THE bicameral conference committee approved on Tuesday the proposed Philippine Innovation Act, which will establish an innovation policy that will help the global competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The proposed Philippine Innovation Act seeks to create a National Innovation Council (NIC) tasked to develop the country’s innovation goals, priorities and long-term strategy through the formulation of a National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document (NIASD).
The NIASD also provides a road map and strategies for improving innovation governance and for inclusive programs and private partnership with businesses, MSMEs, academe as well as research and development institutions.
The NIC will be chaired by the President, with members coming from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Science and Technology (DoST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), among others.
The council is directed to develop strategies for the promotion of new ideas into products, processes and services aimed at improving the welfare of the low-income and marginalized sector.
It also serves as a source of strategic intelligence for national research and innovation policymaking. It also works on measures towards promoting MSME internationalization and participation in the local and global value chain.
The bill enumerates priority areas of the government for innovation as food security and sustainable agriculture, the blue economy, education, health, clean energy, climate change and disaster resilience, resource inefficiencies, global value chains, traditional knowledge, infrastructure needs, and governance, among others.
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the bill places innovation as the center of country’s national development policies that will drive economic development and inclusive growth.
“MSMEs are at a disadvantage because of their size and problems of access to resources and markets. Innovation will enhance the global competitiveness of these MSMEs,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“I hope that (the Philippine Innovation Act) will be implemented to develop a thriving and growth-fueling national innovation system, cure our highly fragmented innovation governance system, and mobilize and strengthen partnerships between and among all the actors in the innovation system,” he added. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
