(RPG-020) “JOINING DEVELOPMENT FORCES”

Three development oriented groups have now joined forces to form what is now called the National Integrated Development Alliance (NIDA). The convener of the alliance is the Inter-Charity Network (ICN), composed of more than twenty organizations that are either providers or beneficiaries of livelihood. The other founding members are the University Consortium for Resource Networking (UNICORN) and the Foundation for the Prevention of Crime and Injustice (FPCI).

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Following a functional approach, each of the NIDA components are responsible for leading the integrated development process of their assigned functions. ICN handles livelihood, UNICORN handles education, while FPCI handles justice. Each of these components serves as umbrella organizations for their respective functions. Two other umbrellas are being formed, namely the United Health Association (UNAHEALTH) for health, and the Association of Philippine Rural and Urban Businesses (APRUB) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

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As a long term goal, NIDA hopes to form more umbrellas that would be responsible for the integration of other development processes. In line for formation are umbrellas for environment, agriculture and shelter. What is integrated development and why is it so important? For one, it will aim for the coordination and synchronization of development programs that are now Balkanized and are going in separate directions.

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Truth to tell, governance is supposed to be the joint undertaking of the government and the citizenry. It is supposed to be an exercise of public and private cooperation. While the integration of government programs is something else to worry about, we could at least hope that as far as the private sector is concerned, we already have NIDA in place to lead us.

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All development oriented organizations are encouraged to join the umbrella of their choice within the NIDA framework. Recently, we welcomed the Association of Retired Police Chiefs (ARPC) into the FPCI umbrella.