We were pleased to host the NUS Philippines Partnership Programme (PPP) team, under a grant from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), for its first two-day strategic retreat.
The retreat brought together Dr Harvy Joy Liwanag, Program Lead of the Philippines Partnership Programme, together with team members Vanessa Siy Van, Vicente Alberto Puyat, Kaycee Manuel, and Dr Stephanie Co.
Day one was a team planning and strategy workshop, the first of its kind for the newly formed programme. The team drafted its mission, vision, and purpose, set its strategic goals, and agreed on decision-making criteria to guide its research work going forward thus laying the groundwork for how the programme will operate as it grows.
Day two brought the team together with SSHSPH leadership to present the previous day’s output and review the programme’s progress since its founding: Dean Prof Teo Yik Ying, Prof Alex Cook, A/Prof Piya Hanvoravongchai, and Ms Quake Ai Li, joined the discussion. The team shared updates on its work under the Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Health (Philippines), organised around three pillars: policy-directed research, capacity building, and convening multi-stakeholder dialogues on Philippine health issues. Highlights included progress on the sweetened beverage (SB) tax analysis, upcoming research directions, a workshop session on modelling, participation in an open panel at a national conference, and multistakeholder meetings held to date.
SSHSPH leadership’s input helped sharpen the team’s priorities and strengthen the direction set on day one.
We’re grateful for the opportunity to host the Philippines Partnership Programme team and look forward to building on this momentum in the months ahead.