Call for builders

The BetterGov Fellowship

Build civic tech that powers open government.

A three-month civic technology fellowship. Real public challenges from government and civil society. Working solutions for DBM COMPASS and the Philippines' open data ecosystem.

Apply now Read the guidelines
  • Now open Applications close Tuesday, November 17, 2026
  • Pilot cohort · December 2026 – March 2027

Not applying? Help fund the fellows

A fellowship built around real public challenges.

It brings technical talent and public-interest problem solving together.

  • BuildDevelop digital solutions, tools, integrations, and improvements for public use.
  • ConnectLink government datasets and services to DBM COMPASS and the open data ecosystem through open APIs and shared standards.
  • Open upStrengthen transparency, accountability, participation, and service delivery.

The pilot cohort, by the numbers.

3months

From December 2026 to Demo Day in March 2027

7challenges

Presented by government and civil society partners

10areas

Of public challenge open to proposals

Organized by BetterGovPH, WeSolve Foundation, PH-OGP, and DBM.

What the fellowship aims to achieve

  1. 01

    Accelerate the integration of government datasets and public information systems into the DBM COMPASS ecosystem and the Philippine government's open data platforms.

  2. 02

    Develop civic technology solutions that address public service delivery challenges.

  3. 03

    Strengthen partnerships among government agencies, civil society organizations, academia, and civic technology communities.

  4. 04

    Promote the use of open data, APIs, and emerging technologies for public accountability and citizen engagement.

  5. 05

    Pilot a replicable model for civic tech–government collaboration under the Philippine Open Government Partnership.

One unified platform for government budget and spending disclosures.

The executive order institutionalizes DBM's Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics. Fellows help connect the datasets and services behind it.

Executive Order No. 126, s. 2026 · Official Gazette

Pick a public challenge.

Applicants respond to challenges presented by government–CSO partnerships at the BetterGov Summit.

  1. 01E-Government
  2. 02Open Data, Statistics, and Freedom of Information
  3. 03Budget and Procurement
  4. 04Education
  5. 05Infrastructure Monitoring
  6. 06Health
  7. 07Energy
  8. 08Gender and Development
  9. 09Local Government Transparency and Monitoring
  10. 10Accountability and Governance Trackers

From the BetterGov Summit

Partners ready to build with you.

Government agencies and civil society organizations presented these challenges on October 17, 2026. Open one to see what fellows could build, who owns it, and the partners' own pitch deck.

From the BetterGov Summit

Budget and Procurement

Following every peso, from budget to procurement.

Budget, procurement, and beneficial ownership data sit in different government systems. Integrate them in DBM COMPASS so citizens can independently monitor how public money moves.

What fellows could build

  • Scope a pilot agency, spending area, or procurement category and map common identifiers
  • Connect PhilGEPS open procurement data to COMPASS budget records through an API
  • Publish a documented prototype with source links, data timestamps, and unmatched records explained
Government
DBM COMPASS Team, with PS-DBM and PhilGEPS
Civil society
People's Budget Coalition and WeSolve Foundation
Pitch deck by DBM and WeSolve FoundationOpen the Budget and Procurement deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Energy

One open energy data layer for the Philippines.

Release open energy data in line with ASEAN Energy Statistics, so consumers can see who sells power, at what price, and how reliably.

₱12.43

Per kWh, the Philippine average in June 2026. The highest residential rate in ASEAN.

What fellows could build

  • One master list of suppliers, distribution utilities, and electric cooperatives, published as an API
  • One price table built from the rates 142 utilities publish as PDFs, web tables, and posts
  • Feeds and an API behind DOE's renewable energy and priority project dashboards
Government
Department of Energy
Civil society
Mura, Malinis, at Maaasahang Kuryente Coalition

Source: Department of Energy, June 2026 rate monitoring, as cited in the Energy pitch

Pitch deck by the Mura, Malinis, at Maaasahang Kuryente CoalitionOpen the Energy deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Health

The vision of health for every Filipino.

Open up local health and claims data so health boards are accountable, patients can find services, and benefits reach the people entitled to them.

What fellows could build

  • Open local health data to improve local health board accountability
  • A Patient Navigator that improves access to information on health services
  • Anonymized PhilHealth claims data to prevent fraud and help patients claim benefits
Government
Department of Health, PhilHealth, and National Nutrition Council
Civil society
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (research partner)
Pitch deck by DOH, PhilHealth, and PIDSOpen the Health deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Basic Education

Make public data useful where decisions happen.

Link school-level learning outcomes with education budgets to inform more efficient and equitable resource allocation.

What fellows could build

  • Explore linking Project Bukas school-level data with DBM COMPASS
  • Connect local education budget data to basic education data
  • A prototype that supports a real planning or accountability decision
Government
Department of Education
Civil society
Evidence for Education Coalition (E4E)
Pitch deck by DepEd and E4EOpen the Basic Education deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Early Childhood Care and Development

Fixing the foundations.

Improve the Early Childhood Care and Development dashboard so coalitions can act on the malnutrition and education crises.

1 in 4

Filipino children under 5 are stunted

9 in 10

Grade 1 to 3 learners cannot read a simple text

4,600

Barangays have no Child Development Center

What fellows could build

  • Common data schemas across DepEd, DOH–NNC, and DILG datasets
  • APIs and data pipelines that keep the dashboard updated
  • Interoperability with Project Bukas, NNC databases, and DBM COMPASS
Government
Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2)
Civil society
Local anti-stunting and literacy coalitions

Source: EDCOM 2, Early Childhood Dashboard pitch

Pitch deck by EDCOM 2Open the Early Childhood Care and Development deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Infrastructure Monitoring

Citizen reports on public works, from submission to resolution.

Improve citizen reporting on public works projects and make every report publicly accessible to citizen monitors and the general public.

What fellows could build

  • Build on the DPWH Citizen Feedback Management Center
  • Track each citizen report from submission to resolution
  • Interconnect reports with DBM COMPASS and make them publicly accessible
Government
Department of Public Works and Highways
Civil society
Bisto Proyekto
Pitch deck by DPWH and Bisto ProyektoOpen the Infrastructure Monitoring deck

From the BetterGov Summit

Justice and Accountability

Bisto Kurakot: closing the accountability loop.

Show the public how corruption cases progress, and help civil society take part in bringing them to justice.

What fellows could build

  • A corruption case tracking system
  • Notifications that help civil society follow and join case hearings
  • A scientific method to prioritize leads for Ombudsman investigations
Government
Office of the Ombudsman (to be confirmed)
Civil society
CODE-NGO
Pitch deck by CODE-NGOOpen the Justice and Accountability deck

Builders who can commit to the work.

Applicants must show they can commit time and effort throughout the fellowship, from December to March. The fellowship is open to:

  • Civic technology developers
  • Software engineers
  • Data scientists and analysts
  • Product designers and UX specialists
  • Open data practitioners
  • Researchers and technologists
  • Student developers and academic teams
  • Civic tech organizations and volunteer groups

Apply as

  • Individuals
  • Teams
  • Existing organizations or informal groups

Applying as a team? One representative fills in the form for the whole team. Applicants under 18 may need a guardian's consent.

Working solutions, documented and open.

  1. A

    Solution development

    A working civic-tech solution, platform enhancement, data tool, dashboard, API service, or other approved digital public good.

  2. B

    COMPASS, eGov, and open data integration

    Connect relevant datasets and services through open APIs, metadata standards, MCP-compatible integrations, or other approved mechanisms.

  3. C

    Documentation

    Technical and data-schema documentation, source-code repositories, deployment instructions, and sustainability recommendations.

  4. D

    Participation

    Orientation, weekly sprints, mentorship, technical consultations, government engagement, and Demo Day.

DBM + PH-OGP + BetterGovPH + WeSolve Foundation

  1. 01 · Challenge owners

    Government agency and CSO partnerships

  2. 02 · Implementers

    BetterGovPH fellows

  3. 03 · Outputs

    Civic tech solutions, APIs, and COMPASS and open data integrations

Outputs are encouraged to be released under open licenses for public benefit.

What selected fellows receive

Mentorship

Technical and policy mentorship from:

  • Department of Budget and Management
  • BetterGovPH
  • eHeadsPH
  • WeSolve Foundation
  • Participating government agencies
  • Participating civil society organizations
  • Invited technical experts

Technical support

Participating agencies and organizations provide access to:

  • Relevant datasets
  • Weekly meetings with technical focal persons
  • Policy and domain experts
  • Government engagement support

Capacity building

Fellows take part in:

  • Orientation sessions
  • Technical learning sessions
  • Weekly government engagement meetings and sprints
  • Open data and API integration clinics
  • Community sharing sessions

Program management

The Capacity Development Team of WeSolve Foundation administers the fellowship. BetterGovPH and the DBM COMPASS team lead technical mentorship. The Philippine Open Government Partnership leads engagement mentorship.

Gross funding pool

₱450,000

For the pilot cohort, shared across selected projects.

Shared across projects

If ten project teams are selected, the pool is divided across the ten projects, based on approved budgets.

Contracting

Fellowship contracts are issued by WeSolve Foundation, Inc.

Good to know

Funding is subject to applicable taxes and deductions and does not constitute employment with any organizing institution.

We're still raising the fellowship fund

Help fund the fellows.

Help mobilize resources so fellows can turn public-interest ideas into working civic technology. Every contribution creates more room for civic innovation and public accountability.

Time to build

The fund helps fellows dedicate time and resources to completing their solutions within three months.

Real public challenges

Every project answers a challenge owned by a government agency and civil society partner.

Open by default

Outputs are encouraged to be released under open licenses, for anyone to use and build on.

Credit where it is due

Fellows acknowledge supporting partners in all of their public-facing outputs.

Contribute to the fund

Opens an email to the organizers. Prefer to write your own? Email volunteers@bettergov.ph.

How applications are assessed

A five-member committee reviews every application: BetterGovPH, a relevant civil society organization, a partner government agency, DBM, and WeSolve Foundation. Shortlisted applicants are interviewed.

  1. 30%Technical capability and relevant experience
  2. 25%Quality and feasibility of the proposed solution
  3. 20%Alignment with the civic or government challenge
  4. 15%Capacity to deliver within three months
  5. 10%Commitment to open government, open data, and collaboration

October to March.

  1. October 17Fellowship launch at the BetterGov Summit. Applications open.
  2. Oct 17 – Nov 17Application submission period
  3. November 17Application deadlineDeadline
  4. Nov 18 – 30Evaluation and selection. Mentors matched with fellows and partners.
  5. November 30Fellows announced
  6. DecemberOnline orientation, kick-off sprint, and team matching
  7. Dec – MarchWeekly calls, technical mentorship, and government engagement sessions. Holiday breaks as announced by the organizers.
  8. March 2027Final project submission, Demo Day, and release of new DBM COMPASS features
  9. March 31Fellowship closeout and reporting

Build something useful. Make government more open.

The fellowship is a chance to turn real public-sector challenges into practical, collaborative civic technology.

  1. 01

    Find a challenge

    Review the challenge areas and identify a concrete public need.

  2. 02

    Shape a solution

    Explain the problem, the users, the data, and what can be delivered.

  3. 03

    Apply

    Submit the application form by November 17, 2026. Teams apply once, through one representative.

Apply now Contribute to the fundRead the guidelines All pitch decks