Koronadal City, South Cotabato – As the country’s leading socioeconomic think tank and the overall Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) coordinator, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) continues its efforts in promoting awareness on policy research as a tool for effective planning and policymaking with this year’s theme: “Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Creating our Future Today or Isulong ang Fourth Industrial Revolution Tungo sa Katuparan ng Ating Kinabukasan Ngayon.” The theme centers on promoting greater awareness and deeper understanding of the potential impacts of modern technologies on the patterns of production, consumption, employment, and governance in the Philippines.

Presidential Proclamation 247 signed in September 2002, declares the month of September as the Development Policy Research Month. The celebration aims “to encourage Filipino leaders and the public at large to appreciate the role and importance of evidence-based research in program planning and policymaking. The DPRM seeks to encourage proper, systematic, and quality policy research in creating social and economic policies.”

Other activities lined up for this year’s DPRM celebration include the Fourth Mindanao Policy Research Forum on September 6, 2018 in Cagayan de Oro City, and the Fourth Annual Public Policy Conference on September 19, 2018 at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. (Joseph Didius L. Clave, NEDA XII-DRD)