PH down a notch in Global Innovation Index

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has slid from 50th to 51st place out of 132 other economies in the 2021 Global Innovation Index (GII).

Despite ending a rank lower compared to last year, the country remained on the list of five nations that made significant progress in innovation performance over time, together with China, Turkey, Vietnam and India.

The GII is an annual report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo), a specialized agency of the United Nations. It offers data and analysis on worldwide innovation state, a resource used by countries in acquiring support for their industries and competing in the global market.

“The Philippines continues to lead by example to other developing countries in setting innovation as a national priority,” Marco Aleman, assistant director general of Wipo, said during an interagency virtual press conference on Tuesday.

According to Science and Technology Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra, the ranking means that “in the entire world, we are above the 50-percent mark in terms of [innovation]. As they say, Filipinos are really resourceful so this is an affirmation.”

For the past three years, the country’s investment for research and development (R&D) has remained low. The 2021 ranking is now at 72 from 70 in 2020 and 76 in 2019.

“However, despite the low input, our ranking for innovation outputs or the resulting programs and technologies from such investments, is rising, with the Philippines at rank 40 in 2021, a step higher from the 41st ranking in 2020,” the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.

To further boost innovation in the country, the DOST reiterated its call for the passage of the Science for Change Program bill, which was aimed at advancing the funding for research and development efforts.

Guevarra explained that the bill came with two important components that include the enhancement of the innovation ecosystem through solving the disparity in funding across regions.