DILG Bohol formalizes LGRC,

shapes multisec advise group

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 10 (PIA) –With the number of local government units benchmarking Bohol’s successful processes, is there a drawer directory of sorts, of best practices and programs that we can look on to, in the government’s ultimate goal of developing LGU capacities for real devolution?

Technically yes. And no.

While national government agencies keep knowledge management systems of their programs, projects, processes and even directory of contacts and clients, these data could be of even better use if these are accessible to anyone who would need them, explains Department of Interior and Local Government Bohol Provincial Director Jerome Gonzales, in an organizational meeting held recently.

Intent on advancing knowledge management among the agencies in government, non-government organizations and service sectors and the academic knowledge management institutes by coming up with a unified collaborative platform called Local Governance Resource Center (LGRC), the DILG intends to formalize the establishment of a common resource center accessible to its multi-sectoral members who would also like to access the information fast, for their development planning and community capacity development interventions and activities.

During the organization meeting for the Multi-Sectoral Advisory Council (MSAC) held at the DILG Provincial Office March 9, DILG PD Gonzales said such a resource would ultimately be a valuable shared “go-to” platform for information, when government agencies and sectors implement their specific community capacity development programs and projects and want data as back up.

When the new developmental planning tends to be scientific in their approaches, information would be the fodder to their plans, but often times, these are hard to access, or is not systematically filed that one has to pore through the agency office archives to get it, a meeting participant commented.

This won’t be an issue anymore, if the LGRC goes live and operational.

When it does, it would be a step towards building a culture of learning, comments Lindsey Marie Vismanos, a local government operations officer at the DILG.

But before this gets going, agencies need to pitch in their consent, thus the DILG convened the Multi Sectoral Advisory Council (MSAC) for the LGRC.

Should the agencies agree to share their kept knowledge systems and databases, except of course those that are protected by the freedom of information exclusions, and those that the agencies are not yet ready to make available, then the center can take on its initial steps.

According to the DILG, this would be a dynamic resource center, building on its own updated information, and possibly aiding governments in simplifying its processes as practiced by other agencies.

This can also facilitate harmonized standards for development, benchmark thresholds and facilitate further development as it transforms to be truly accessible and relevant.

This should also unify the system and information which the civil society organizations seek in helping their assisted communities, adds Francis Bernard Batoy, of the Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, a local NGO.

In a few weeks, the DILG hopes it could convince agencies to bank on the usefulness of the LGRC and also trim their systems and processes, without the need for reinvention.

And by then, seeking Bohol’s best practices for replication by other organizations could be the next best thing that the system can give to local government units. (PIA-7/Bohol)

ADVANCING LGU CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT. There is no need to reinvent the wheel of sorts, when there have already been proven good reliable and working systems and practices by knowledge managers in separate government units. If these data is systematically banked and made available, it would be a huge help for benchmarking LGUs, hints the DILG through PD Jerome Gonzales. (PIAbohol)

BABY STEPS. The DILG sets up the MSAC for the LGRC operationalization which could make data and kept information available and more accessible to development advocates, planners and NGOs capacitating communities. (PIABohol)