DOST: Exploring the Frontiers of Science and Technology in the Philippine Startup Ecosystem

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is a government agency in the Philippines that is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies and programs related to science and technology development. DOST involves itself in the startup ecosystem in the country by providing them with programs and funding. The agency aims to promote scientific and technological advancements and contribute to the economic and social progress of the country.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) is one of the sectoral councils of the DOST. It is responsible for funding and managing research and development projects related to industry, energy, and emerging technologies in the Philippines. The council aims to support the development of innovative solutions that can enhance the competitiveness of Philippine industries and contribute to the sustainable development of the country. With that, why don’t you join me in learning more about the Department of Science and Technology and PCIEERD with its Senior Science Research Specialist, Edward Apigo.   

What is the mandate of the Department of Science and Technology in the Philippines?

The Department of Science and Technology as a whole is a very big agency. The DOST provides a central direction on science and technology. The mandate is to come up with programs and strategies to enhance the science and technology sector in the country. The provision of support, grants, programs, and initiatives that will really improve the science and technology ecosystem in the country.

What sets DOST apart from DTI and DICT, which also promote the technology startup ecosystem? 

DTI and DICT have been our partners in moving innovation and the startup ecosystem in the country. We are the three lead agencies in implementing the Innovative Startup Act. We have similar programs, but what differentiates us is the stage of startups that we support. On the side of the DICT, they support the early stage startups, from idea to prototype, ours is on the prototype to market, while the DTI, they focus more on growth and expansion.

How does the DOST promote the development of science and technology in the country, most especially when it comes to startups?

One of our main programs that support startups is the Startup Grant Fund Program. It provides support to technology-based innovative startups that are in the prototype stage so that they can translate their early-stage technologies into market-ready products. The funding is direct funding for startups for them to conduct research and development because we recognize that this is crucial. This purely focuses on research and development.

We are actually here in Cebu to teach startups how to write research and development proposals. We are doing a boot camp so that we are able to equip them with the right tools and knowledge so that we can prepare quality proposals for the funding. We do this because we recognize and acknowledge that startups are not familiar with writing research and development proposals. They are much more keen in writing business proposals. Rather than waiting for them to be ready, we want to make them ready.

What is the role of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) within the DOST?

The DOST PCIEERD is the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development. Our core function is to provide funding support for research and development. We also provide support for institution and policy development, technology and transfer commercialization, and lastly information dissemination. Anything that is related to industry-based sectors.

How does the PCIEERD work with industry partners to promote startups in the country?

We work closely with different industry organizations. In fact, when we fund research and development, one of the requirements is for university research and development institutions to have a development partner from the industry. This is to ensure that the research and development projects that these researchers are doing are aligned to the needs of the industry. We foster industry-academe collaboration through the different programs that we have now.

Can you share any success stories or examples of startups that have benefited from the PCIEERD?

We actually have a lot of these stories. However, the most successful and impactful story that I have would be a person I met. His name was ‘Ralph’ (for privacy purposes --- just a pseudonym). Ralph used to be a professor in a university. When he started his startup, he was bootstrapping. He only had 3 people in his company. He was contemplating to resign from his day-time job. However, he felt scared to pursue it since his company lacked the necessary resources. One day he was able to secure a grant from the DOST and decided to pursue his startup full time. He implemented our project and within just one year, he was able to grow his company from 3 people to 30 people. He also has his own office now. This is the classic example of one of our success stories. We measure the success of startups with the number of jobs that they are able to generate.

Edward Apigo is the Senior Science Research Specialist of the PCIEERD of the Department of Science and Technology. As the Senior Science Research Specialist, Edward’s primary task is to lead and manage research and development projects related to the council's focus areas of industry, energy, and emerging technologies. He is responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of R&D programs and projects. This is to ensure that these initiatives are aligned with the council's objectives and contribute to the overall development of the country. These are all connected to the DOST and PCIEERD’s missions since it aims to promote the science and technology sector in the country by supporting the development of startups and small businesses.

Visit www.techshake.asia if you would like to know and connect more with the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines