About Us

Gov Data Initiative, Inc. is a think-and-do tank consultancy and resource center committed to promoting good governance, transparency, and accountability through data and evidence-based analysis and data storytelling to inform public decision-making. Our mission is to promote data-driven governance, public participation, and multi-stakeholder collaboration through three interconnected workstreams.

We promote the release and use of accurate data for meaningful analysis and visualizations to inform public policy decisions. We advocate for open fiscal data to promote transparency and accountability in government revenue, tax, budget, expenditure, and public procurement and program execution, with the ultimate goal of achieving development outcomes. We bring together diverse perspectives and expertise from government, civil society, and the private sector to foster evidence-based decision-making throughout the public policy cycle, promoting data-driven decision-making, transparency, accountability, and collaboration in government.

Meet the Team

We are a diverse team of data analysts, storytellers, open government experts, program managers, and policy specialist.

Partnerships and Grants Director / Monitoring and Evaluation Lead

Marianne Fabian

Marianne is an open government and fiscal openness expert. She has been in the international development space for more than a decade, starting as part of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) Secretariat under the Department of Budget and Management starting in 2013 and eventually becoming the OGP Philippines Point of Contact (PoC) from 2016 to 2019.

Alongside her role now as Grants and Partnerships Director of the GDI, she also serves as a core consultant in the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT), a leading international institution on fiscal openness and public financial management reforms.

Executive Director / Research, Data, and Policy Lead

Marco Zaplan

Marco is a data ninja who works with governments and nonprofits to unlock the potential of open data. Before joining GDI, he worked at Bantay Kita, Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Natural Resource Governance Institute, and the Asian Development Bank.

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics and a master’s degree in public management from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Government.

Operations and Programs Director / Outreach and Capacity Development Lead

Abigail Ocate

Abigail has been working in the field of environment and fiscal transparency for more than a decade. Currently, she serves as the Project Manager of Artisanal Gold Council for planetGOLD (Global Opportunities for the Long-term Development of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining sector) Philippines project implemented in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

Prior to working for international non-governmental organizations, Abigail worked for the government for 5 years as Technical Manager of the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) implemented by the Department of Finance (DOF). Abigail graduated from the University of the Philippines – Los Banos (UPLB) with a bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology major in Social Technology and a master's degree in Environmental Science.

Strategic Communications Manager

Dawn Po Quimque

Dawn has a decade of experience in communications and media. She has worked on environmental issues ranging from campaigns on the reduction of mercury use in mining communities, and other consumer products, to the conservation and protection of marine environment through sustainable use of marine resources.

Prior to joining environmental non-governmental organizations, Dawn is a researcher-producer and journalist in local media networks in the Philippines where she worked on different documentary and feature films on various socio-economic and environmental issues. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication, and is currently taking her Master’s degree in Women and Development.

About Us

Meet the Team

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