Maria Pilar Lorenzo | Ghent University (original) (raw)

Journal Article by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Globalisation, Societies and Education , Sep 12, 2021

By applying New Regionalism Approach, this paper delves into a rather unexplored area of regional... more By applying New Regionalism Approach, this paper delves into a rather unexplored area of regionalism (higher education) in a less investigated region (Southeast Asia) and state (Philippines). It treads through a relatively recent terrain of bridge-building between higher education and regionalism. Through in-depth interviews and document analysis, the exploratory study investigates how ASEAN regionalism has influenced the cross-border research of a Philippine university. Examining cross-border research sheds light on the dynamics of ASEAN regionalism as research is considered crucial to the formation of a knowledge society, which, in turn, serves as a potent tool to pursue regional and national objectives. The findings of this study demonstrate that the ASEAN higher education regionalism offers vital mechanisms to enhance the university’s research performance and its overall competitiveness in an era of globalisation. However, in spite of these advantages, there are ideational, political and material challenges that pose limits to this potential. This paper argues that cross-border research has not yet been robustly activated as a mechanism for regional and national pursuits, and that the points of collaborations and contestations are still to be addressed adequately to maximise the promises and mitigate the perils of ASEAN higher education regionalism.

Encyclopedia Entries by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, Sep 16, 2021

Public reorganization refers to the rearrangement or restructuring of administrative structures w... more Public reorganization refers to the rearrangement or restructuring of administrative structures within a government. It involves abolishing, merging, or creating governmental bodies and removing duplicate and overlapping functions. It is a bureaucratic response to the confluence of managerial goals set by an administration vis-à-vis the political currents and reforms impacting the government. The term has been associated with concepts like rationalization, reengineering, and rightsizing.

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, Mar 9, 2021

Given the development context of the Philippines, the foremost question confronting the disciplin... more Given the development context of the Philippines, the foremost question confronting the discipline of Public Administration is not only in junction with its identity – "What is Philippine Public Administration" – but to expand the boundaries and inquire, "For whom is Philippine Public Administration?" The publicness of public administration signifies that emphasis should not be placed only on the traditional components of 3 Es, but primordial consideration must also be given to additional principles of equity, ethics, and accountability in order to create and sustain a public administration that is truly agile and Filipino people-oriented. As such, a Philippine version of Public Administration can be framed as the “5 Es and an A,” juxtaposing effectiveness, efficiency, and economy with three other pillars, namely, equity, ethics, and accountability.

Book Chapters by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Handbook of Regional Cooperation and Integration, 2024

Regional cooperation in higher education has grown in recent decades due to political drivers and... more Regional cooperation in higher education has grown in recent decades due to political drivers and the increasingly salient role of knowledge in economies and societies. The term ‘regional cooperation’ in this chapter signifies the multi-directional and multi-level coordination of higher education collaborations that are mediated through the regional space. Set against this backdrop, this chapter offers an overview of how regional cooperation has emerged and evolved in the higher education sector. It first details the motivating factors that drive key policy and institutional stakeholders to take up regional higher education agendas. In particular, this chapter specifies five sets of rationales: human resource development; political development; social-cultural development; commercial trade; and academic development. The second part reviews the various regionally-based collaborations that have been organised in regions across the world, including Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. It showcases the different forms of regional developments that have taken place, including those that have been instigated and promoted by global actors such as UNESCO. The next part maps out the outcomes, impacts, and effects of these regional collaborations and includes both constructive and critical reviews. A cautious assessment is offered, taking into account the difficulty of measurements, moving targets, the complexity of higher education policies, attribution problems, and lack of comprehensive studies. The last part reflects on the chapter’s findings, discussing the possible futures of regional cooperation in higher education amidst a growing complexity of policy challenges. In summary, this chapter shows how the regions have become an accepted governance level for higher education cooperation between states, higher education institutions, stakeholder groups, and supranational agencies.

Theory and Method in Higher Education Research (Theory and Method in Higher Education Research, Vol. 8), 2022

Despite the multitude of regional-based collaborations in higher education, regionalism theories ... more Despite the multitude of regional-based collaborations in higher education, regionalism theories have received relatively little attention in the literature on higher education. In view of this gap, this chapter seeks to make a case for the study of regionalism and explores how this field could enrich higher education research. This chapter discusses the context of the rise of the regional landscape vis-à-vis the acceleration of globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. It further probes into theoretical and empirical insights, elucidating in particular core regionalism concepts, theories and approaches within the more recent 'turns' in regionalism. Empirical cases from regions across the world are presented to help expound on the conceptual points raised.

Public Administration in conflict-affected countries, 2021

Philippine Public Administration, as a discipline and a practice, has played a key role in instit... more Philippine Public Administration, as a discipline and a practice, has played a key role in institution building and capacity development over the years. This has been true even during conflict and post-conflict periods. The chapter delves into how conflict situations have affected Philippine Public Administration by discussing it through an interstate and intra-state conflict that the country has been confronted with through different periods of its history. The first case discusses the various public reorganization and civil service initiatives within the ambit of the interstate backdrop of post-World War II reconstruction. The second case tackles how public administration mechanisms and institutions have been designed and set up as a response to an intra-state conflict in the Southern Philippines, more popularly known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, that has seen armed struggle since the 1970s brought about by the Muslim minorities' rebellion against the central government.

Religion, Fundamentalism, and Identity Politics, 2021

In J. Morgen (Ed.), Social equity in the Asia-Pacific Region: Conceptualizations and realities (pp.187-213). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

This paper focuses on the imperatives of social equity as a fundamental but normative principle ... more This paper focuses on the imperatives of social equity as a fundamental but normative principle for contemporary Philippine public administration. The pursuit of social equity may be seen as a response to the problems of pervasive poverty and inequality in spite of, paradoxically, the rapid economic growth. The paper cites two government programs that ostensibly aim to bring about social equity, that is, the Conditional Cash Transfer program and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. Evidence has shown that both programs still have to make a significant impact to redistribute wealth in a lasting way within the context of social equity. Hence, the paper argues that social equity in the Philippines is a continuing process but remains elusive a goal.

Books by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Philippine Society for Public Administration & United Nations Development Programme, 2017

The present study, a 2015 Rapid Field Assessment (RFA) and policy advocacy project seeking to app... more The present study, a 2015 Rapid Field Assessment (RFA) and policy advocacy project seeking to appraise the state of decentralization and democracy in the Philippines and their impact on development after 25 years of local autonomy, represents yet another effort to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the quality of governance at the local levels.

The findings of the study contained in this report present the output of experts and consultants from the regions who willingly undertook independent and objective appraisal of the problems and promise of local autonomy in their respective localities. The PSPA 2015 RFA is precisely just that – rapid and quick, to be redundant about it. But these hopefully may provide us with invaluable insights of how our local governments are proceeding, how they are managing with the powers and authority entrusted to them by the Local Government Code of 1991 of the Philippines and more importantly, how they are coping to comply.

* I served as the Copy Editor (name written on p.40).

Conference Papers by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Filipino-Australian Student Council of Victoria, 2017

“Gulayan sa Batasan” is a study about a possible urban farming project for the benefit of drug su... more “Gulayan sa Batasan” is a study about a possible urban farming project for the benefit of drug surrenderees from the youth sector of Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City. Through urban farming, the project introduces an innovative approach in giving former illegal drug users with a viable source of additional income for their families while providing them with a community that can help them avoid reverting back to drug abuse. It aims to provide supplemental source of income, addressing the issue of financial problems in the family that leads to poor family relations and incidence of out-of-school youth.

Papers by Maria Pilar Lorenzo

Social Equity in the Asia-Pacific Region, 2019

In this chapter, Brillantes, Raquiza, and Lorenzo focus on the imperatives of social equity as a ... more In this chapter, Brillantes, Raquiza, and Lorenzo focus on the imperatives of social equity as a fundamental—but normative—principle for contemporary Philippine public administration. The pursuit of social equity may be seen as a response to the problems of pervasive poverty and inequality in spite of, paradoxically, rapid economic growth. The chapter cites two government programs that ostensibly aim to bring about social equity, the Conditional Cash Transfer program and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. Evidence has shown that both programs have yet to make a significant impact to redistribute wealth in a lasting way within the context of social equity. Hence, the chapter argues that social equity in the Philippines is a continuing process but remains an elusive goal.