ILOILO City – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) started preparing for its Call for Proposals for DOST and Council Grant-in-Aid (GIA) Program.
DOST secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said they are looking for a research that can provide science-based solutions to real problems in the real world.
“Sometimes researchers think of something that they perceive is beneficial to the community but it will be helpful if they hear it from the industry, the local government… That is why we need to have an ecosystem for the scientific community that will not only address the perceived need of researchers but the real needs of industry players,” Solidum said.
He was in Iloilo on Feb. 16 for the third leg of the 2023 Visayas Cluster Call Conference. It aims to discuss research and development priority areas as well as the requirements and evaluation process, among others.
Solidum said the call for proposals is very significant so that the department can lay down its priorities.
“Starting this year, we convince state universities and colleges, private colleges and research organizations that what we need in the scientific community is to translate what we produce as innovations or applications or services towards four major themes aligned with the President’s socio-economic agenda and the long-term vision for the country,” said Solidum.
The four major themes are human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability.
Solidum said under the human well-being theme, the aim is to develop science and technology innovation to address health and food security concerns.
“We need to ramp up our human resource development in terms of providing scholarship, providing new ways of learning or doing things, especially the school system. Most importantly even with graduate degrees already, we still need to ramp up efforts in making sure that technology and entrepreneurship should be combined,” he added.
For wealth creation, the focus is to make sure that what is in research and development is translated into something that is adopted by the national and local governments and most importantly by the enterprises.
“There are various business models… We have been helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) but what we need to also engage larger businesses, the larger organizations, so we can create more impact,” he added.
In wealth protection, Solidum emphasized the need to protect lives and livelihood: “We are prone to many natural hazards because of the climate change, global warming. So we need to protect our lives and our livelihood, that is why the third is wealth protection.”
He emphasized that to integrate these and to ensure the future generation will be able to use the country’s natural wealth, there is a need to preserve and conserve the environment.
He said sustainability also means ensuring the products and innovations of the researchers are acknowledged and supported.
Also, Solidum said there is a need to develop smart technology and guides, and applications and other innovations to ensure an effective governance system through digital transformation.
This research will be funded through the DOST grant aid; Philippine Council for Health Research and Development; Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development; Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technologies; and National Research Council of the Philippines./PN
