In pursuit of a more focused and responsive operations, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) incorporated the Performance Governance System (PGS) within its organizational and operational processes to ensure optimum quality of service.

The PGS is a holistic and collaborative framework for designing, executing, monitoring, and sustaining roadmaps to reform. It raises the standards of strategy setting for Philippine public sector institutions that works beyond operational effectiveness and complement process improvements while giving premium to its agency’s mandate into a world-class public service.

With the AmBisyon 2040 aiming for “Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Buhay” and DSWD’s Vision of having “all Filipinos free from hunger and poverty, have equal access to opportunities, enabled by a fair, just and peaceful society”, a performance management tool is needed to track the performance of the Department to ensure the fulfillment of its enabling and implementing roles.

Given this mandate and a societal vision, the Department adopted the PGS to institutionalize a system to guide DSWD into coming up with feasible targets and goals in all its program planning, policy development, systems and processes, and service delivery.

The PGS has a four-stage pathway and the DSWD is already on the second of the stage. Beginning in November 2019, the DSWD has already developed its target breakthroughs, new strategic position, and the DSWD Strategy Map 2028 and the 2022 Governance Scorecard, which completed the Initiation Stage. Since February 2020, multi-level scorecards have been developed and cascaded into various Office Strategic Contributions and Strategic Deliverables referred to as cascading sessions which then commenced the Compliance Stage.

The DSWD Strategy Map 2028 was developed to provide the strategic focus to deliver its mission by facilitating coordinated efforts and convergence of different partners and stakeholders. It intends to mobilize and steer social protection and social services to address poverty reduction. Not only that this direction is critical, but officials and employees are expected to imbibe the core values namely: Maagap at Mapagkalingang Serbisyo, and Serbisyong Walang Puwang sa Katiwalian at Patas na Pagtrato sa Komunidad.

The key sections of the Strategy Map primarily focus on achieving its Impact Objective of an improved social protection initiatives which will contribute to poverty alleviation. This objective is the articulation of DSWD’s contribution to the sectoral and societal goals for AmBisyon 2040 and the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

Another important section of DSWD’s strategy map is its focus on the steering (enabling role) and rowing (implementing role) functions of the Department. Essentially, it aims to sustain the implementation of Strategic Plan 2018-2022 and taking into consideration the thrust of the new administration of institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and actualizing the full devolution of DSWD services to local government units (LGUs).

It also contains the Core Objectives (Outputs) which comprised of the outputs essential to achieving the focus objectives. As enabler, the Department is expected to increase the capacity of the LGUs on social protection through the functionality of the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs). While as implementer, the Department needs to improve the well-being of its constituents by strengthening the social welfare system. As such, the 4Ps beneficiaries are expected to be self- sufficient, while the DSWD Centers and Residential Care Facilities shall be centers of excellence.

Furthermore, the PGS also presents possible indicators to measure the accomplishment of the Department in achieving its commitments through the DSWD Governance Scorecard. With the Scorecard, the Department will be made accountable in fulfilling all its plans.

Lastly, in response to the needs in social protection due to the COVID-19, DSWD is revisiting its Strategy Roadmaps for adjustments in its plans and processes in relation to the emerging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the work systems of the Department and occupational safety of its employees.

With a transparent and dynamic system like PGS in place within the Department, it is expected that DSWD’s roadmap of operations will lead to an improved organization system which, in turn, will result in the provision of better quality of service to the Filipino public. ###