BICUTAN, TAGUIG CITY - The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) will present Pagtanaw 2050, the Philippine Foresight on Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), to the Department of Science of Technology (DOST) in a virtual turnover ceremony on 22 November 2021.
Commissioned by the DOST, Pagtanaw 2050 is the first inter- and trans-disciplinal project on Philippine-focused STI foresight and strategic plans to harness science and technology as tools towards innovations in products, processes, and organizations to attain a preferred and united future considering our natural endowments as an archipelagic and maritime nation. As annnounced last September, the development of the STI Foresight is also one of the DOST’s Big 21 in 2021 or the 21 responsive and high-impact programs of the agency for the year.According to the European Foresight Platform, foresight is the application of “systematic, participatory, future intelligence gathering, and vision-building processes to inform present-day decisions and mobilize joint actions.” In Filipino, foresight was aptly translated as “pagtanaw” which means “to look ahead” or “to watch from a high vantage point.
Pagtanaw 2050 is the output of the DOST-funded project, “Development of a Philippine STI Foresight and 30-year Strategic Plan 2019-2050," implemented by NAST PHL from 2019 to 2021 with a budget of PHP7,431,940.00. To overcome the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, majority of the participatory and consultative activities instrumental to the development of the Foresight were conducted virtually. These include the SWOT analysis, Delphi survey, scenario planning workshop, and development of the STI roadmaps involving 335 participants from different stakeholder institutions, public and private.
“The main goal of this Foresight document is to chart a strategic path by anticipating the factors that will influence the development of the Philippines’ scientific capital in the years leading up to 2050,” said Academician Azanza in the document’s preface. Under the shared vision of a “Prosperous, Archipelagic, Maritime Nation”, Pagtanaw 2050 supports a technology-explicit development agenda for a globally competitive Philippine knowledge economy that is inclusive, sustainable, and nurtures an educated, healthy, and productive citizenry.In addition to the identification of global and national megatrends and societal goals, Pagtanaw 2050 highlights around 200 technologies that will provide the tools to achieve societal aspirations through 12 operational areas: (1) blue economy; (2) governance; (3) business and trade; (4) digital technology; (5) science education and talent retention; (6) food security and nutrition; (7) health system; (8) energy; (9) water; (10) environment and climate change; (11) shelter, transportation, and infrastructure; and (12) space exploration. To further guide national development, strategic roadmaps which offer insights on the enablers, drivers, and opportunities that would shape Philippine STI in the next three decades are also presented in the Foresight document.
The Pagtanaw 2050 turnover ceremony which coincides with the opening day of the 2021 National Science and Technology week will be held virtually via Zoom and Facebook. The program is expected to be attended by DOST officials led by Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, Socio-economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, NAST PHL officials and members, as well as representatives of government agencies, higher education institutions, and partners in the development of the STI Foresight.
Registration for the virtual ceremony is open to the public. Interested participants may register online at bit.ly/PAGTANAW2050.
The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) is an attached agency to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) mandated by law (Executive Order 818 s.1982) to serve as adviser to the President of the Republic of the Philippines and the cabinet on policies concerning science and technology in the country. For more updates, follow NAST Philippines’ (@nastphl) social media accounts. (Ryan John Pascual, Joshua Emmanuel Veluya/NAST PHL)