Step Up Consulting has implemented the following projects:
Making Higher Education Truly Inclusive
This research covers three specific topics related to the issue of the relationship between the reliance in higher education on ICTs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the immediate and possible longer-term effect on social inclusion in higher education. First, it discusses the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by higher education systems in terms of the provision of ICT infrastructure so that they could continue to function given increased restrictions in delivery. Second, it describes the outcomes of these interventions in terms of the inclusion (or exclusion) of marginalized students. Finally, it dissects further the situation as to whether the disruption to higher education, particularly the uptake of new modes of instruction, learning and assessment, results in greater inclusion in the future provision of education. More information is in this link.
Assessing the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Tagbilaran City
This research wanted to know how the pandemic has impacted local businesses, workers and residents of Tagbilaran City. The city is the political and economic capital of the island province of Bohol in the Philippines. Read more about the project in this link.
Increasing People’s Access to Public Contracting Information Through the FOI Program
This research addresses the following questions:
1. What are the barriers that make the provision of contracting data to FOI requesters
difficult?
2. What are the gaps in data management systems and agency processes that hinder
the provision of contracting data to potential users?
3. What opportunities are available to speed up people’s access to contracting data
using the FOI mechanism?
See more information here.
The Open LGU Research Project.
Using a case study approach in three provinces, this project looks at how the sharing of governance information online has impacted on local government systems, and how the information and data has been accessed and used by civil society representatives and intermediary groups. The project will identify policies and processes that could support the Philippines to more fully realise an open government data agenda for local government, and will identify challenges currently faced in the supply and use of local government data.
EnCitE-OGD.
Enhancing Citizen Engagement with Open Government Data (OGD) will deal this primary research question – How can engagement of civil society organizations with open government data be instigated or enhanced?
To answer this question, the following secondary research questions will be explored:
- What do CSOs know about open government data? What do they know about government data that their local governments are publishing in the web?
- What do CSOs have in terms of skills that would enable them to engage meaningfully with open government data?
- How best can capacity building be delivered to civil society organizations to ensure that they learn to access and use open government data to improve governance?
The research project will be implemented in two provinces in the Central Visayas – Bohol and Negros Oriental and will take the form of an action research which will make use of a research-based capacity building program to learn about the strengths and limits of approaches in enhancing citizen engagement with open government data at the local level.
Step Up Consulting 