The DILG-NCR held this year’s Knowledge Convergence (KCon) with the theme “From Pandemic to Epic CALG – Creating Strategies and Redefining Standards Towards a Knowledge Management-Enabling DILG-NCR Culture.” The first in a series of five activities was conducted last March 8, 2022 via Zoom Teleconferencing and was attended by all DILG-NCR personnel.

At the center of this transformative change is the Center for the Advancement of Local Government (CALG), a rebranded and revitalized iteration of the Local Government Regional Resource Center (LGRRC), which spearheaded the formative effort towards developing both a knowledge base and the regional network to share its content with.

The core team behind the CALG was introduced by CALG Coordinator Lead LGOO VI Luigi DC Pilarta before the start of the workshop proper.

In her opening remarks, Assistant Regional Director and CALG Program Manager Atty. Ana Lyn R. Baltazar-Cortez, CESO V, presented in broad brush strokes the strategic basis for the KCon, drawing the outlines of a post-pandemic DILG-NCR that incorporates the knowledge and cultural features envisioned in the KCon.

LGOO VII Alfaro F. Fabon, Jr., Cluster Head of DILG Malabon Field Office and knowledge management practitioner, was the main resource person in the event. He drew from a variety of academic and consulting organizations to expound on the building blocks that make for a values-based and knowledge-centric organization that is culturally attuned internally to operate and function in a collaborative and highly networked environment.

In his presentation, LGOO VII Fabon elaborated on how culture is formed and embedded in an organization; how values imbibed by leaders are brought to life by way of their example, decision-making, and personal behavior – permeating in the process the larger organization and thus becoming organizational culture. He also illustrated how “climate” enables culture to thrive and evolve and remain relevant in changing times. In the ultimate analysis, culture and climate are reciprocal and symbiotic elements in the development and evolution of organizational culture, and if harnessed to the fullest contribute to an organization’s competitive advantage.

DILG-NCR Regional Director Maria Lourdes L. Agustin, CESO III, delivered the closing statement affirming that “Our ultimate goal is to empower ourselves and the local government by addressing our capacity development gaps. We hope that we will be able to manifest a genuinely participatory and effective organizational culture and local governance.”

The next KCon activity is scheduled to be held on March 11, 2022. This session shall take up the mission and vision of the CALG, its work plans, and key performance indicators.#