DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology director Enrico Paringit (Photo courtesy of DOST)
MANILA – An executive of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is urging everyone, especially those in the government sector, to enroll in the agency's "Smarter Philippines Through R&D, Training and Adoption" (SPARTA) program and Freedom of Information (FOI) 101, a course that can be availed of via the program.
"PCOO (Presidential Communications Operations Office) employees are encouraged to avail of the training opportunities through the SPARTA. We also call on other government agencies to partner with us at the DOST and DAP (Development Academy of the Philippines) in coming up with their own data analytics platform as a way to enhance their services," DOST - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology director Enrico Paringit told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview on Thursday.
The DOST and DAP have partnered to produce 30,000 data scientists via online learning, through the SPARTA program that was launched in February.
Paringit said the DAP initiated a discussion with the PCOO, "with the end-goal of using data science to foster FOI, and use tools to enable smart governance."
PCOO Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan also enrolled in SPARTA, he said.
"(The) DAP signed a MOA (memorandum of agreement) with the PCOO last October 26. The PCOO staff will undergo training using the SPARTA modules," Paringit said, noting that the course is open to the public.
The course, he said, was contextualized, specifically to the PCOO's functions.
"They (enrollees) will work on government data under the FOI as case studies," Paringit said.
Among the examples or case studies they could work on are records of applications lodged in the different government agencies, feedback from citizens regarding turnaround of requested documents, data on different projects, and plans and programs of agencies, he said.
"(The) cooperation exemplifies some of the expectations that we have under the Good Governance through Data Science and Decision Support System (GODDESS) framework. We are a strong believer of information-based, data-driven, science-informed governance. We need to enable government agencies to possess the skills for this to happen," Paringit said.
He estimated that 13,000 have availed of the SPARTA program and 545 of them have enrolled in FOI 101.
There is also an "FOI: An Introduction" elective subject.
Other subjects in the SPARTA are the "SP101 – Getting Grounded on Analytics" and "SP201 – Essential Excel Skills for Data Preparation and Analysis”.
Paringit clarified that FOI 101 is a set of courses that includes the SPARTA subjects.
One can finish the courses at his or her own pace and 1,500 people have completed the online training, he said.
A total of 19 modules have been developed for five different technical tracks: data engineer, architect, database admin or manager, analyst, and modeler.
"The PCOO asked for a specific course more attuned to their requirements. So it's good that Attorney Kris took the course because he had a good idea what his office needed," Paringit said. (PNA)
