School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet)

Building the research capacity of a government agency by training their personnel in conducting research and using this research for policy and advocacy was the key objective of this training-workshop on ‘Research and Data for Policy and Practice’.

Held from 7-8 November 2015 at the Cocoon Hotel in Manila, 18 staff and personnel from Manila and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF)participated in this workshop. Conducted as part of the project on pluralist justice, women and peacebuilding in Mindanao, Philippines, the sessions were delivered by Dr Imelda Deinla, Chief Investigator, and by two ANU PhD graduates, Dr Acram Latiph (Mindanao State University) and Dr Erlidia Clarke (Philippine General Hospital-University of the Philippines).

The NCMF is the Philippine government agency with a mandate to promote the culture and general welfare of Muslim Filipinos. With a new and vibrant leadership headed by Secretary Yasmin Busran Lao, the NCMF hopes to enhance the capacity of the agency in delivering relevant and effective services to the Muslim population by building knowledge and skills of its personnel. The outcome of the activity was four research proposals, in the form of basic research designs by participants, that focus on addressing issues of birth spacing, impact of conflict on family relationships, causes of under-reporting of violence against women, and the necessity to build a baseline data for the agency. The value of this training workshop to the NCMF was demonstrated by the presence and support of Commissioner Analiza Florez-Malayang, who was impressed by the participant’s enthusiasm and the workshop outcomes.

It is hoped that ANU will continue to provide continuing support to NCMF by assisting the staff in refining the survey and research design on the baseline data in the ARMM and providing training and advice on conducting the surveys.