March 29, 2024

Councilor Levy Lloyd Orcales has proposed an ordinance providing for city policies and strategies on research and innovation.

Orcales said that the ordinance shall encourage citizens to come up with outputs that are essentially beneficial to economic zones and the business sector in the city. This shall lead in the introduction of new or emerging products that have social and economic benefits.

Once approved, the ordinance shall provide guidelines on the promotion, integration and strengthening of programs, policies, and strategies.

The proposed ordinance shall also promote public participation in the innovation process and strengthen public information on intellectual property rights.

Seeking to ensure a more effective coordination process, the proposed ordinance shall likewise promote productive forms of interaction between the scientific community and the public and discover other opportunities for interaction.

To realize the objectives of the proposed ordinance, a Baguio City Innovation Alliance, also to be known as the “Incubator Baguio”, shall be created to develop a local branding for innovation.

Incubator Baguio will be used as a major platform for the innovation continuum between the city government and its research and innovation partners. It will be tasked to develop strategies in promoting the creation of new ideas that will be developed into new and quality products, processes, and services aimed at improving the welfare of low-income families and uplifting the lives of the oppressed and marginalized groups, as well as create livelihood opportunities for these sectors.

According to the proposal, the city government, through the Incubator Baguio, will encourage and support the establishment of innovation centers and business incubators towards fostering skills and technology transfer, collaboration on innovation initiatives between small and big businesses, supplier development, access to finance, and creation of marketing opportunities.

Higher education institutions (HEI) will also be encouraged to identify and endorse to the city innovation alliance academic researches of their students to be deliberated upon for possible adoption by the city government into its policymaking and program planning and for possible funding and other forms of assistance that will support the completion of the research.

The proposed ordinance has been and referred to the committee on ethics, governmental affairs, and personnel for review. – Jordan G. Habbiling