseases brought forth by unhealthy habits and sedentary lifestyles. This practice provides the necessary information on the health of the DOST 02 employees, limited to blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and blood glucose. The DOST Care thus serves as a health promotion program that instills in its employees a mindset to prioritize their health. With continuous improvement, they will eventually consider it an effective practice in improving health-related outcomes and preventing or decreasing health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

It was also observed that most of the agency’s senior leaders had already been diagnosed with non-communicable diseases, making them unable to undertake their respective duties. DOST Care addresses this problem by constantly monitoring senior leaders’ health to improve their health status, enhance productivity, reduce sick leaves, reduce turnover and absenteeism. They also hoped that the junior employees, who will soon be the senior leaders, would become more aware of their health status and start considering a healthy lifestyle, rendering them physically ready and fit for future responsibilities in the agency.

The practice started with profiling DOST employees to determine who already had underlying diseases and who were prone to acquiring such so they could be prioritized in health monitoring. The priority health check is immediately conducted upon request of the employees or those staff who are manifesting symptoms. From that point onwards, the team has been conducting the tests once a month, analyzing the results so that those whose numbers fall outside the normal range are provided with non-pharmacological interventions.

They gathered normal values for the different tests from these reliable sources: American Lung Society for Oxygen Saturation, American Heart Society for Heart Rate; Joint National Committee -7 for Blood Pressure; and WebMD for Blood Glucose.

The team records all data gathered in its database, which is kept confidential and can only be accessed by them. Thus, they can monitor the trends in each employee’s health status. The employee may request the results from check-ups for personal purposes, and if results continue to fall outside the normal range for three (3) consecutive check-ups, they would advise the employee to see a physician.

DOST Care, with the support of the agency’s Human Resources, has initiated seminars necessary to provide additional knowledge regarding one’s health. They conducted a seminar last October 2019 that addressed two health issues the agency currently faces: Tobacco Smoke and Mental Health in the workplace.

Milestones/Next Steps

The DOST Care was recognized as one of the agency’s leadership approaches contributing to the agency’s success in achieving PQA Level II, considered the highest award given to an organization. It will also expand its tests to include Body Mass Index (BMI) monitoring, which is essential in managing and preventing non-communicable diseases.

DOST Care will also provide statistics and necessary information to HR to plan other health-related seminars that will provide additional health information to its employees. The agency initially planned a seminar focusing on non-communicable diseases, basic over-the-counter drug knowledge, and coping with workplace stress. However, these activities were postponed because of the pandemic but will resume once everything goes back to normal.

With the current situation of the country, persistent and more tedious health monitoring is needed. People with co-morbidities like hypertension, diabetes, respiratory illness, and other diseases are more prone to be infected by the coronavirus. DOST Care promotes the welfare of its staff through the early provision of the necessary information for monitoring their health, indirectly preventing the spread of COVID-19.

In coordination with its HR, DOST Care is currently crafting systems that would monitor other necessary information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The system would include a temperature monitoring and symptoms survey, which will greatly help the DOST 02 employees prevent the spread of the virus, especially if a DOST 02 employee is found to be a COVID-19 carrier. DOST Care, through HR, also initiated its Contact Information Sheet and monitoring system for clients; it will be useful in contact tracing if one of their customers is diagnosed with COVID-19.

Agency staff is asked to maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep their immune system strong. Through DOST Care, the DOST 02 employees are constantly aware of their current health status, which helps prevent the spread of diseases and other health issues that would be detrimental to them.

Organization

Governance Commission for Government-owned-or-controlled Corporations

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Human Resource, Operations

Year Implemented

11 May 2020

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

At the onset of the pandemic, GCG personnel experienced several difficulties concerning their regular work operations. Their issues were around adopting work-from-home arrangements and health concerns around the ongoing pandemic. In light of this, the agency implemented interventions specific to each problem they observed. Namely, their interventions were remote access to their Data Management System (DMS), a weekly health status survey, reformed policies on alternative work arrangements, an Identification Barcode System, and an Online Employee Information Management System (EIMS). These interventions have helped their personnel adapt to the new normal, and these interventions were so successful that they continued to be implemented long after.

Background and Problem

At the onset of the pandemic, GCG personnel experienced a number of difficulties in relation to their regular work operations. One of the main issues was around the adoption of work-from-home arrangements. Personnel raised many questions relating to other office policies. For example, what to do if they contracted the virus, to whom they should report, how they could file a leave, how their leave credits would be charged, and alike. And in relation to the previous point, monitoring personnel’s time-in and time-out of GCG became near-impossible given the disruption in work arrangements. Also, given the alternative work arrangements, there were some difficulties in delivering outputs as some outputs are heavily dependent on official documents or submissions from their stakeholders. These were only accessible via the agency’s Data Management System (DMS), their central repository for official documents.

There were some health concerns around the pandemic. Health Monitoring was limited and relegated to immediate supervisors rather than some formalized system. Moreover, there was concern about the agency’s dependence on the Biometrics System in timing. This was a concern since the virus can be contracted through surface contact.

Solution and Impact

To address these problems, the agency employed solutions addressing each problem.

1. Remote Access to the DMS was enabled so that even those who are working from home could access the agency’s central repository for official documents.
2. A weekly health status survey was developed by the Human Capital Management Division (HCMD) to have a centralized weekly monitoring system for the health and well-being of its personnel. Particularly, it is cascaded every Wednesday of the week, and the report per office is sent to the respective Directors for them to be apprised of the health and well-being of their respective personnel every week. This was further improved to include monitoring those who have already been vaccinated or are waiting for their respective schedules.
3. Policies on alternative work arrangements were also developed for GCG personnel on what to do, who to report to, what their rights are with respect to their leave availments, and their respective work arrangements.
4. An ID barcode system was developed to circumvent the biometrics system’s necessity of touching surfaces.
5. An online Employee Information Management System (EIMS) was developed to enable even those working from home to time-in and time-out through the comfort of their homes using their laptops or cellphones. Daily Time Records could be generated for payroll purposes as an added benefit. Directors were also given their dashboards to monitor the physical reporting of their personnel as well as the time-in and time-out.

Overall, the aforementioned best practices gave the agency and its personnel ways to adapt to the new normal while ensuring the continuous operations of the agency despite the pandemic. And in terms of their long-term impact, the agency had the luxury of only needing to make minimal changes in light of changing pronouncements, given they already had the required programs in place.

Milestones

Remote access to the DMS is still being implemented in the agency, especially for those working from home. As a way forward, the agency is looking to have personal laptops that can access the DMS while also implementing supplementary protocols to ensure the confidentiality of official documents.
The weekly health survey was used in conceptualizing other programs in the agency. One program, in particular, was an onsite vaccination program. The survey is continuously improving to include personnel’s mental health. In the future, the revised survey may lead to other programs.
Policies on alternative work arrangements are still ever-changing, subject to the official pronouncements from the Office of the President. However, recent developments to the policies have been instrumental in allowing GCG personnel to physically report to the office as needed, with the added benefit of free motor pool services from the agency.

The online EIMS has been a critical monitoring tool for personnel’s observance of health protocols and their time-in and time-out. This monitoring has given directors the necessary information to change the schedule of physical reporting and WFH every month. The tool has also been updated to allow their Human Resources department other functions, such as changing whether selected personnel will work from home or on-site, generating ID barcodes for newly-hired personnel and allowing them access to the Online EIMS, and deactivating those who are separated from service.

Organization

Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Strategy

Year Implemented

25 June 2018- Present

This is a GBPR Entry

Summary

The Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO) recognized the primary responsibility of locals in addressing environmental problems. They initiated the 1M Kahoy Project. It is a province-wide tree-growing activity in which the component city participates. It has also grown to support the livelihood of communities.

Background and Problem

In September 2017, the Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO) was created to focus more on effectively governing the environment in the Province of Capiz. Since its establishment, it has been committed to developing, promoting, and implementing programs toward an ecologically sustainable and resilient Capiz. And in recognizing the primary responsibility of locals in addressing environmental problems, they initiated the 1M Kahoy Project.

Specifically, the 1M Kahoy Project aimed to address the following identified gaps in Capiz directly:

1. There was no existing agency in the province that conducted sustainability programs. Relatedly, there was also a lack of environmental programs being implemented.
2. The degradation of forest cover in the province was substantially high. Particularly, Capiz only had nine percent (9%) remaining forest cover;
3. There is a need to create Climate Change Mitigation at the local level.
4. There is a lack of coordination and collaboration among the various local stakeholders of Capiz, from NGAs, LGUs, NGOs, Academe, and other sectors on environmental conservation, protection, and restoration.

Solution and Impact

The 1 Million Kahoy Project was formulated as a province-wide tree-growing activity. And aside from the component city, municipalities, barangays, Local Government Units (LGUs), National Government Agencies (NGAs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, the business sector, civic organizations, religious organizations, People’s Organizations (POs), and even private individuals were also encouraged to join. And every Capisnon who is 12 years old and above was also eligible to participate in the activity.

The CaPENRO’s efforts brought the following results for the 1 Million Kahoy Project:

1. 1,146,755 trees were planted in 2018, and the activity had 167,195 participants
2. 667, 160 trees were planted in 2019, and there were 41,874 participants
3. 1,747,518 trees were planted in 2020, and there were 40,026 participants

Across all years, not just one sector but various sectors were represented. The 2018 implementation had 74,608 from NGAs, and the 2019 implementation had 34,689 from academic institutions. The reforestation of deforested areas in the mountains of Capiz.

Over time, the project’s scope has also grown to create livelihood opportunities for communities from coastal or upland areas. One community, particularly, was from the Integrated Social Forestry’s (ISF) beneficiaries. The ISF is also a greening project initiated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which has been devolved to the LGUs of Capiz.

As part of the 1 Million Kahoy Project, ISF beneficiaries were given materials to kick off their livelihood projects, and they were also partnered with business sector stakeholders in Capiz. On the other hand, business sector stakeholders were also encouraged to metaphorically adopt certain ISF beneficiaries by financially supporting their production of seedlings for reforestation. Through these arrangements, business sector stakeholders have supported the 1 Million Kahoy Project and helped the ISF beneficiaries who are also part of a greening effort in Capiz.

Milestones

The project’s success led it to be recognized as a significant contributor to the DENR’s National Greening Program. Moreover, the project’s success has also come to be critical for the Philippine Coconut Authority Agricultural Research Program for Climate Mitigation, Resiliency, and Response, the Department of Agriculture and Department of Education’s Tree Planting and Greening Program, the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCAM) through enabling cash for work. And because it has been so successful, other LGUs and organizations have also started their initiatives similar to it.

Organization

Central Bicol State University of Agriculture

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy

Year Implemented

22 August 2020 – present

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

The Philippines called upon its higher education institutions to adhere to the Internationalization Policy Framework Transnational Higher Education Law. As such, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) decided to form partnerships with foreign higher education institutions, crucially establishing their International Credit Transfer Program (ICTP). Because of this program, students were able to enroll in foreign universities, and as a bonus, their faculty was also able to engage in speaking engagements and research projects with other universities despite the onset of the pandemic.

Background and Problem

With Globalization on the rise, the Philippines, through Its Commission on Higher Education (CHED), called upon the country’s higher education institutions, including the CBSUA, to adhere to the mandates stated in CHED Memo No. 55, s. 2016, the Internationalization Policy Framework. This is made all the more pertinent given the issues raised in the Transnational Higher Education Law or RA 11448 authorizing SUCs to engage in internationalization programs and activities. And crucially for CBSUA, internationalization is vital since it is one of the key areas for their SUC Leveling, their Quacquarelli Symonds Ranking, and their AACCUP Accreditation Level IV.

Solution and Impact

The CBSUA, through its Office of the Vice President for Business and External Affairs and the College of Development Education (CDE), focused on the intensification of its internationalization initiatives, giving special attention to the formation of international partnerships and linkages with universities across Asia and Europe. Through many meetings and planning, Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) and Understanding (MOU) were arranged with some of the world’s leading universities to participate and sponsor various activities for CBSUA.

A notable result of these partnerships was that, during the onset of the pandemic, more students than ever before were able to enroll in foreign universities through the International Credit Transfer Program (ICTP). And despite the pandemic, CBSUA faculty were also able to continue participating in research projects, lectures, webinars, and presentations sponsored by both local and foreign partner universities. Said faculty research projects were even set to be published in international-refereed journals. And through the lectures and presentations facilitated by these partnerships, CBSUA faculty and students also become more aware of the cultural and social practices and values of the partner universities and the respective countries.

Milestones

In December 2020, their internationalization endeavors allowed the College of Development Education (CDE) to attain the highest score in its Phase II, Level IV Accreditation by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP). Their endeavors also led them to be among the Top 16 in the First Philippine Higher Education Internationalization Award in May 2021, organized by the CHED and the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU).

Notably, they were the only SUC from Region V to receive such an award. And because of this distinction, CBSUA, through the College of Development Education, was invited to co-host the 54th ASEAN DAY Celebration in their region, an event where internationalization efforts of state universities and colleges are awarded. And because of the successes of CBSUA’s internationalization efforts, other state colleges and universities have also started to benchmark and employ the university’sCDE’s best practices.

Organization

Bukidnon State University

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

15 August 2008

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

Bukidnon State University, as one of the premier institutions in higher education, maintains a quality service for the satisfaction of its stakeholders. To achieve transparency in the service, open communication through the Brace D’ Link program is being practiced in the university. It is known as “Student’s Day with the Administration,” designed to strengthen the communication between the students and the administration. This program started through the initiative of University President Dr. Oscar B. Cabañelez, then the Vice-President for Administration, Planning, and Development of Bukidnon State University (formerly Bukidnon State College) in 2008 and was conducted every semester. He envisioned the link between the students and the administration. The program became an avenue of discussion, improving the quality of services, setting up state-of-the-art facilities, and establishing infrastructures.

Background and Problem

Communication strengthens the relationship among members of any society. A strong society performs its tasks and hits its goal. Transparency of operation in any organization promotes an orderly system and trust among the administrators, staff, and students.

In line with the survey results, a mechanism for open communication between the administration, academe, and students was initiated to address concerns at Bukidnon State University. Unit heads of the various frontline and student services are to present their respective tasks. An open forum will follow the presentation. University officials may also give some inputs that would clarify the answers to some concerns.

Objectives:

1. Evaluation of the conduct of the Brace d’ Link Program
2. Analysis of issues, problems, and concerns raised, and responses were given on these during the Brace d’ Link Programs
3. Identify the impact on the administration and the students
4. Present the functions and workflow of the different administrative offices
5. Strengthen the relationship among the Administrative Unit Heads, Academic Unit Heads, and the Students in the university

Solution and Impact

As a solution, the Brace D’Link program employs three major parts: the presentation of the office functions and responsibilities by the different administrative unit heads, followed by the raising of problems and concerns with specific suggestions/recommendations from the student leader or students and the conveying or relating to the students the actions/plans taken by the administration on the particular issues raised. This is participated in by the different administrative units, including the Finance Office, the Human Resource Management Office, the Chief Administrative Office, the ICT-Services Unit, the Supply Office, the Academic Units like the Office of the Student Services, the Registrar, Libraries and the College Deans from the different colleges – College of Arts and Science, College of Business, College of Nursing, College of Social Development and Technology. Meanwhile, students are represented by the Supreme Student Council (SSC) Officers, the Student Body Organization of the different colleges, and all university students.

For the presentation of office functions and responsibilities, each unit head is given three (3) minutes to explain one’s tasks. Brochures or handouts could be distributed to the participants for a better understanding of the functions, and a PowerPoint presentation may also be used. The Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) acts as a moderator and presents the mechanics for a smooth forum. The participants are expected to listen attentively and are discouraged from interrupting the official delivering the talk. All questions or points for clarification should be raised during the second part of the program, which is raising the issues or concerns.

For the mechanics of how to raise issues and concerns, questions are limited to the topics presented. Other matters may be raised in the latter part of the program if time permits. The proponent shall first be properly acknowledged before being given the floor to raise questions. The proponent will only be allowed to raise a maximum of two (2) questions to give a chance to other participants to raise their questions. The proponent shall address the person to whom a question is directed. Questions that cannot be raised on the floor and cannot be answered by any speaker due to lack of time will have to be written on the sheet of paper to be given by the Supreme Student Council officers. For written questions, participants must indicate their name, college, and course on the paper with the questions, with the name of the person to whom the questions are directed. The sheets will be collected and collated by the SSC officers and will be sent to the concerned speakers. Answers to the written questions will also be gathered and printed to form part of the Brace D’ Link documents, which will be the basis for administrative actions.

For the third part of the program, which is the conveyance of the actions taken, the moderator/speakers will convey to the participants the actions taken and the administration’s plans on the issues/concerns raised. Any participant may also be allowed to provide comments and suggestions to the presenters for a maximum of two (2) minutes.

Milestones/Next Steps

It is noted that the Brace D’ Link has facilitated open communications between students and the administration from 2008 up to the present. The program has been remarkably noted as one of the best practices of Bukidnon State University. This has been confirmed during the accreditation process undertaken by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines, Inc. (AACCUP, Inc.), and recommended it to continue. Aside from that, based on the Evaluation Report gathered after the program, students affirmed the continuous implementation of Brace D’ Link.