The community engagement programs of universities have generated interest among universities and some local government officials to work for collaboration to develop the communities in Manila. The items in the research instrument has raised awareness among extension coordinators to explore and develop relevant programs for Manila communities. Likewise, local government officials have seen the potentials of collaborative efforts to solve the problems of Manila. There was a realization that through partnership between and among stakeholders in the communities will lead to community development.
After the focus group discussion with the extension coordinators of PNU, they became active in the communities and now they feel confident that they were able to implement the programs well with our partner communities.
In the messenger group; one university extension coordinator gave a message saying that: "our extension work is for PNU and the country”.
Thus, dialogue is important in doing collaborative programs. And the focused group discussion was an instrument for dialogue.
Future Steps
Several programs and activities may be developed as an offshoot of this research. First, it is important to strengthen engagement of the universities in Manila since the university is located in Manila and access is important, especially for students. Several extension coordinators have expressed the idea that Manila is more accessible than nearby provinces. It is the more pragmatic to have community engagement in Manila. Second, we need to strengthen the structure of Community Partnership and Extension Office. Faculty assistants should be recruited and become a member of the office. Third, we must sustain the allotment of budget from the general appropriation fund and gender and development enough to cover community extension activities of the university. Fourth, the community extension coordinators should be trained to develop the community projects that are sustainable and with wider impact.
Designing the outcomes of community projects will motivate the faculty and staff to reach their goals. Lastly, the university plans to organize round table discussions (RTD) on disaster risk reduction programs. Since a number of communities are vulnerable to disaster, some stakeholders are willing to join the RTD to help solve problems brought by disasters.