Towards an innovation-led development path in the Philippines : final technical report

Abstract

With the advent of using innovation surveys to provide a better understanding of evolving practices and factors that shape innovation system, the Department of Science and Technology has conducted a study involving the said survey to measure the current state of innovation in the Philippines. The pilot innovation survey covered key cities in the Philippines and focused on firms engaged in Electronics and Food Manufacturing and ICT-related industries. The key findings of the survey revealed that cost factors are the major barriers to innovation and knowledge management (KM) is a good determinant of innovation. It was found that firms active in KM practices have shown high innovation activity across size, industry type, and location of establishment. The results have shown that knowledge networks are weak. Firms do not avail technical assistance from the government, academe and research institutions. They preferred to rely on internal sources and partnerships with customers and suppliers. This showed low cooperation among the key stakeholders of innovation. Building on with these results, it was recommended that government authorities need to work in tandem with the academe and business sectors, strengthen its partnerships to advocate for innovation, and provide more leadership in bringing people and institutions together.