7 March 2024, Pasay City – Some 24 officials from nine government agencies convened in a roundtable discussion for the Executive Education Programme in Digital Transformation, a collaborative initiative organized by the Development Academy of the Philippines, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Amazon Web Services Institute. The activity aims to address key drivers identified during the workshop for the successful implementation of the Philippine e-Government Master Plan.

In his welcome remarks, Tirso Raymond Gutierrez, DICT chief-of-staff for e-government, emphasized that digital transformation transcends technology, saying that it is fundamentally about cultural change. He underscored this point by drawing from his experience in the banking industry, where cultural shifts were critical in implementing digital transformation, rather than merely focusing on the tools.

The roundtable discussion has three parts: first, formulating a robust vision statement and effective implementation strategy; second, sharing best practices and addressing challenges in effective leadership; and third, identifying policies, standards, and processes essential for leveraging new digital capabilities.

The Executive Education Programme in Digital Transformation aims to cultivate a pool of public sector leaders equipped with the expertise and practical tools necessary to spearhead cloud-based reforms in the public sector.