AS-DELIVERED SPECIAL REMARKS
ON THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ADB-NEDA PARTNERSHIP
SOCIOECONOMIC PLANNING SECRETARY KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA

ADB Knowledge Forum 2021 (Track 2: Processes and Systems)
Future-Proofing Knowledge Management Systems in Asia and the Pacific:
The Case of NEDA
1 October 2021, 2:00-3:00 p.m.

ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Bambang Susantono; ADB Country Director Kelly Bird; Mr. Vivek Raman, the Principal Knowledge Sharing and Services Specialist, Undersecretary Rose Edillon, Director Nerrisa Esguerra, our partners from the Asian Development Bank; the National Economic and Development Authority; colleagues in government; stakeholders; good afternoon to all of you.

Partnership with the Asian Development Bank on Knowledge Management

In 2019, the Philippine government identified NEDA as the lead agency for the Philippines’ Country Knowledge Program of the ADB. Since then, we have been working closely with ADB to strengthen NEDA’s knowledge-generation, dissemination, and management services and capacity.

Our partnership was later formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed on December 9, 2020. This has furthered ADB’s support for NEDA’s knowledge management program. Through this collaboration, ADB provided NEDA with strategic support for knowledge management through the assessment of KM processes, capacity building, and the development of a KM strategy.

Furthermore, ADB also assisted NEDA in defining the functions of our new Knowledge Management Division under the Development Information Staff. These will be key in making our systems more efficient.

Knowledge work in NEDA

As the country’s socio-economic planning agency, NEDA is mandated to forecast macroeconomic indicators, analyze policies, and appraise and monitor programs and projects. These outputs are used to provide high-level advice to policymakers both in the Congress and in the executive branch. Likewise, various agencies, officials, development partners, and stakeholders use the reports of NEDA on the progress of major programs and projects.

To deliver more in these trying times, NEDA can further improve our knowledge management systems, with many processes still being done manually today and in silos. We are now in the final stretch of this administration, and my priority is to give the next administration a stronger NEDA foundation in the areas of organizational improvement, human resource, the use of data science, technology, innovation, innovative business processes, digital transformation, and knowledge management. We are currently facing an unprecedented crisis and we need to document lessons learned to help policymakers today and in the future. Hence, we need to have a system in place to keep and share this knowledge more efficiently and effectively.

Knowledge management initiatives

The new normal has underscored the importance and urgency for knowledge management and digital transformation. For instance, alternative work arrangements have made it more challenging for staff to collaborate and share knowledge among staff and even with our clients and stakeholders.

These challenges present opportunities for us to pursue reforms. Personally, I have always believed and advocated for better data management within the government in order to strengthen policy-making and service delivery. For the country to reach its next stage of development, and to sustain it as an upper middle income country, we need to innovate. And for this to become a national policy, we need to set an example within NEDA and within our agencies.

Currently, NEDA is creating various dashboards and enhancing our data repositories so we can have a “single source of truth.” This will allow us to monitor programs, projects, and internal processes more efficiently and give us more time to focus on the more value-adding aspects of our work.

Closing

While more work is needed, we are glad to have taken the first step towards institutionalizing knowledge management. I am optimistic that our partnership will pave the way for NEDA to become an even more future-ready organization and set the example for the rest of the public sector. We are grateful to ADB for your support and we look forward to a continuously good relations with you, working together towards our AmBisyon Natin 2040 vision.

Thank you very much and stay safe.

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