Regional Futures Consortium for SUCs in Region XII Takes Place in USM

The Philippine Futures Thinking Society held the Regional Futures Consortium Workshop: High Level Anticipatory Leadership and Governance Executive Course on April 28, 2022 at the USM Commercial Building in Kabacan, Cotabato, as a continuation of its online sessions last April 25-26, 2022. Delegates were identified administrators and experts from each of five State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in Region XII, including the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU), Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology (CFCST), Cotabato State University (CSU), and South Cotabato State College (SCSC).

By the end of the workshop, participants were expected to be able to define basic Futures Thinking (FT) concepts, apply basic FT tools, identify components of an emerging Regional Futures Agenda, and submit a report on the Regional Futures Consortium Workshop and indicative regional research agenda. The workshop comprised of five modules designed by the Philippine Futures Thinking Society with guidance from the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Innovation, and Futures Thinking.

Face-to-face sessions began with preliminaries and a recap of modules discussed during the online sessions, covering history and key concepts, theories of social change and anticipatory governance frameworks, and anticipatory governance tools and methods. In the face-to-face workshop, case studies were discussed by Dr. Reginald G. Ugaddan, the corporate secretary and director for Strategic Foresight Research at PhilFutures, and Dr. Ruperto S. Sangalang, former CHED Commissioner and former president of Cavite State University. In the final session, Mr. Emmanuel de Guia, director for Strategic Partnership and Networking at PhilFutures, discussed the SDGs, intergenerational fairness, and FT as a framework for the Philippine Strategic Foresight Report. The program ended with the awarding of plaque of collaboration with workshop participants and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the participating SUCs of Region XII.

(Archan Mae M. Ariola and Jessa Joyce D. Lagahit)