The economic managers of the Marcos administration emphasized the continuing importance of research and development to advance the economy.

According to the National Economic Development Authority on Monday, developing programs and initiatives that allow the economy to catch up with the changing times will be strengthened through studies and innovation.

“I remember an analogy I heard before…’When you do innovation, it’s like playing scrabble’. You only have so many blocks or letters to make a word, and those blocks of letters are your R&D outputs. So, if you have more of these ‘blocks’ of R&D, you can make more words — you can innovate more,” NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said in a statement.

Edillon stated that NEDA will promote the expansion of scholarship programs for the youth to support the initiative further.

NEDA, citing the Global Innovation Index, said there are only 174 researchers per million population as of 2018.

“We will be pushing for a massive scholarship program to help us reach our target of 500 researchers per million population by 2028,” Edillon said.

She also acknowledged that while there are already a lot of R&D outputs available in the country, these are dispersed, which makes it difficult for market players to access and utilize.

“Many would say 'someone has already done it,' but the problem is no one knows about it. So, what’s important right now is having a good knowledge management system for R&D outputs and having platforms that tell innovators where they can find the outputs they need to innovate,” Edillon said.

Edillon added that there are other facets of a dynamic innovation ecosystem that also need to be developed to foster R&D and innovation.

“We need to create a culture of innovation, where innovators are constantly looking for ways to improve products and services whereas consumers are willing to try innovative products and provide constructive feedback,” Edillon said.

The National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document 2023-2032 is a document that lays out the goals, roadmap and strategies for enhancing innovation governance and establishing a dynamic innovation ecosystem in the country.