From a multi-disciplinary action research and extension program, the BIDANI Network Program is now transcending into a transdisciplinary program, embracing and merging the expertise of various fields to formulate solutions in addressing malnutrition in the Philippines.
Thus argued the paper titled Transdisciplinary Extension and Public Service: The Case of BIDANI Network Program, which was presented at the International Conference on Research and Extension (IConRE) on November 8-9, 2018 at the Camarines Norte State College, Daet, Camarines Norte.
Program Leader Dr. Angelina Felix and Barangay Integrated Development Approach (BIDA) Coordinator Arnold Abuyog attended the said conference to present the paper, a seminal work on BIDANI’s transdisciplinarity.
The paper articulated that the BIDANI program is a transdisciplinary action research and extension endeavor, taking into account four characteristics of transdisciplinarity, namely the acceptance of complexity in science, taking into account local contexts, intercommunicative action, and action orientation and promotion of linkages.
From its inception, BIDANI has always linked stakeholders at various levels in nutrition-in-development, the paper said. It has also established linkages with other fields aside from nutrition and governance, such as economics, agriculture, human ecology, and development communication.
Meanwhile, Dr. Felix and Mr. Abuyog also attended a round table discussion on extension models and best practices for state universities held on the sidelines of IConRe. The discussion also served as a platform to promote the BIDANI strategy to other universities attending the conference.
IConRE was organized by CNSC with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
– Guien Eidrefson P. Garma