The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) began implementing the Master in Public Management (MPM) program in 1991 by virtue of Board Resolution No. 02-91. In 1992, then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) granted operational authority to DAP. The Corazon C. Aquino Endowment Fund worth PhP 10 million was also granted to DAP in the same year.

In 1994, DAP established the Corazon C. Aquino Professorial Chair in Public Management and, through Board Resolution No. 01-94, the Graduate School of Public and Development Management (GSPDM) to become the Academy’s academic arm. GSPDM was mandated to offer advanced management education program for public managers which would combine rigorous and comprehensive intellectual grounding with a strong practical focus.

In 1998, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) issued an Official Certification recognizing GSPDM’s MPM program which was lodged under the Institute of Public Management (IPM). After sometime, DAP’s Board of Trustees authorized GSPDM, through Board Resolution No. 2004-02, to diversify its MPM program by offering specialized courses as the market required. This idea paved the way for the passage of Board Resolution No. 2004-02A which established the Institute of Productivity and Quality Management (IPQ) under which the Master in Productivity and Quality Management (MPQM), the first in the country, was subsequently implemented.

In the first decade since its creation, GSPDM strived to expand its reach by offering its programs to personnel from various government agencies. The issuance of Executive Order No. 910 in 2010 strengthened GSPDM’s role as a prime capacitator of the bureaucracy’s human resources. The E.O. enabled GSPDM to conduct customized and twinning programs for and in partnership with other government and private institutions. Since then, GSPDM started offering specialized programs focusing on health systems and development, security, rural development, local governance, education management and leadership, and microfinance to name a few.

In 2014, CHED issued Certification No. 14-07-398 which ascertained the inclusion of DAP, through GSPDM, in the roster of Philippine higher education institutions. CHED also recognized the various program offerings under the GSPDM.