A strong Philippine Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem that “promote collaborative agreements between industry, government, and the academe to encourage partnerships in support of advanced manufacturing and services” is a platform in achieving the objectives set out in the President’s Zero+10-Point socioeconomic agenda.
With a common objective of boosting inclusive innovation-led growth the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) are undertaking an assessment of patterns that support the creation of more MSMEs with an innovation-driven culture that results in high value products and services.
The program includes engagements with founders and innovators from the startup ecosystem of Silicon Valley as well as the change innovators at University of California – Berkeley.
The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC-Berkeley shared the programs and enabling environment available to its faculty and students that drives a thriving entrepreneurial culture. The institutions leverage the science and technology strengths of the University of California campuses within the greater startup ecosystem and innovative spirit of Silicon Valley. CITRIS and the Banatao institute is ultimately a model that can be emulated to facilitate interdisciplinary work among faculty members, students, corporate partners, and international institutions in the Philippine.
An inclusive innovation roadmap is currently being formulated by the DTI and DOST to sustain the high level growth that the Philippines has been experiencing, attract investments, create more and better jobs, and eliminate poverty in the country.
North Carolina based RTI International, the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) in Washington, DC, and the US Department of Commerce through its Small Business Innovation Research funding program are among the various institutions that will be providing benchmarks for the development of a strong support network for innovative Philippines businesses that can provide economic benefits to all Filipinos.
The undertaking is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) Program. The program continues to support collaborative initiatives of the Philippine government towards innovation-led growth, including the Inclusive Innovation Conference held last May 2017 with DTI and DOST, and through various studies for DTI to better assess innovation challenges in priority industry sectors.♦