UP CIDS Conducts In-House Policy Research and Data Analytics Training
The UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) conducted a two-day in-house capacity-building workshop on March 2–3, 2026, aimed at strengthening the policy research, writing, and data analytics skills of its personnel. The activity brought together participants from various programs and projects under UP CIDS for 2026 to enhance their ability to produce evidence-based and policy-relevant outputs aligned with institutional standards.
On the first day, participants engaged in a Policy Paper Writing Training focused on the fundamentals of policy research within the UP CIDS framework. Led by UP CIDS Executive Director Rosalie Arcala Hall herself, along with the UP CIDS Publications team, the sessions covered the policy cycle, stakeholder roles, and key components of policy papers, with emphasis on developing clear, evidence-based, and actionable recommendations. Participants were also introduced to analytical frameworks such as policy failure, policy stasis, and policy gaps, as well as different policy outputs produced by UP CIDS.
The second day featured a workshop titled “Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Public Policy: From Data Collection to Insight,” which focused on building practical data skills using the Google ecosystem. The session was led by Prof. Jonathan Mamplata of the UP CIDS Data Science for Public Policy Program. Participants learned how to design Google Forms for data collection, process and analyze data in Google Sheets, and develop interactive dashboards using Looker Studio. They were also introduced to Google Colab for basic data analysis and visualization. The workshop culminated in a hands-on integration activity, where participants applied an end-to-end workflow—from data collection to insight generation—as outlined in the program.
Overall, the two-day training highlighted the importance of combining strong policy writing with data-driven analysis, reinforcing UP CIDS’s commitment to producing impactful, evidence-based policy research.
