Suchergebnisse

Innovation involves implementing new or significantly improved goods and services, production processes, marketing, or organizational methods for adding value. The measurement of innovation provides a mechanism for benchmarking national performance, as well as allows a better understanding of its relation to economic growth. Further, examining determinants and bottlenecks to innovation among firms provides inputs to mainstreaming of policies on innovation. In this paper, results of the 2015 Survey of Innovation Activities (SIA), conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), are described and discussed. Survey results suggest that less than half of the firms in the country were innovators, with larger-sized firms innovating more than the micro, small, and medium establishments (MSMEs). The most common innovative behaviour among firms was process innovation. Effects of innovation were observed to be largely customer-driven. Firms identified cost factors as the most important barrier to innovation. Knowledge and cooperation networks for innovation need strengthening. Government support and its role on innovation was also limited. Firms hardly accessed technical assistance from the government and research institutions. Similarly, firms have limited cooperation with the academe in terms of innovation activities. Firms cooperated more internally with establishments within their enterprise, their customers, and suppliers for their innovation activities. Given these issues, the government needs to have a champion for developing stronger policies and interventions to support and encourage innovation. It is also important to improve information dissemination regarding public programs available to assist firms to pursue innovation. Networking, linkages, and collaboration among the government, industry associations, and universities and research institutions also require further enhancement.

Technological breakthroughs and the interplay of a number of fields, including advanced robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, neurotech, data analytics, blockchain, cloud technology, biotechnology, Internet of Things (IOT), and 3D printing, have ushered in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRe). These various FIRe technologies are already being adopted by Philippine industries, although in varying degrees of diffusion. The extent to which all the potential benefits will be realized from these technologies depends on the country's ability to overcome its capacity to aptly adapt to the global disruptions that are expected to come along with the FIRe. The country needs to focus on establishing a solid basic foundation for sustained learning and on accumulating various types of capital, while progressively and systematically closing the existing technological and knowledge gaps. Both the public and private sectors need to pay attention to the miniscule investment it has been putting in R&D; concomitantly, the Government must have an informed view on how to improve the efficiency of its deployment. Other interrelated measures needed to be able to catch up technologically and benefit from FIRe include: (i) openness to international trade and investment, which can be useful vehicles for faster transfer of innovative ideas and technology; (ii) reduced anti-competition practices and more competition in key industries like ICT; (iii) better educated and more trainable workers and more flexible and less costly labor market regulatory environment; (iv) development of the education and training systems, including both Government and private sectors, that can efficiently and equitably produce malleable human capital; (v) accumulation of other types of complementary capital like institutional, organizational and physical capital; (vi) progressive establishment of a universal social protection system to keep the people secure, especially the poor and vulnerable, in the face expected unprecedented business and employment disruptions; and (vii) more investment in data collection, monitoring, testing and evaluation. The opportunities and challenges are multifaceted and complex. To harness the FIRe, Government as a whole should systematically review and adapt its policies, institutions and development efforts in light of upcoming revolutionary changes.

Innovation involves implementing new or significantly improved goods and services, production processes, marketing, or organizational methods for adding value. The measurement of innovation provides a mechanism for benchmarking national performance, and for examining innovation and its relation to economic growth. Further, examining determinants and bottlenecks to innovation among firms provides inputs to mainstreaming of policies on innovation. This paper describes and discusses the results of the 2015 Survey of Innovation Activities, conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Survey results suggest that less than half of the firms in the country are innovators, with larger-sized firms innovating more than micro, small, and medium establishments. Government needs to have a champion for developing stronger policies and interventions to support and encourage innovation. It is also important to improve information dissemination on public programs available to assist firms in innovating. Networking, linkages, and collaboration among the government, industry associations, and universities and research institutions also require further enhancement.

Technological breakthroughs and the interplay of a number of fields, including advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, neurotechnology, data analytics, blockchain, cloud technology, biotechnology, Internet of Things, and 3D printing, have ushered in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRe). Philippine industries have already been adopting these technologies, although in varying degrees of diffusion. The extent of the potential benefits that may be realized from the FIRe will depend on the country's ability to adapt to the global disruptions that come along with the industrial revolution. The country needs to establish a solid foundation for sustained learning and to accumulate various types of capital, while progressively and systematically closing existing technological gaps. Both the public and private sectors need to pay attention to the minuscule investment going to research and development. Concomitantly, the government must have an informed view on how to improve its deployment efficiency. Trade openness, competition in key industries, labor market flexibility, human capital development, and an established social protection system, among others, must also be ensured to catch up with and benefit from the technological revolution.