Priority areas for PPPs listed

THE Congressional Committee on Science and Technology (Comste) has identified critical areas for public-private partnership ventures to jump-start the country’s competitiveness, including energy and environment, science-math-engineering education, health, agriculture and food, semiconductors and electronics, as well as information technology and IT-enabled industries.

Sen. Edgardo Angara reported that the commission, created to assess the current state of science and technology (S&T) in the country, has already given priority to the cultivation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) that President Aquino himself had highlighted as a key tool in reviving the economy in his State of the Nation Address before Congress.

“The extensive research conducted by Comste and the expertise of its members led to prioritizing specific projects in Renewable Energy, Green Transportation, Remote Sensing, Disaster Mitigation and Resilience, to name a few,” he said. “These high-value, high-visibility projects can help jump-start the culture of innovation that we are trying to create.”

“Such public-private partnerships which utilize the concerted efforts of government, industry and academe… can boost the global competitiveness of the country,”Angara added.

He recalled that for the past couple of years, “the top minds from government, academe and industry have been working together to create new ways to stimulate the utilization of science and technology as tools to make our country more globally competitive.”

He said the PPPs are vital to such efforts in creating a culture of innovation. “In Comste we have broken down bureaucratic barriers that in the past have hindered public and private institutions from communicating and working harmoniously together.”

Angara suggested that the government also build bridges of collaboration with neighboring countries that can expedite knowledge sharing and technology transfer. He said this will help the nation by minimizing on cost and maximizing output.

“Fast-tracking the development of our S&T foundation through enhanced collaboration with our neighbors is one of the easiest ways to overcome financial constraints. We have been in talks with Taiwan, Korea and Japan, who are all open and willing to partner with us with research-exchange programs and tech-transfer arrangements,” he added. –Butch Fernandez, Businessmirror