“Individual commitment to a group effort- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” – Vince Lombardi. 

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success.” – Henry Ford.

Your organization has been existing for a long time, but it feels like it’s not going anywhere. What do you do? You figure out why and make SMART–specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, time-bound- solutions as an organization. 

Let’s Talk About It 

For the members of various partner organizations– the Santa Barbara Integrated Mushroom Farmers Association (SBIMFA), Senior Citizens of Bagumbayan and Balibagan Oeste, and the Kalipunan ng mga Aktibong Kababaihan ng Duyanduyan [Association of Active Women in Duyanduyan] (KADUYAN)- they did just that. 

With the help of the Lakaran staff, these organizations had focus group discussions where they talked about their strengths, their problems, their goals, and their action plan for the next few months to attain their goals and address their problems. 

After the focus group discussions, the different organizations put in the work. Kaduyan started on their DOLE registration to access more benefits and funds for their livelihood project. The senior citizen groups began their accreditation process to be a member of the barangay development council and the local special bodies in the municipal board. And the mushroom farmers collaborated with Lakaran Institute to orient partner barangays on the mushroom growing process. 

We’re All In This Together 

The focus group discussion is one of the many methods used by our staff to gather data, data that can be used as a basis for prioritizing projects and programs, organizing activities and events, and monitoring and evaluating the impact of the bayanihan governance project. Focus group discussions could also be used in organizational development to diagnose the problem, assess the organization’s status, and recalibrate to adapt to the changing environment and circumstances of the members. 

Organizational development can be a daunting task, but it is needed for the organization to grow, adapt, and survive in the ever-changing landscape of rapid urbanization. Santa Barbara is becoming more urbanized, spurred by the fast economic growth due to its proximity to the Iloilo International Airport. To help our partners organizations in Santa Barbara prepare for these changes,  Lakaran Institute and Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) facilitated an Organizational Development Training on March 12, 2026 in Lifebank Center. 

Organizational development has six stages: problem diagnosis, assessment and feedback, planning, implementation, evaluation, and institutionalization and adjustments. Due to logistical and scheduling concerns, the faculty of ISAT-U highlighted the planning stage through a series of lectures and a workshop. 

Professor Fauve Pedriña gave a lecture on organizational structure and role clarification. Professor Marjorie Maido lectured on vision-mission-goals recalibration. And Professor Darene Andrada gave a refresher on CSO strategic planning. 

After the lectures, the participating organizations made their new vision, mission, goals, and five-year action plan. They presented their output to the group and were given feedback for improvement. 

Plans are the first concrete step to problem-solving. They are the map that guides the organization to a better tomorrow.