Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Definition
Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is the Philippine cabinet agency for science, tech, and R&D policy. It funds grants, trains scholars, and transfers know-how to industry, building the talent pipeline the BPO sector taps for higher-value work.
Key takeaways
- DOST steers Philippine science, technology, and innovation policy under Executive Order 128, signed by President Corazon Aquino in January 1987.
- The department runs seven R&D institutes, three sectoral councils, 16 regional offices, and the Philippine Science High School System.
- Scholarships funded roughly 12,000 undergraduates in 2024, feeding STEM talent into BPO firms, universities, and public agencies.
- The Balik Scientist Program has drawn more than 600 Filipino experts back home since 2018 under Republic Act 11035, teaching, consulting, or running labs.
- Programs like SETUP, Project NOAH, and FASSSTER link DOST research to MSMEs, disaster response, public health, and outsourcing talent.
For outsourcing operators, DOST matters because Philippine competitiveness in higher-tier BPO work rests on the technical talent it funds and trains. Knowledge-heavy outsourcing needs engineers, data scientists, and biomedical researchers, not just voice agents.
That supply comes from DOST’s scholarship budget, its Balik Scientist returnees, and its 16-campus Philippine Science High School System, which feeds STEM undergraduates into universities and eventually the workforce.
How it works
DOST works through a headquarters at the DOST Complex in Bicutan, Taguig, plus seven R&D institutes, three sectoral councils, and 16 regional offices. The Secretary sits in the Philippine cabinet.
The department was created by Executive Order 128, signed by President Corazon Aquino on 30 January 1987, which restructured the old National Science and Technology Authority into a full cabinet department.
Its brief spans policy, research funding, scholarships, and tech transfer to industry. The Secretary reports directly to the President.
Funding flows from the national budget, augmented by partners such as JICA, USAID, and the World Bank’s Philippines country programme.
Grants move through the sectoral councils — PCAARRD for agriculture, PCHRD for health, PCIEERD for industry and emerging tech — into institutes, universities, and private firms.
International cooperation runs through JICA (Japan) on engineering and disaster science, USAID (United States) on public health and climate work, and multilaterals like the World Bank on innovation financing.
Bilateral deals with South Korea and Australia add funding for space and marine research, while joint programmes with China and ASEAN cover clean energy and food security.
Scholarships are DOST’s biggest human-capital lever, with roughly 12,000 active undergraduate scholars in 2024 across science, engineering, and health courses.
Postgraduate slots are reserved for national-priority fields like semiconductors, biotech, and climate science, aligning DOST spending with cabinet-level industry roadmaps.
| Unit | Role |
|---|---|
| Seven R&D institutes | ITDI, FNRI, ASTI, PNRI, PTRI, MIRDC, FPRDI carry out applied research. |
| Three sectoral councils | PCAARRD, PCHRD, PCIEERD fund and coordinate programmes. |
| 16 regional offices | Deliver services to provinces and MSMEs. |
| Philippine Science High School | 16 campuses, feeder for STEM scholars. |
Delivery hits industry through programs like the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), which upgrades MSME equipment, and the Balik Scientist Program, which brings Filipino researchers home under Republic Act 11035 to teach, consult, or run labs.
Examples
DOST-funded work shows up across pandemic response, disaster resilience, and industry upgrading. The department co-invests with universities and firms, then hands winning tools to public agencies or private licensees.
During COVID-19 in 2020, DOST bankrolled two flagship tools: the FASSSTER epidemiology platform, which fed the national inter-agency task force with case forecasts, and the UP Manila-developed GenAmplify RT-PCR kit for local testing capacity.
Project NOAH ran from 2012 to 2017 as the country’s flagship disaster-risk platform, publishing flood, storm-surge, and landslide maps that local officials still cite when siting infrastructure or drafting climate-adaptation plans.
The Balik Scientist Program had returned more than 600 Filipino experts by 2023, feeding faculties and labs across the archipelago, while SETUP grants routinely upgrade equipment for MSMEs in food processing, textiles, and metalworks.
On the industry side, DOST’s 2024 push aims to triple semiconductor design engineers by 2028, backing scholarships and industry-academic labs to hit the target.
That dovetails with IT-BPM and offshoring demand for higher-skill roles beyond call center and back-office work.
Tech-transfer wins include the licensed GenAmplify kit reaching regional laboratories, ITDI food-safety tests adopted by manufacturers, and PTRI textile innovations picked up by weavers in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions.
Buyers evaluating outsourcing partners tied to these pipelines can browse our BPO directory for firms hiring DOST-trained engineers, analysts, and biomedical talent.
Related terms
Terms closely related to DOST cover Philippine outsourcing infrastructure, talent pipelines, and industry categories that intersect with the department’s science, technology, and human-capital remit for local firms.
- Business process outsourcing: umbrella for outsourced back-office and voice work.
- Knowledge process outsourcing: higher-value analytical outsourcing built on skilled STEM labour.
- PEZA: the sister agency that grants economic-zone incentives to BPO investors.
- IT-BPM: the Philippine industry association covering IT and business-process management.
- Offshoring: moving work abroad, often to countries with talent pipelines like DOST’s.
- Research and development: the applied-science layer DOST funds inside industry.
FAQ
What does DOST stand for?
DOST is the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippine cabinet-level agency for science, technology, and innovation policy. It was created under Executive Order 128, signed by President Corazon Aquino on 30 January 1987. Its Secretary sits in the cabinet.
Who leads DOST today?
Secretary Renato Solidum leads the department, appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos in 2022. Solidum is a geologist who served earlier at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The Secretary reports directly to the President.
How does DOST help the BPO industry?
DOST funds STEM scholarships, R&D grants, and tech-transfer programmes that widen the country’s technical talent base.
That pipeline feeds knowledge-heavy outsourcing work in analytics, engineering, and design. The department also partners with universities to line up curricula with industry demand.
What is the Balik Scientist Program?
It is a DOST scheme under Republic Act 11035 that pays return costs and stipends for Filipino scientists abroad to work at home. More than 600 experts had participated by 2023. Assignments can be short-term consultancies or longer teaching and research stints.
Does DOST run the Philippine Science High School?
Yes, through the 16-campus Philippine Science High School System, an attached agency that trains STEM-track students.
Graduates often move into DOST undergraduate scholarships and later into science, engineering, or research and development careers. The system is publicly funded and highly competitive.
Which agencies fall under DOST?
DOST oversees seven research institutes — ITDI, FNRI, ASTI, PNRI, PTRI, MIRDC, FPRDI — three sectoral councils, 16 regional offices, and the Philippine Science High School System. Institutes handle applied R&D; sectoral councils fund external grants.
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