DOST, Japan, UK agencies to support coastal communities

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology is working with science agencies from Japan and the United Kingdom on collaborative research initiatives that could come up with technology in support of sustainable coastal communities.

The DOST is playing a lead role in crafting a framework for a multi-funder cooperation among the Philippines, Japan and the UK.  

Under the initiative, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the DOST convened researchers and stakeholders from Southeast Asian countries to discuss recent studies on coastal communities and brainstorm for possible research collaboration.  

Being funders of research in their respective countries, the JST, UKRI and DOST are now focusing on resolving global challenges propelled by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda. Collaboration among these institutions is encouraged as it increases the complementarity and impact of investments in terms of research funding, people, equipment, data and other resources.  

Enrico Paringit, executive director of DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) stressed that the cooperation among Japan, UK and the Philippines should benefit coastal communities that face threats of climate change. 

“Having a multilateral approach to support research initiatives is a way for us to optimize resources. There are research resources available in other countries that may be beneficial in the implementation of research projects here in the Philippines,” he said.  

The multilateral cooperation focuses on sustainable coastal communities as several projects in the Southeast Asian region were identified as having a thematic focus on water, coastal communities and aquaculture – topics relevant to the SDGs. One major discussion during the workshop was the participants’ experience with funding agencies that will be the basis for the development of an effective multi-funder mechanism. 

JST, UKRI and DOST will consolidate the input from the workshop and come up with a framework for a multi-funder cooperation that may take effect in the future.