Metro Manila - In a significant step towards enhancing social protection and poverty reduction efforts in the Philippines, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last November 15. 

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran attended the signing ceremony at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City.

The MOU aims to strengthen strategic cooperation between the DSWD and the UNDP, particularly in digitalization, monitoring and evaluation. 

This partnership underscores both agencies' commitment to improving social protection services for the country's poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged communities.

DSWD Secretary Gatchalian stressed the significance of this agreement: “We in the DSWD are grateful for partnership opportunities with organizations such as [the UNDP] because it enables us to work hand-in-hand with experts to strengthen our digital infrastructure, improve data governance, and build robust, evidence-based systems to guide our decision-making processes with the overall goal of implementing innovative ways to expand social protection.”

The partnership outlines several critical initiatives to foster collaboration between the DSWD and the UNDP. It will also support multi-stakeholder collaborations and promote continuous learning among government agencies and external stakeholders. 

There will be a focus on technical collaboration regarding data governance and digitalization initiatives and efforts to enhance the DSWD's monitoring and evaluation capacities. These initiatives are designed to strengthen the effectiveness and responsiveness of social protection programs in the Philippines.

In his remarks during the ceremony, Dr. Ramachandran stressed the importance of this collaboration: "By leveraging digital tools and robust evaluation practices, we can ensure that our programs are not only effective but also adaptable to the ever-changing needs of our society. Through this collaboration, we hope to contribute to the DSWD's efforts to improve social protection and poverty-reduction initiatives for the poor, vulnerable, and the disadvantaged." 

The MOU represents a pivotal moment for both organizations as they work together toward institutional development to strengthen the delivery of social development programs and services in the country. [E]