CBILLS SCHOLARS LEARN CITIZEN-CENTERED TOOLS
TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR


Class photo of the Emerging Leaders with the Resource Persons Dir. Maria Vida Caparas (First Row, 5th from Left) and Victoria Alcoseba (First Row, 6th from Left)


Antipolo City, Philippines — Some 23 scholars from the Appropriations and Finance- Managers Track took part in a five-day course on Designing Citizen-Centered Innovative Solutions in the Public Sector, equipping them with tools and techniques to develop citizen-centered innovative policies and solutions. The course was conducted under the Development Academy of the Philippines’ Capability Building on Innovative Leadership for Legislative Staff (CBILLS) Program in collaboration with DAP-Center for Excellence in Public Sector Productivity (COE-PSP).

CBILLS Scholars work on their group outputs during the workshop to develop their respective Innovation Solution Proposals


Through a mix of lectures and workshops, the scholars explored the DAP Innovation Framework – introduced by COE-PSP Resource Persons Rocio Isabel Paloma and Alvin Joseph Bilog– which guided them in identifying target beneficiaries, diagnosing core problems, and designing citizen-centric solutions. The course emphasized a structured five-stage innovation process, deepening the scholars’ understanding of how creativity and design thinking can be applied in real-world governance contexts.

The program culminated in the presentation of Innovation Solution Proposals, showcasing the practical application of course. Scholars reflected their experiences and insights noting how the course introduced a fresh, bottom-up perspective to problem solving–emphasizing that the most unconventional ideas can often lead to the best solutions. 

The course on Designing Citizen-Centered Innovative Solutions is one of the courses under the 2025 CBILLS Program held on May 26-30, 2025 at the First Pacific Leadership Academy in Antipolo, Rizal. It is designed to promote the use of empathy and creativity-driven tools and techniques to foster innovation and collaboration.