DOST bullish on the country’s innovation prospects, strengthens innovation in the regions

By STRIDE Program 

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) believes more opportunities await the Philippines’ innovation landscape, as current developments are expected to snowball into increased research and development (R&D), technologies, and business innovations. 

“The rise in our global innovation ranking to 54th from 73rd the previous year validates our work and encourages us to continue our mission to strengthen R&D across the country,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña. “The recent passage of the Philippine Innovation Act and the creation of the Philippine Space Agency will provide us a wider platform to pursue more research and to further strengthen the innovation space.” 

“We are also optimistic that through the Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers (RIIC) initiatives, our efforts to solidify innovation across the regions will bear fruit,” he added.  

The DOST, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and with the support of regional agencies, established RIICs in the pilot areas of Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Southern Mindanao regions.  

RIICs are enabling platforms where government, education, and industry players in the regions collectively pursue market-oriented researches that address issues and industry needs. Through the RIICs, efforts to synergize the innovation activities of different stakeholders in the region—including universities, government institutions, S&T parks, R&D centers, startups, small and medium enterprises, large enterprises, funders—are strengthened. 

“We need to establish more industry-academe linkages in research.  Collaboration enables R&D stakeholders to build on one another’s ideas and synergize efforts. By doing this, we make innovation more widely impactful,” explained DOST Undersecretary for R&D Rowena Cristina L. Guevara. 

The DOST plays a pivotal role in providing the resources needed to support collaboration in the region’s R&D processes and infrastructure.

RIIC’s early successes 

Significant gains were achieved since RIICs were initiated last year. In Northern Mindanao, the DOST and the Oro Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with DTI and local universities, re-launched the new OROBEST program. 

Formerly an annual business expo event, OROBEST has evolved to mean “Optimizing Regional Opportunities for Business Excellence through Science, Technology, and Innovation.” The team implementing OROBEST has started to do industry needs assessment and is identifying local universities’ research and outputs that may be relevant to local businesses. 

In Region XI, the DOST leads the development of an R&D information system to match and support the local banana industry. While in Bicol, a PhP 46M grant was approved by DOST for Bicol University to put up a pili laboratory that will boost R&D in pili production, processing, and product development. 

Creating R&D linkages through the years 

The DOST’s thrust to create regional linkages in innovation took off as early as 2007 when it initiated the Philippine Innovation Strategy known as Filipinnovation. This effort led to the establishment of the Filipinnovation Network, an open and multidisciplinary alliance of stakeholders in state universities and colleges. 

In 2017, recognizing the need for strengthened collaborative efforts in the innovation sphere, the DOST and the DTI worked together to build a strong innovation and entrepreneurship culture that will speed up the commercialization of R&D outputs. The year after, the two agencies launched the Inclusive Filipinnovation and Entrepreneurship Roadmap, which serves as blueprint in establishing a seamless innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.