The IPC generates externally-funded research that informs public policy decision-making. Its main functions include conducting research on critical development concerns, responding to the knowledge and field-level needs of various development actors such as national government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations, and international agencies. Its research projects focus on disadvantaged sectors in Philippine society and developmental concerns such as agrarian reform and rural development, urban poverty, women and gender, and indigenous peoples, among many others.
One of the many projects it has spearheaded with funding from the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) is the eHealth Training on Unified Resources Online or eTURO. eTURO provides for the capacity-building of the Department of Health (DOH) through the promotion of e-learning in the country. This is done by providing, cataloging, and advertising short courses and programs on health and other related fields. Aside from this, it also aims to provide a centralized platform that consolidates eHealth and other health-related training programs and materials for ease of access of health professionals and community health workers seeking additional training and certification.
One of IPC’s endeavors under the eTURO project includes an international webinar held last June 26, 2020 in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD). The webinar is part of a series entitled “COVID-19 and Me”, where discussions were led by guest speakers from John Hopkins University and the IPC on primary and universal healthcare during the pandemic.
These efforts reflect the Ateneo’s active engagement in undertaking policy-focused research in collaboration with government departments for nation-building and development.