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Title of PresentationSubtitle/other information

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EU-ASEAN S&T cooperation to jointly tackle societal challenges

Innovative Innovation in:Philippines

STI Days, Bangkok, 21 Jan 2014Session: Innovation in ASEAN

Svend Remoe, RCN

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I. Context: Key indicators

Indicator 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009

Population size (mill) 80 82 85 89 92

GDP* 3,963,873 4,316,402 5,444,038 6,648,619 7,678,917

Total R&D exp* 5,769,75 5,909,75 6,362,32 7,556,36 8,779

GERD 0,15 0,14 0,12 0,11 0,11

Public R&D exp* 1,615 1,584 2,268 2,660 3,138

Business R&D exp* 4,154 4,325 4,058 4,895 5,641

Total R&D pers** 9,325 13,488 14,087 14,649 16,673

No of researchers** 7,203 8,866 10,690 11,490 13,091

Researchers pr mill pop 90 108 125 130 142

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Context: Overall picture

• Strengths:– Macro-economic stability and growth

– Technological readiness in many sectors

– Market size

– Business sophistication and R&D in some sectors

– Increasing participation in global value chains

• Weaknesses– Quality of institutions and infrastructure

– Education and human capital

– Commodity and labor market efficiency

– Low levels of tax revenues

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Context: Policy

• Filipinnovation: A comprehensive strategic approach to enhance

innovation and competitiveness in Philippines• Initiated in 2007 with high-level support, mixed integration in policy, key network still in place

• Key objectives:– Strengthening human capital

– Supporting business incubation and acceleration

– Regenerating the innovation environment

– Upgrading the Filipino mindset

• An important policy initiative: The technology transfer act– A response to weak patenting and tech transfer

– Enacted in 2009-2010

– Assumes ownership to RDIs rather than the funding institutions

– Has proved to be an important, well supported policy in line with Filipinovation

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II. Innovative innovation support: CoEs and CoDs

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Innovative innovation support: ERDT

• Engineering Research and Development for Technology

• Spearheaded by the University of Philippines, and has a set of specific

objectives:– Deliver high-impact research aligned with the country’s National Science and Technology Plan (NSTO) and the

Medium-Term Development Program (MTDP);

– Attain a critical mass of Master and Doctoral graduates;

– Upgrade the qualifications of practicing engineers;

– Develop a culture of research and development.

• ERDT offers scholarships to students, and – Represent a dedicated effort to boost the science and engineering capacity through training of graduates in

doing research in science and engineering fields.

– Entry to the program is based on a competitive process to ensure that the best students are recruited.

– Cooperation with universities in Japan and USA

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Innovative innovation support: The Balik program

• How to benefit from the vast number of expats?

• The Balik program: foreign-based Filipino scientists and foreign scientists

of Filipino descent are invited to return on short term stays to assist in

priority R&D projects.

• It aims to strengthen the scientific and technological human resources

• And upgrade R&D capabilities of private and public institutions.

• Balik complements national initiatives to improve the human capital

situation and helps expand networks and S&T linkages nationally and

internationally.

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III. Conclusions

• The three instruments address key challenges for the Filipino innovation

system: The human capital and the education system

• Wider support to innovation is needed

• But meets with a heavy challenge: A very large informal economy

• How can Philippines expand its innovation system, its formal economy

and investment capabilities?

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Contact

Research Council of Norway

Svend Remoe

sore@rcn.no

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The final study will be available at:www.sea-eu.net

in June 2014

Thank you!