Local governments are at the forefront of redefining public service delivery, but people should be at the core of every innovation. Over the years, it has become widely accepted that local government units (LGUs) should not only strive to improve the type and quality of government services but also transform the culture of government to make it more inclusive, transparent, and accountable. Generally, there are two ways by which LGUs can satisfy this objective:
Having a deep understanding of the needs of the citizens and stakeholders as direct beneficiaries of public sector policies and services and
Cultivating an active public participation in designing, delivering, and monitoring policies and services that affect their lives.
Central to the approach is the intensive and extensive use of data along with the adoption of appropriate technological tools. On the one hand, LGUs should be able to effectively leverage data to inform strategies in providing services that are attuned to people’s needs and well-being. On the other hand, people should be aware of the availability of data and are able to actually use data to influence how they should be governed and yield benefits to their communities. In other words, effective local governance is one that employs a data-informed participatory decision-making process.
This type of governance is more likely beneficial to human development. It is through the appropriate use of data that duty-bearers can fully grasp the realities on the ground, strategically respond to public concerns, and allocate resources efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, establishing a culture that values data-driven decision-making and a good uptake of open data by citizens remain elusive, in many local governments in the country. The Data-Driven Development in the Philippines (PH3D) Project helps all its project sites strengthen the culture of data in the local community and embrace innovations towards a people- centered local governance. A preliminary step in this intervention is to make sure the data are available and of good quality. This report provides an assessment of data collected and held by the local government of Guiuan, in terms of availability and quality, to effectively ensure that the LGU can make competent decisions for the people and draw policy lessons for good governance. Towards the end of this report some recommendations and solutions are suggested.
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