R&D MANAGEMENT
ASTI’s R&D management is driven by and aligned with the national R&D policies as set by the DOST and the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP Chapter 19). Through the direction of the Secretary of DOST, the ASTI Director aligns ASTI projects per DOST priorities. DOST allocates the budget and specifies the general focal area for R&D.
R&D PROJECT SELECTION, EXECUTION AND EVALUATION
R&D project selection is dependent on the priority projects of DOST Secretary and influenced by the various councils within the Department. The Technical Core Group, headed by the Director, analyses these science and technology (S&T) priorities and proposes projects that support the current national S&T initiatives. ASTI goes through 20 concurrent projects on the average annually.
ASTI projects go through a standard process in terms of R&D execution. ASTI processes are documented and enjoy a quality management certification (ISO9001:2000) from Certification International Philippines. The agency successfully passed its last surveillance audit conducted last February 2010.
ASTI projects are applied technology projects – no new knowledge or technology is discovered or formulated; rather, the agency integrates systems and tools for various applications. This “mash up” development approach lends ASTI a system integrator character.
Project status is reported during regular Technology Core Group meetings. Ongoing projects, e.g., Preginet, Bayanihan, are evaluated and audited at regular intervals for go/no-go decisions. Projects are considered complete once they are ready to be deployed to ASTI customer/stakeholder.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
The 2011 national budget of the Philippines, also known as the General Appropriations Act of 2011 was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III last 28th of December 2010. The said national budget is 6.8 percent higher than the 2010 budget of PhP1.540 trillion (See Figure 1). It represents 18.2 percent of the projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year. The approved budget assumes revenues of PhP1.41 trillion, or 15.6 percent of GDP in 2011, and disbursements of PhP1.70 trillion, or 18.8 percent of GDP, lower than the 19.5 percent last year3.
This year, the Department of Science and Technology were allocated at PhP2.264 billion (See Figure 2). The budget is a 54 percent decrease from the 2010 budget of PhP4.86 billion during the Arroyo Administration. From the current DOST budget, 2.4 percent of it was allocated to the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) whose main thrust is in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), one of DOST’s priority fields for research aside from biotechnology, agriculture, alternative energy, and health.
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| Figure 1. National Budget of the Philippines |
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| Figure 2. DOST Budget of the Philippines |
According to DOST, its budget has its four major thrusts: diffusion of knowledge and technologies, generation of new knowledge and technologies, development of human resources for the scientific and technological (S&T) sector, and provision of quality S&T services.
The Executive Order 128 mandates the DOST “to provide central direction, leadership and coordination of scientific and technological efforts, and ensure that the results therefrom are geared and utilized in areas of maximum economic and social benefits for the people4.”
At least 76 percent or PhP41 million of ASTI budget of PhP54 million, is allocated for their R&D operations annually. Currently, ASTI has 65 personnel dedicated to Research and Development or 70 percent of the institute’s total manpower.
ASTI’s management group is divided into two: the Planning and the Technical Core Group. Since 2005, the institute is headed by ASTI Director, Engr. Denis Villorente, an Electronics and Communications Engineer Board Exam top-notcher and a UP scholar.
ISSUES AND CONCERNS
Based from the group's interview, ASTI is becoming an internal Information Technology of the DOST instead of working on Research and Development projects that the institution is tasked to do. There is also discontinuity of its programs and projects whenever a new DOST Secretary comes in. This is evident on the new DOST chief Mario Montejo, which its current priority project is in the monorail that definitely would affect ASTI’s current projects.
Currently, ASTI’s only 65 R&D personnel are stretched and needs additional training and workforce support. The said number is an obvious reflection of the Philippines’ current stand on R&D personnel per million Filipinos which is at mere 165 per million Filipinos, a way below the UNESCO recommendation of 380 needed for economic development. These highly trained personnel specifically the researchers and scientists, leave the country due to the continuous decline in the quality of scientific research institutions, company spending in R&D, and the procurement of the government in advance technology products. Since 2009, the rankings out of 139 economies in the latest World Economic Forum Report (See Figure 3) have been reduced to -6, -24, and -10 places respectively5. The consequences are serious as these personnel continue to seek for higher wages and better working conditions abroad.
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| Figure 3. Technological Readiness and Innovation summary of the Philippines |
Another stumbling block for ASTI, based on the group’s assessment, is the lack of marketing effort for their products and services as well as its weak link to industry. The institution’s lack of market push with their products and services becomes a challenge. Alex Sy of Alexan, producer of electronic products is the sole private entity linked with ASTI for its Digital MultiMeter product. It would definitely be an advantage for both the institution and industry if partnership would be fully utilized due to the private company’s own funding that does not rely on government resources.
The group has also observed that the institution has no actual homegrown research as well as dedicated time for the personal projects of its personnel which ideally duplicating best practices of 3M and Google.
Lastly, the institution also has projects that are already commercially available or has been done by other countries. This is evident in their flood control project. Other projects of ASTI are basically outdated.
References:
3 General Appropriations Act 2011, The 2011 Budget at a Glance, Department of Budget and Management Publication, The President’s Budget Message, Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Philippines, 24 August 2010
4 PSciJourn, The official site of the Philippine Science Journalists Association Inc., pscijourn.wordpress.com
5 Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, developed for the World Economic Forum (WEF), WEF’s partner institute is the Makati Business Club (MBC) in association with the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP)
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