Layertech Launches OCDex 2022 Fellowship Program on Public Data Analytics

The OCDex project is an open contracting project started by Layertech in 2018, which aims to use government procurement data from the Philippine Government E-Procurement System (PhilGEPS) to answer various stakeholder questions and concerns regarding government contracts and the effectiveness of its service delivery. At the core of the program is the OCDex.tech repository, which houses pre-processed procurement data from PhilGEPS, visualizations, studies, and reports on various procurement-related topics.

In 2020, the OCDex project’s resources were used by various academics and stakeholders to monitor the procurement of COVID-19 related items, and generate actionable insights and suggestions based on its analysis.

Supported by the International Republican Institute’s Subgrant Award for CivicTech initiatives, the OCDex team launched the 2022 Fellowship program wherein 18 academic fellows from three academic institutions (Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Bicol University, and National University) engaged in three purely online, interactive peer-learning sessions and training on the use of government data, use-cases, scientific methods, and related policies. The training materials and recordings are made available for download in the OCDex.tech portal for logged-in and registered users.

For the first of the three sessions, the cohort got to know each other and their respective expertise and research interests. The first session introduced the OCDex fellowship program, as well as various use-cases of public data in several countries from a video presentation by Ms. Nanda Sihombing of the Open Contracting Partnership. Engr. John Barajas also presented an introduction to Data Mining and its key concepts.

For the second session, more technical models and approaches to data mining were introduced by Dr. Rodolfo Raga while Ms. Frei Sangil presented best practices on data collection and use. The 2nd session ended with a presentation about the use-cases of Natural Language Processing (NLP) by Mr. Joseph Marvin Imperial of National University.

Finally, the third session focuses on government programs and policies concerning data use and analysis. The third session was specifically designed to encourage the fellows to work with the government and always align their initiatives to avoid replication and have more seamless cooperation between stakeholders. The third session included topics on Data Privacy Law, current programs and policies of the Department of ICT, and a presentation from the Makati Business Club regarding their Digital Democracy project in partnership with various Local Governments in the Philippines. MSU-IIT also introduced its current projects and possible points for cooperation and collaboration.

The OCDex fellowship program emphasizes that effective and sustainable solutions to community concerns can be made with the help of clear and complete information, and with stakeholders and their governments working together, with the best interest of the community in mind

To know more about the OCDex project, please visit www.OCDEX.tech. If you want to register for an OCDex account, you may do so AND e-mail support@layertechlab.com for more details on how to activate your account.

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