Solidarity

Dr. Jesus Estanislao just planed in from America the night before, but no amount of jetlag could dampen his enthusiasm, on Thursday and Friday last week, to hammer on the need for values to permeate the realm of governance in the Philippines. He did so as founding chair of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA), a “collaborative for sectoral leaders, public officials and citizens committed to good governance in all aspects and levels of life in society.” One can’t fail to note the consistency in the branding here, as the acronym ISA also means “one.”

ISA aims to be a leading public governance reform institute in East Asia by 2015. According to its website (isacenter.org), ISA has the following key purposes : work with sectoral leaders in raising the standards of professional and ethical practice as well as of social responsibility in their respective sectors; work with public officials in institutionalizing a public governance system, in partnership with multi-sectoral coalitions, for the long-term development of their communities and institutions; and work with institutions to develop centers for leadership dedicated to the continuing training of citizens in the exercise of their civic duties and in their participation to serve the common good of society. Mr. Francisco Eizmendi, former San Miguel Corporation president, is the current ISA president.

Among the key advocacies of ISA is the Public Governance System, which uses the famous Balanced Scorecard developed by Robert Kaplan, a Harvard Business School professor and David Norton, co-founder and president of the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative. Noting that more than 75% of an organization’s value comes from intangible assets that couldn’t be captured by traditional metrics, Kaplan and Norton conceptualized the Balanced Scorecard to enable organizations to quantify critical intangibles such as people, information and culture.

To Kaplan and Norton, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” In their subsequent work, “Strategy Maps,” they argued further that “you can’t measure what you can’t describe.” Both “The Balanced Scorecard” and “Strategy Maps” were published by the Harvard Business School Press.

ISA is convinced that the Balanced Scorecard model is not only applicable in the business sector but also in the public sector, as well as in the nonprofit sector. It must be pointed out that the Balanced Scorecard is not just a measurement system but also a strategic management system, which has enabled many organizations all over the world to execute their strategies effectively.

Among local government units in the country that have adopted the Public Governance System are San Fernando, Pampanga and Iloilo City. Both have already gotten citations for breakthrough accomplishments. San Fernando was given the Maharlika Award while Iloilo City became the biggest winner as it got inducted into the Palladium Hall of Fame for effective strategy execution within the PGS framework. The awards were given by David Norton himself.

National government agencies and public institutions such as the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippine Navy, the National Electrification Agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Education have also used the PGS. So have professional organizations like the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and an association of nurses.

It was moving to listen to Dr. Estanislao passionately talk about the personal, institutional and social values that must attend public governance. This piece is titled “Solidarity” not only as an allusion to ISA, but also because solidarity is a core value in the realm of public governance. Solidarity, Dr. Estanislao explained, is a profound sense of interdependence. He said it is a deep commitment of every member of an organization to work towards the common good. Solidarity fosters the spirit of generosity.

Solidarity, Dr. Estanislao stressed, is best understood by asking the question, “what can we do for others and for the community, instead of asking, what can others do for us or what can the community give us and do for us.”

Please log on to http://jslatoza.wordpress.com/ ffor the author’s blogsite from which this article was taken. Also published in the Daily Guardian in Iloilo City on Feb 17, 2010.