MISA
Portfolio Drive

Secretary General Candidate

Marcos, Abigail A.

Goals

My primary goal for this term is to transition the Office of the Secretary-General (OSG) from a passive administrative documenter into a proactive unit of efficiency and clarity. I envision a year where the OSG serves as the compass for the organization, ensuring that both my cluster and MISA as a whole move toward a unified, clear direction. By streamlining our internal systems and eliminating the friction that often leads to frustration, I want to create an environment where every officer can truly enjoy what they do and take ownership over the output. I believe that when the "how" of our work is seamless and well-documented, our members are freed from the burden of guesswork and can focus on the passion that brought them to MISA in the first place. Beyond the technicalities of the role, I see this term as a vital opportunity for my own growth as a student leader. I am committed to learning how to lead with empathy and foresight, moving away from being a mere enforcer of rules to becoming a supportive partner for every cluster. My goal is to cultivate a culture within the OSG where we provide strategic value that helps the Executive Board make informed decisions. By the end of this term, I hope to have built a more resilient foundation for MISA while developing the leadership maturity to handle complex challenges with compassion and transparency.

Platforms

🐝 BEE: BEEing Efficient and Engaged

The Office of the Secretary-General should function as the central coordination hub of the organization. Through the BEE framework, the OSG will strengthen internal systems, empower its officers, and ensure that MISA’s work is properly documented and communicated.

B - Build Structured Systems (Fixing documentation and organizational memory)

One of the main responsibilities of the Secretary-General is safeguarding institutional knowledge. While MISA already has documentation templates, these are often underutilized or inconsistently implemented across clusters, leading to missing records on project progress, deliverables, officer deployment, and event outcomes.

The core of this pillar is the transformation of documentation from a compliance hurdle into a functional asset. The OSG will move beyond simply "enforcing" templates to optimizing the organization’s digital infrastructure.

  • GDrive Revitalization & Indexing – The OSG will lead a comprehensive audit and reorganization of the MISA Google Drive, implementing a standardized naming convention and search index. This ensures that institutional memory is accessible in seconds, rather than buried in folders.

  • Deliverable Audit & Live Documentation – To address report fatigue, the office will eliminate redundant paperwork by shifting toward "Live Documentation, "real-time project trackers that provide immediate updates without requiring separate summary reports.

  • Revamped Application Primers – The OSG will take charge of improving the Wave 1, 2, and 3 Application Primers. By making these documents more visual and role-specific, the office will reduce confusion for applicants.

E — Establish Clear Officer Governance (Fixing Associate Secretary-General structure and cluster coordination)

A key challenge within the OSG is the lack of clarity in the responsibilities of the ASGs, which can lead to disorganization and inefficiencies. The OSG will focus on strengthening internal structure and accountability.

  • ASG Portfolio & Cluster-Specific Liaison – The ASGs will be assigned a functional manual tied to a specific cluster, created in coordination with their VPs. Their role will evolve from general assistance to acting as the executive consultant for their assigned VP, handling cluster-specific documentation and logistical bottlenecks.

  • Smart Deployment & Burnout Prevention – The OSG will implement a "Deployment Tracker" to monitor third-level officer positions. This system will enforce governance rules (e.g., preventing an officer from holding two positions in the same event or the same role for two consecutive events) to ensure a diversity of experience and prevent member burnout.

  • Mini-TranSem (Transition Seminar) – The OSG will facilitate a "Mini-TranSem" between VPs and ASGs. This is so that the VPs may be able to brief their ASGs on the processes of the cluster, how they can be properly monitored and documented, and how they can be enforced well based on set KPIs.

E — Elevate Organizational Transparency (External documentation)

Beyond internal documentation, the OSG can also help showcase MISA’s work to its members and the broader community. Under Elevate Organizational Transparency, the OSG will ensure that MISA’s initiatives, accomplishments, and progress are regularly communicated.

  • The MISA Newsletter – The OSG will continue the newsletter that documents cluster achievements and impact, and ensure that one is posted at the end of each semester. By publishing these milestones on official platforms, the cluster reinforces MISA’s identity as a leader in Information Management. This newsletter will be published through MISA’s official social media platforms to showcase the organization’s contributions.

  • Monthly MISA Updates – Monthly reports will be redesigned to provide "Impact Analytics" rather than condensed summaries. These updates will highlight organizational health, engagement trends, and key milestones, making the data gathered by the OSG actionable for the Executive Board. These will be posted to more exclusive platforms like the MISA’s Facebook group, etc.

This initiative ensures that members remain informed and engaged with the organization’s activities.

Internal OSG Culture: The Hive To strengthen collaboration within the OSG, the cluster will also foster a culture of teamwork through “The Hive,” a space for the ASGs to build trust, coordinate efficiently, and support one another in fulfilling their roles. A strong internal culture ensures that the OSG operates not just as an administrative body, but as a cohesive, proactive, and tight-knit team. This includes:

  • Regular internal check-ins

  • Collaborative planning sessions

  • Cluster bonding initiatives