10. Community-University Partnerships for Improved Governance

Representatives of nongovernment organizations (NGOs), local government units (LGUs), and national government agencies (NGAs) have identified the dearth of indigenous knowledge system in the community where sensible information could emanate from as the cause of poor local planning and development. Thus, they have posited the need to interlock theory-practice-research to produce better qualified graduates and to enable a continuing curriculum enhancement through the documented gains and challenges met along the way. To fill the gap between theory and practice, technology of participation was used in action research to develop research-oriented curriculum for BS in Public Administration (BSPA). Relevant information was gathered from the needs, experiences, and practices of stakeholders, students, faculty, administration, alumni, community leaders, and industry representatives and was processed quantitatively and qualitatively. BSPA curriculum also has research-related subjects that include Introduction to Statistics, Statistics for Social Sciences, Quantitative Research Methods, Qualitative Research Methods, Policy Analysis, and Undergraduate Thesis Writing. This BSPA curriculum enhancement project highlights the gains of community-university partnership in delivering the best quality of governance education. This project hopes to produce public administration professionals who are equipped with the necessary research skills and knowledge. Research as a capability is believed to improve the quality of local governance by ensuring that decision making at all levels of the government must be based on the real dimensions and state of things in the community.