Designers of Development Options
The Climate Crisis
After what our country has undergone in this year of unusual stress for all of us Filipinos, we believe it is time to mount a movement for a sustainable future to mitigate and forestall the climate crisis threatening our very security as a nation.
We believe you share the same ideal as an individual, and in the organization(s) you represent. We also believe that if we find effective ways to link, coordinate, complement and synergize the efforts and initiatives undertaken by countless and disparate groups all around the country, we can avert the climate crisis, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in ten years.
Brain Trust: Knowledge and Options for Sustainable Development, Inc. (BTI) is a Filipino sustainable development think tank that draws from the collective experience of its founding fellows to craft innovative and integrative development solutions for public and private sector client
We envision to be an organization of sustainable development professionals that is acknowledged and respected for the impeccable quality, practical applications and innovativeness of its products and services.
We strive to
generate innovative and integrative pedagogies and processes that will catalyze interfaces between and across various disciplines, social groups and local and international arenas in planning, policy-making, implementation, monitoring and assessment of sustainable development interventions.
We seek to
be instrumental in the attainment of inclusive societies and economies that are climate change resilient, culture sensitive, politically & socially empowered, and efficient and sustainable in harnessing resources toward shared prosperity.
Our Expertise
PLANNING
BTI excels in planning, utilizing various processes and tools to create diverse plans and frameworks. This includes strategic socio-economic and area development plans, sector frameworks, sustainability plans, corporate plans, and business plans. The organization employs both quantitative tools like the Philippine Regional Computable General Equilibrium Model and Regional Econometric Model, and qualitative tools such as scenario building and community journey mapping. These efforts aim to enhance planning processes and contribute to innovative developments in the field.
POLICY AND PROGRAM REVIEW, EVALUATION AND ADVOCACY
BTI specializes in policy and program reviews, utilizing quantitative models like the Agricultural Multi-Market Model and qualitative tools. Examples include the Strategic Review of the Food and Nutrition Situation in the Philippines and assessments of sector programs. The organization incorporates policy advocacy through forums, publications, and presentations to promote its recommendations.
ECONOMIC MODELING, FUTURES THINKING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
BTI excels in economic modeling, futures thinking, and capacity building. The organization has skilled modelers who have developed innovative economic models. They use these models alongside multi-stakeholder scenario building exercises for a comprehensive understanding of development dimensions and future trends. BTI provides capacity building to government agencies, including DBM, NEDA, Mindanao Development Authority, and ARMM-CPDO, covering planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation, and economic modeling.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION
BTI is extensively involved in social development and protection projects. The organization has assessed and provided recommendations for various programs, including the Millennium Development Goals, poverty reduction initiatives, food and nutrition programs, social development in mining communities, jobs/skills development programs, and the Agrarian Reform Program. In formulating plans and reviewing policies and programs, BTI maintains a policy of ensuring coherent integration across social, economic, environmental, political, governance, and gender dimensions, aligning with its established tradition and work brand.
PROMOTING INVESTMENTS, PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVENESS
BTI actively promotes investments, productivity, and competitiveness. It contributed to projects like Business Risk Assessment for Climate Change in key cities, addressed skills gaps through the Jobs-Skills Mismatch Project, and played a key role in investment promotion in Mindanao. Notable projects include the Mindanao Economic Linkages Project and Connection, Cooperation, and Commerce for Peace and Development in ARMM. The organization also provided research assistance for city profiling focused on investment and urban issues.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
BTI demonstrates strength in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), evident in collaborations with development institutions; including projects like the Review and Inventory of Existing Community-Based M&E Systems in CPC 6 Focus Areas (UNICEF), Typhoon Yolanda Humanitarian Assistance and Reconstruction Monitoring, and the Independent Evaluation of Canada’s International Assistance Programming in the Philippines (Global Assistance Canada). Moreover, BTI consistently incorporates the design of M&E systems for the plans it formulates.
Our Expertise
Planning
Economic Modelling, Futures Thinking and Capacity Building
Monitoring and Evaluation
Policy and Program Review, Evaluation and Advocacy
Social Development and Protection
Promoting Investments, Productivity and Competitiveness
Our Clients
Featured Projects
Agglomeration Model for Mindanao Regions
BTI constructed a regional Computable General Equilibrium Model for Mindanao (CGEMM) and the rest of the Philippines, incorporating agglomeration economies, to support the Mindanao Spatial Strategy Development Framework. This model is first of its kind developed for the Philippines.
Creation of the Regional Econometric Model (REM)
BTI created a model capable of generating macroeconomic outcomes for regional production, expenditures, prices and employment. The first of its kind in the Philippines, the equations for each regional model were based on macroeconomic theory and existing macro econometric models in the Philippines and beyond.
Directors' Corner
White Paper
A White Paper by Brain Trust, Inc. (BTI) on critical actions the Philippine Government and the Filipino people must take in he next ten years to ensure and secure the future of our country and its people in the midst of the rising intensity, expanding breadth, and escalating threats of Global Climate Change.
