Briefing Room
THESIS IT EVENT
THESISIT! Research Ideation Virtual Campus Tours Kickoff in Partnership with St. Alexius College
With about 200 students, faculty members, and school administrators of St. Alexius College in attendance, the CITELOCAL Coalition’s THESISIT! Virtual Campus Tours kicked off with a Research Ideation Workshop graced by the participation of Miss Philippines Fire 2021 Roni Meneses and keynoted by the presentation of THESISIT! Fellow Dr. Erwin Faller’s research on the implementation of the Universal Health Care law in the Philippines.
The workshop is the first in a series of virtual campus tours co-organized by the CITELOCAL Coalition’s THESISIT! Research Fellows who have since August this year been participating in weekly learning and mentoring sessions with the aim of exploring the possible alignment of their respective academic research interests with the needs of local policy makers and communities. The campus tours will see the policy specialists of the CITELOCAL Coalition and its key private sector and other civil society partners led by Balikatan sa Kaunlaran National Foundation, Miss Philippines Earth and Miss Earth Foundation, and the Ecosystem mobile app engaging and interacting with students fro the educational institutes where the Fellows are currently enrolled or affiliated.
Pharmacists as Key Stakeholders in Implementing the Policy Goals of the Universal Health Care Act
Dr. Erwin Faller, Director of the Internationalization and Linkages Office, San Pedro College, Davao City and a collaborator of the St. Alexius College in Koronadal, South Cotabato shared his research on the Challenging Role of Pharmacists in Achieving Universal Health Coverage in the context of the country’s commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 and the various dynamics of local health care delivery under a fragment health system and devolved public health services in the country.
Dr. Faller’s research is especially insightful as it addresses an often overlooked policy stakeholder in the country’s health care system which needs to be considered in light of the new phase of devolution ushered by the Supreme Court’s Mandanas-Garcia decision and operationalized under the framework of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 138. By highlighting the constraints faced by pharmacists in playing a more pro-active role in achieving universal health coverage, Dr. Faller brings into dialogue with policymakers the needs of pharmacists as stakeholders, including addressing barriers involving the public’s literacy on medical drugs, developing and implementing institutional and policy frameworks such as guidelines for the practice of pharmacy in the Philippines and a stronger presence for pharmacists across all levels of health care.
A Framework for Policy-Responsive Research: The CITELOCAL Paradigm
BSK Executive Director and CITELOCAL Lead Convenor RR Rañeses presented likewise during the virtual workshop the CITELOCAL Framework for integrating academic and technical scientific research into the Philippine government’s policymaking environment and landscape of decision makers and stakeholders. Rañeses invited the participants to use the framework in conceptualizing their research proposals by making the most use of all parts and components of the research output and process in supplying knowledge and insights useful to policy makers across all levels of the policy process and in accordance with the particular needs of policy actors.