The Ministry of Human Settlements and Development joined the first round of the BARMM Open Data Workshop held at the Em Manor Convention, Cotabato City on June 22-24, 2022.

Cirrolityx Research Services facilitated the activities with key resource speakers Mark Toledo, Associate Consultant Big Data Engineer, and Francis Walter Afable, Program Officer, covering topics on identifying Data Sourcing and Open Data, Data mapping and Data policy, and Data storytelling and actionable data.

Open Data Connect was demonstrated on the last day, where representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs), academe, and other agencies involved with Data Science, were invited to view Cirrolytix’s mission for BARMM to be a data-driven government.

“Series of exercises were conducted during the workshops for us to identify the data we need, data we can share, and data we should have,” shared John Anthony M. Ocumen, Policy Researcher and one of the MHSD’s representatives for the activity.

During the training, the MHSD described the ministry’s mandates, vision, and mission and cross-referenced data between and among other ministries.

“We identified key performance indicators and actionable solutions. During the Open Data Connect, we shared our experiences at the MHSD and how they relate using data sourced from other ministries and using different dashboards that were personally handwritten to showcase our creativity,” Ocumen added.

“Layers of issues that compound our problems can be solved by applying tools that can only be produced by information technology in the new ways that we use today,” Abdulhamid C. Alawi, Jr., Director for Technical and Regulatory Services said via video message during the Open Data Connect, where he also shared his gratitude to the activity facilitators for giving the MHSD the opportunity to further capacitate its employees.