The SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (BIC) conducted a two-day training on Process Documentation held at the Saguiguit Room, SEARCA, College, Laguna on 26-27 January 2005. Sixteen participants from the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines (BCP), D0ST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), DA-Bureau of Agriculture & Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS), DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the Regional Consortia for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development and SEARCA attended the training to learn the essential elements of process documentation.

The training aimed for the participants to: (1) learn the importance, concepts, strategies and applications of process documentation; (2) gain skills and techniques in process documentation; and (3) apply strategies and techniques gained by subjecting the initial activities of the Department of Agriculture’s Project on Integrated Information, Education, and Communication Campaign and Advocacy for Modern Biotechnology to process documentation , and coming out with a monograph as final output.

The first day of the training involved a series of lectures tackling principal concepts of process documentation, and a fieldtrip to document situations of interest to the participants. Selected participants presented their individual write-ups on the second day followed by focus group discussions and presentation of outputs.

The training served as the kick-off activity of the DA-SEARCA Project on Establishment and Nurturance of Biotechnology Information Nodes, Component 2 of the above-mentioned DA-funded project. The other components of this project are: (a) the National IEC Campaign and Advocacy through Media (Component 1), where the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines served as the implementing agency; and (b) the Regional IEC Campaign and Advocacy through Media (Component 3), which is being implemented by DOST-PCARRD.

The training was facilitated by Dr. Lorna C. Malicsi, Head of SEARCA Knowledge Management Unit; Mr. Emerald Dimapilis and Rinda Apolinar, both of DOST-PCARRD.(RBLapitan)

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