Experts in Central Visayas underscored the importance of combining technology with a human-centered approach to build smarter, more resilient communities, saying innovation must address real-world problems rather than exist for its own sake.

Speaking during the Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week (RSTW) in Central Visayas on 15 July, industry leaders said technology should serve as an enabler, with communities actively involved in identifying the challenges that innovations seek to solve.

“A smart community isn’t just one filled with technology. Technology is an accelerator, but citizens need to understand the problem, relate to it, voice it out, and see the changes,” said Timothy Joshua F. Vargas.

The International Organization for Standardization defines a smart community as one that integrates physical, digital, and human systems to create a sustainable and inclusive future.

Neil Clyde Kho emphasized that meaningful innovation begins with understanding a community’s actual needs before developing technological solutions.

“We cannot create something truly smart without first understanding what is happening in the community,” Kho said.

He cited his team’s work on the Ark of Agriculture, an agricultural supply chain platform developed after spending more than six months immersing themselves in farming communities to understand their needs before proposing solutions.

Vargas echoed the same principle, saying smart technologies should be designed around people.

“We’re very human-based. Every individual has a valid point because a community is made up of different individuals,” he said.

His team developed SEERMO, an AI-powered urban mobility platform that uses crowdsourced data to help local governments create safer and more inclusive streets by analyzing how people move through cities.