Science and technology grants hit P700 million in 2007An official of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) revealed in the First National Conference on Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization that budget for grants-in-aid (GIA) program increased to P700 million in 2007 vis-à-vis the P400 million in 2006 and P250 million in 2005. Last year, the research and development (R&D) sector received P375 million of the P700 million total grant. Other GIA programs include science and technology promotion (P175 million) and technology transfer and utilization (P150 million). Dr. Graciano P. Yumul, Jr., DoST Undersecretary for Research and Development, presented these figures in the conference organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The six priority R&D fields, Yumul added, are biotechnology, information and communication technology, health and pharmaceutical, environment, alternative fuels, and agriculture. “Intellectual property and technology transfer issues are increasingly becoming important. Universities and research and development institutions (RDI), though starting, already have some success stories,” Yumul concluded in his presentation on the state of IP commercialization in the Philippines. “IP initiatives, programs and platforms are currently provided and nurtured by the government,” he said. “Universities and research and development institutions are the country’s centers of innovation. Linking their innovations with the market will attract more investments, generate employment, and enhance the country’s competitiveness,” Atty. Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr., Director General of IP Philippines, said. Apart from organizing the conference participated in by some 200 delegates, IP Philippines has been reaching out to universities and RDI across the country for the past two years. To-date, the agency has provided basic orientation seminars and IP policy crafting workshops to 44 universities, 14 of which had instituted university-wide IP polices in different stages of development. Universities and RDI is one of eight sectors listed in the Philippine Intellectual Property Policy Strategy (PIPPS) spearheaded by IP Philippines in consultation with IP stakeholders. The policy strategy was launched last year during the National Innovation Summit led by the DoST. “In the policy strategy, the office will assist in crafting IP policies and setting up technology licensing offices (TLO) in public and private universities,” he said. Cristobal explained that universities and research and development institutions (RDI) must start developing and implementing IP policies within their communities to lay down the rules of ownership, rights and obligations, that will guide innovators. “Only when these rules are clear, will commerce participate in technological development and commercialization.”
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