DOST-PCIEERD executive director Enrico Paringit. (File photo)
MANILA – An official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Thursday said he sees the agency to lead in innovation by example in 2021 and beyond.
"This can be done by embracing adaptability and agility in the way we serve our partners and clients. So for this, we are rolling out systems to improve customer experience," Enrico Paringit, executive director of the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.
PCIEERD's total quality management, he said, encourages transparency, integrity, and accountability.
"(As an example), researchers or proponents could access the status of their proposal review in real-time," he added.
Paringit added that the PCIEERD has been optimizing its budget by ensuring that proposed projects have possible or willing adopters and end-users. It has rolled out technology transfer to make sure that technologies become more accessible to the people.
On Thursday, PCIEERD live streamed “A Decade of Innovation: PCIEERD’s 10-Year Journey of Making Innovation Work for the People” via its Facebook page to showcase some of its past projects.
As a planning council of the DOST, PCIEERD was founded in June 2010 after consolidating the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) and the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD).
Paringit said among the biggest challenges they faced in the last 10 years was with regard to PCIEERD's identity and communication.
"PCIEERD is a long acronym. As for communication, people do not usually understand or appreciate science and technology breakthroughs if we throw them publications. We need science outputs to be more understandable to the public," he said.
He said PCIEERD has to deal with a limited budget.
"Our capacity to do research is increasing as there are now more MS (Master of Science) and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) graduates who can contribute to the innovation ecosystem. We need to make them productive and satisfy their curiosity. We need them to solve our problems," Paringit noted.
From a budget of PHP613 million in 2020, Paringit said he requested PHP1 billion for his office for 2021.
However, he said it seems that the PCIEERD would only get PHP712 million for next year.
Paringit said they have received 700 proposals in the 2020 Call for Proposals for 2021 implementation.
"If all of these are approved, we are looking at PHP4 billion requirement. If at least 25 percent is approved, we still have a PHP1 billion budget requirement," he pointed out.
He, however, noted that PCIEERD can always introduce measures to help proponents, especially those in the regions, improve their proposals. (PNA)
