The coronavirus pandemic has a massive impact on the health, social, and economic status of countries on a global scale. In the Philippines, it continues to affect thousands of Filipinos and disrupt the economy. The pandemic has also unmasked weaknesses in governance systems and structures. To be able to help the country get back on track and prepare for future risks, the government has to embrace much-needed reforms and innovations. Lessons can be drawn from both domestic and international experiences in mitigating the effects of the pandemic and in dealing with similar crises. It is also important for the government to pursue a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to be able to move forward from this crisis. Browse through the slides to know more about institutional reforms and innovation, which are among the topics featured in this year’s Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration.

Governments need to continuously innovate as they are at the forefront of mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and other threats. One way to do this is by strengthening and upskilling the civil service, which requires developing the various capacities of the public sector workforce. The experience of various countries has shown that innovating civil service is doable. They focused on training and retooling their people, providing career incentives to hire better and motivated workers, and encouraging creativity and development of innovative ideas among civil servants. Replicating these innovations in the Philippines requires an environment where innovative ideas from civil servants are encouraged; continuous learning, internal feedback, and public consultations are promoted, and capacity building through education and training programs is sustained.

Browse through the slides to know more about innovating the civil service, which is among the topics featured in this year’s Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration.

The content of this slide show was based on the PIDS discussion paper titled “Innovating governance: Building resilience against COVID-19 pandemic and other risks”. Download the full text here: https://www.pids.gov.ph/publications/7126.

One way to innovate governance is through e-government or the use of information and communications (ICT) technology across the public sector to boost the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the government and its entities. E-government is not a new concept. It was introduced in the 1990s, but the use of ICT in government started way back in the 1970s. There are several country models of e-governments. Notable examples include the Canadian and Estonian models, which have been successful in providing seamless government services. Developing countries around the world, despite their limited resources, have also adopted e-government but with limited success. These failures can be attributed to barriers that hinder the implementation of e-government solutions, such as digital divide, absence of a proper legal framework, and ICT infrastructure issues. In the Philippines, e-government initiatives began in the 2000s with the adoption of the Government Information Systems Plan. Other notable initiatives include the e-Commerce Act, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and the Data Privacy Act. Despite these, the country has not fully harnessed the potentials of ICT to improve public governance. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the county’s long-standing challenges in using ICT in addressing governance and service delivery problems. Using e-government solutions to innovate public sector governance in the new normal is among the topics featured in this year’s Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration.

The content of this slide show was based on the PIDS discussion paper titled “Innovating governance: Building resilience against COVID-19 pandemic and other risks”. Download the full text here: https://www.pids.gov.ph/publications/7126.

In addressing the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government should adopt the smart city concept and smart governance framework for seamless service delivery and sustainable development. Smart cities are not new in the Philippines; there are existing smart city designs like those in the New Clark City, Makati City, and Davao City. To take advantage of these smart systems, there should be a proper legal framework stipulating protocols and standards as well as public and stakeholder participation. Long-term planning, proactive infrastructure, human capacity build-up, responsive and focused leadership, and public participation and trust are also important. The country can learn from its Southeast Asian peers’ smart system initiatives, such as Singapore's Smart Nation Initiative and South Korea's digital governance. Adopting smart solutions must consider the political, physical, technological, economic, and sociocultural requirements.

Smart systems and smart governance are among the topics featured in this year’s Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration.

The content of this slide show was based on the PIDS discussion paper titled “Innovating governance: Building resilience against COVID-19 pandemic and other risks”. Download the full text here: https://www.pids.gov.ph/publications/7126.