The Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) said on Monday, Oct. 10 that it is looking to strengthen its research investments and support sector to further build up the country’s standing in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in the following years.

DOST-PCIEERD made the statement as the Philippines ranked 59th among 132 countries in the 2022 report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico C. Paringit said the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the deceleration of research activities with prolonged lockdowns and standstills.

“We will continue to double our work in stepping up our efforts in providing innovation to our citizens through our research and development efforts,” he said.

“All our indicators for R&D bounced back, if not even improved, this year. We are optimistic that we have nowhere to go but up for our GII ranking,” he said. Paringit highlighted that the Philippines improved in terms of research and development despite setbacks caused by the pandemic. Data from the GII showed that the Philippines climbed back and even improved its standing.

Overall, the Philippines improved its Research and Development ranking from 74 to 63 in 2022. In terms of global corporate investments, it climbed from 41 to 38.

On the QS university ranking, the Philippines climbed from 53 to 48. The biggest gainer is in terms of gross expenditure on R&D investments from 95 to 75. The number of researchers also increased from rank 87 to 84.

The Philippines also stood out in terms of creative inputs, market sophistication, and infrastructure.

In terms of market support, Paringit said the Council will be pushing for more collaborations for the Startup Research Grant Program (SGP).

Launched in 2021, the program was designed in response to the Innovative Startup Act or RA No. 11337 which mandates the DOST to promote the Philippine startup ecosystem by providing R&D support to startup companies overcome R&D roadblocks, strengthen the company’s intellectual property, establish initial market traction, refine the company’s business model, and scale up current production capacities.

“To date, we have already completed two cycles of proposal submissions and evaluations, and out of a total of 120 proposals from startups, 27 startups have passed the evaluation and have been approved for funding with a total budget of P 89 million,” Paringit said.

For infrastructure, Paringit he added that the Council will continue to work on funding initiatives that would maximize the use of ICTs for industrial development and the digitization of government services for ease-of-doing-business, as well as others that would need citizen participation and those promoting for public welfare to sustain the recognition from WIPO on this aspect.

PCIEERD has been very instrumental in establishing centers like the Halal Food R&D Facility; Materials Development for Additive Manufacturing R&D Laboratory (MATDEV); Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen); Advanced Mechatronics, Robotics, and Industrial Automation Laboratory (AMERIAL) and others.

Paringit also noted that the Council is contributing on improving the science and technology human resource of the country through various programs directed at upskilling the Philippine workforce.

The Council is supporting the Balik Scientist Program, which was finally institutionalized as law; the S&T Fellow Program where 42 S&T Fellows were hired under the project and assigned to their DOST agencies to participate in policy and funding development, implementation of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) protocol, and most importantly, in the conceptualization, proposal, and implementation of R&D programs and projects that would deliver socio and economic impact in the country; and the RDLead Program which aims to help develop and strengthen further the research capabilities of the academe, research and development institutions (RDIs), and other government line agencies nationwide.