The NICER Program aims to address the discrepancy in access to R&D funding among the regions.
Through the program, qualified Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the regions are provided with grants so they can undertake quality research directed at promoting regional development with their existing capabilities and resources.
A proposed NICER should be unique, a collaborative project between HEIs, and must be duly endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) to ensure its socio-economic impact in the region.
The RDLead Program aims to help develop and strengthen further the research capabilities of the academe, research and development institutions (RDIs), and other government line agencies nationwide.
To this end, RDLeaders who are local S&T experts with strong leadership and innovative policy proficiencies are engaged to train, and direct and support their R&D goals.
Depending on the R&D needs of the academe, RDIs, and line agencies, an RDLeader is engaged through application, screening, and evaluation by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP).
NRCP is the implementing agency of the RDLead Program.
The BIST Program aims to provide financial assistance to Filipino private companies for the acquisition of strategic and relevant technologies so they can undertake their R&D.
The financial assistance, which may only be used to purchase high-tech equipment or to secure technology licensing and/or patent rights, will be refunded to DOST at 0% interest.
The CRADLE Program aims to enable technological advancement and innovation of local companies and to support the growth of the Philippine Innovation ecosystem.
Through the program, the academe and/or RDI in partnership with a Filipino company, undertakes research and development to improve the company’s products, processes, and services to become more competitive in their respective industries.
Beneficiary-companies under this program must provide at least 20% counterpart funding and commit to adopt the technology that will be developed.
This way, research outputs from the academe are directly translated commercially to the market.
Relatively a new program conceptualized in 2016, S4CP made a game-changing impact on the Philippine society especially the countryside.
Led by Usec. Rowena Cristina Guevara, S4CP then became a catalyst in upgrading R&D for various stakeholders.
“With the zeal for public service demonstrated by Usec. Guevara, her team, the DOST regional offices and the DOST sectoral councils, we came up with a program that creatively changes the way science and technology, and the outputs of research and development, are integrated into our society," said DOST Sec. Fortunato T. de la Peña.
DOST has enhanced the effectiveness of public institutions in the pursuit of reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
During the virtual briefer on June 23, de la Peńa mentioned the extent of S4CP’s implementation: “The CRADLE Program developed notable projects like the Remote Online Surveillance for Banana (ROSANNA) mobile application of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) and HIJO Resources Corporation (HRC). The project minimized the damages caused by Black Leaf Streak (BLS), Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD), and other common banana diseases thereby reducing the cost of disease control. The project with BEPCO to optimize the use of their low chicken eggs turned their business losses to new products with new markets. We aspire for a similar impact in our current projects under the Business Innovation through Science and Technology or BIST Program. Local companies like Herbanext Laboratories, Nanotronics Inc., Pharma Galen X and BioAssets Corporation will be given an edge through R & D in their respective sectors."
With the Science for Change Program, the DOST has expanded its public service and enhanced the effectiveness of public institutions nationwide by establishing R&D infrastructure, collaborative R&D, technology acquisition, and capacity-building, thereby, reducing inequality, improving inclusivity, increasing sustainability, and having higher productivity in our investment in R&D and human resource development.
The Niche Centers in the Region for R&D or NICER Program leads in stringing the innovation network of universities along with the human resources complement from the RDLead program in each of 17 regions of the country. (PR)
