As 2012 looms, ZCHRD preps up to welcome the incoming year with enthusiasm as it conducted its strategic and work financial planning last December 12-13, 2011. Dr. Teresita G. Montaño said that well defined strategic and work financial plans are the core of any organization that would want to boost their growth in terms of health researchers.
The consortium Chair facilitated the 2-day activity all throughout, consequently moving around from one table to another entertaining queries and provides inputs to the four (4) committees.
The members revisited the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the consortium to determine its applicability to the current situation of the Peninsula. Modifications were made to effectively address the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA). The research agenda of the consortium was also reviewed. It was tailor-fitted to target each if not all the priority areas of PCHRD.
The committee workshop proper began with Dr. Montaño addressing the committees to submit at least two (2) activities per committee, some suggested a Mentoring program, a literature review workshop, and other dovetailed activities targeted in problem-based projects/plans.
Research and development (R&D) stressed the need to have a procedures manual and an R&D agenda for ZCHRD. They also saw the need to prepare for the 2013 Regional Health Research Summit in collaboration with the Department of Health IX through a forum on health research. The protocols that will be reviewed by R&D for the said forum will be reviewed and screened based on the event’s theme. The said screening will also be the avenue to select presenters for the 2013 regional health research summit of ZCHRD.
Ma. Agnes Z. Mabolo, DOH IX Medical Specialist & Research Coordinator, and concurrent chair of the quad media arm of the consortium, the Research Information and Communication, Utilization and Publications Committee (RICUP) will be spearheading the said event of DOH.
As part of RICU’s effort in promoting health research in the region, Dr. Mabolo stressed in their committee discussion the need to increase the awareness of Zamboangueños to include Isabelanos of Isabela City, Basilan. With the region’s limited access to the internet, it is the responsibility of government through its agencies to help disseminate new knowledge gained from breakthroughs in health through information technology. The population is a double-edged sword, it is up to government on how to use the people to advance public interest, the medical specialist said.
RICU will employ quad media to penetrate different locales. Radio and print for the rural areas, television (tv), radio, and some print materials for the Rurban, and tv & the internet for the urbanized area. As a conclusion of the RICU’s activities, an information drive to be implemented in the provinces will be conducted first.
The Ethics Review Committee (ERC) of the consortium on the other hand proposed to capacitate their members with advance training in ethics review. In its quest for improvement, the ERC will revisit their operations manual to include updates from the recently concluded ethics review training. This will include the adaption of ISO standard forms and improvements in the content of the manual to include the process of ethics review. Ethics Committee will also facilitate in the screening of research papers for the September 05, 2012 health research forum, and the literature review write shop of the Human Resource Development Committee.
While the three committees will be busy in streamlining processes and improve networks and linkages with stakeholders, the Human Resource Development Committee headed by the social scientist Dr. Servando D. Halili, Jr. with his team proposed to conduct a workshop on literature review writing. The objective of this workshop will be to capacitate novice, beginning, and proficient professional researchers with the knowledge in writing the theoretical backbone of researches. The proposals derived from this workshop will then be refined according to PCHRD’s standards for possible funding.
The Strategic and Work Financial Planning ended with a luncheon with all the members of the different committees after submitting proposals in soft copies to the consortium secretariat. RICUP met immediately after the workshop to plan schedule their activities for 2012 primarily the Information drive in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.
