Science technology and innovation

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Department of Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, who graciously accepted my invitation for dinner despite his busy schedule and the logistical challenges of moving from one end of Metro Manila to the other at peak hours. My reason was to discuss collaboration with DOST to pursue my advocacy of disaster resilience.

In the course of our conversation, I got to know more about the science, technology and innovation (STI) situation in the country of which research and development (R&D) is a key part of it. Now I have always held the view that the contribution of R&D to our economic development has been largely overlooked in our country thus contributing to its (R&D) parlous state compared to many of our ASEAN neighbors. DOST, under Secretary de la Peña has recognized this and has made R&D the centerpiece of its contribution to achieving the country’s social, political and economic development.

It is not simply the fault of DOST or its past administrators why R&D activities and indeed STI in general has lagged behind other ASEAN neighbors. There is firstly a direct correlation between the level of economic development and STI, particularly R&D. So it will come as no surprise that Singapore, followed by Malaysia would rank first and second as measured in such metrics as patent applications among others. But it is the disparity between these two and the rest of ASEAN that is glaring. As one Japanese study has found out that except for Singapore, other ASEAN economies, the Philippines included, has tended to focus on the development of S&T-related infrastructure and human resources with advanced skills. It concluded that “it is still too early for these countries to contribute to the world’s S&T in the front lines. Malaysia and Thailand are thought to be at a relatively high level after Singapore. It is considered that these two countries and Singapore are thus able to build substantive relationships of cooperation with researchers in Japan, China and South Korea.”

There are of course other factors that impact on the development of a country’s STI capability. These include the state of the technology and science infrastructure, health and environment, business R&D, and education. Qualitatively, this may also involve openness and IP protection. But also a critical factor is governance which includes government efficiency, regulatory quality and corruption which translates into a supportive environment. Using this metric, the Philippines was ranked fourth behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

One shortcut to increasing our STI capability is to collaborate with other economies for mutual benefit. And so it stands to reason that international collaboration is one of the priorities that DOST is pursuing. In reviewing the quality of these bilateral cooperation agreements, I was struck by the fact that most of our STI collaboration seem to be at an early stage so we have yet to see it bearing fruit. Surprisingly, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) has a pretty strong record on this aspect. On reflection, I think it perhaps should not be surprising considering our geographical proximity, which means we share many things in common ecologically and geologically. They have been quite active in health, agriculture, ocean, typhoon, volcano and earthquake research among others. There has also been a healthy exchange of training including sandwich programs at the graduate level. In addition, they are also strong in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, industrial design and manufacturing processes.

China offers the greatest potential for meaningful collaboration but has only re-started in earnest recently. The peril of dealing with China is that it basically reflects the ebb and flow of our bilateral relations. In fact, on behalf of the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, I have aggressively pursued collaboration with China on AI and the opportunities offered by AIIB. Unfortunately, I have failed to secure any meaningful participation in this area. However, we are at a period where relations are warming up and hopefully this is reflected in our STI collaboration. There is much to be gained as China has developed a store of knowledge not only in traditional areas as agriculture and marine science but also in the new area of renewable energy and AI where China has taken leadership in several potential applications. China has set a goal to be the leading AI innovator by 2030 and has backed it with a detailed strategic plan.

Given all these challenges, I think we can take comfort in the fact that the DOST has been spared the malady of political patronage. Its corps of officers and staff have remained professional although not immune from political intervention such as matters pertaining to weather forecasting. Secretary de la Pena’s broad grasp of the issue struck me as the most capable person to lead the DOST into this era where STI has more than ever played a crucial role in our everyday lives. But meeting this challenge head-on requires a whole-of-government approach and complete buy-in from business and consumers which I do not see presently. Here is why it is worrisome. With the advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0 where data is currency and innovation determines winners and losers, the lack of readiness will be disastrous.  

In the fourth quarter of this year, the Romulo Foundation will be hosting a conference which hopefully will be an eye opener on what DOST’s STI agenda is like and how a whole-of-government approach together with private sector collaboration can achieve the best possible outcome.