Butuan City – The 5-year Research Agenda of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga serves as guide in its research efforts and initiatives. It aims to address the current and emerging needs and concerns of the vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors in the society. It also provides directions and synchronizes efforts on steering development studies that would benefit the poor and vulnerable sectors.

The Department presented 5-year Research Agenda to Academic Institutions in the region beginning this month.

In support to the implementation of the said agenda, Regional Director Minda B. Brigoli announced that the Field Office calls for interested researchers in the academe to submit research proposals along the identified topics as stipulated in the Research Agenda.

The following are examples of the research areas and topics; Profiling of Youth Migrants, Women Trafficking at the Port, Prevalence of Elderly Abuse, Abandonment/Neglect, Changing Family Structures of OFWs, Assessment of Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and Social effects of Business Outsourcing, among others.

The research proposals will be evaluated by the DSWD Field Office-Research and Development Technical Working Group (TWG). Once approved, the research proposal will be endorsed to DSWD Central Office, Manila City. The indicative budget for the approved research proposal is two hundred thousand pesos (200,000.00 php).

DSWD research staff, Cale P. Pineda, headed the presentation of the guidelines and procedures to the academic institutions namely Agusan del Sur College (ADSCO), Bayugan City, Caraga State University (CSU), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Butuan City.

The Field Office welcomes other members of the academe who viewed interest to this endeavour. For further information and queries, interested party is advice to see Research Focal Person, Dante S. Rosales at this contact number 342-5619 loc. 203 National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU). ### Social Marketing Unit/DSWD FO Caraga