The TAO-Pilipinas Community-based Research Hosting and Fellowship
TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. is a women-led non-profit, non-government technical assistance organization in the Philippines composed mainly of architects and planners working with community-based organizations, NGOs, and young professionals towards sustainable human settlements and holistic urban development. This goal is carried out in four major programs: human settlements and environment (HSE), education and training (ET), young professionals (YP), and research and publications (RP).
The unique nature of TAO-Pilipinas has enabled it to work directly with poor communities, NGOs, academe, government and professionals to facilitate a participatory, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach in development work.
General Information
The TAO-Pilipinas Community-based Research Hosting and Fellowship is a new undertaking under the Research and Publications program that provides a venue for sharing, learning, and exchange through participatory action research focused on critical human settlements, environmental, economic, and social problems confronting the poorest communities in the Philippines.
Local and foreign researchers from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels may undertake a research/dissertation under any of the following TAO-Pilipinas active programs: participatory community planning, design and development; (2) community-based solid waste management, community-based disaster risk management for sites and buildings, (social) orientation and training program for young professionals and alternative building technologies for socialized housing in the Philippines; or propose a topic of their choice under the broad theme of sustainable human settlements development.
Eligibility Requirements
Any graduate or undergraduate student who has completed at least two residential semesters at any respectable university, preferably in the technical disciplines like architecture, engineering and planning or in other fields related to human settlements, and community development, interested in community-based processes to promote sustainable human settlements development of the poorest communities in the country, is strongly encouraged to apply.
Mentorship and Research Support
TAO-Pilipinas will provide research guidance and/or mentorship to facilitate optimum results in the conduct of the research. During the research activity, the researcher will be given free access to available reference materials in the TAO Resource Center and its facilities. Contact with TAO network partners relevant to the study can also be arranged.
A link with partner universities may be facilitated to provide academic mentorship (as needed) and enable access to academic resources and support. The university may also provide the venue for lectures/ presentations to share, validate, review research output and elicit critique from the academic community.
Financial Support
Local Researchers
TAO-Pilipinas do not provide financial support to researchers. The researcher is expected to source funds for his/her research activity. In exceptional cases, the organization may provide financial support in the form of allowance, only to a local researcher, depending on the merit of the research work.
Foreign Visiting Researchers
All foreign visiting researchers are expected to source financial assistance from their home country to shoulder the cost of their research in the Philippines.
A minimal fee will be charged to cover the cost of facilitation and local coordination for the research will be charged by TAO-Pilipinas. This will cover direct staff hours for the guide during community visits, communications and representation costs.
Housing in Manila
Possible options for accommodation will be made available to the researcher upon finalization of arrangements for the conduct research in the Philippines. Assistance to arrange accommodation in Metro Manila may be facilitated by TAO-Pilipinas upon request of the researcher but not less than 1 month before arrival.
Collaborative Research Logistics
Finding a Community Research Partner
Research through TAO-Pilipinas should be conducted on a collaborative basis with community-based organizations and non-profit organizations providing direct services on human settlements issues to the country’s poorest communities. Potential research projects may be identified in cooperation with the local community leaders, TAO staff, or student applicants.
Assistance in Identifying a Community Research Partner
TAO-Pilipinas has a good network of non-profit organizations and academic institutions that can be mobilized to assist and facilitate researchers interested in applying to the program.
The following are some of the local institutions TAO-Pilipinas has worked with:
- University of the Philippines College of Architecture (UPCA)
- University of the Philippines College of Engineering, Department of Geodetic Engineering (UPGE)
- University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning (UP SURP)
- Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Architecture (PUP CA)
- Technical Institute of the Philippines College of Architecture (TIP CA)
- Far Eastern University College of Architecture and Fine Arts (FEU CAFA)
- University of Sto. Tomas College of Architecture and Fine Arts, and UST CAFA)
- University of Sto. Tomas College of Engineering (UST CE)
- Mapua Institute of Technology College of Architecture, Industrial Design and the Built Environment (MIT ARIDBE)
It has also initiated engagements/partnerships with foreign Universities namely:
- Housing Development and Management (HDM), Lund University, Sweden
- National Taiwan University Graduate Institute for Building and Planning (NTU GIBP), Taiwan
TAO-Pilipinas also hosted individual researchers from the following foreign universities:
- Oxford Brookes, UK (2)
- Royal Melbourne University, Australia (2)
- University of Calgary, Canada (1)
- University of Oslo, Norway (1)
- Portsmouth University, UK (1)
Research Requirements
The researcher is expected to submit a research proposal outlining the research objectives, target results and selection criteria for case study site/s(community). Based on these criteria, TAO-Pilipinas will recommend a case study site/s. TAO-Pilipinas will inform the community-based organization in the selected site or community and community work/integration will be arranged prior to the start of the research or field work. A detailed work program will be proposed and agreed upon between the researcher and TAO-Pilipinas mentor. At the end of the field research, the researcher is required to make a presentation to the community of the preliminary research results with the intension to provide inputs, critique or recommendations to the case study community.
