Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is the Philippine cabinet agency for science policy. It funds labs, pays for scholars, and moves new tech into firms, so the local talent pool that outsourcing buyers like to hire from keeps growing.

For outsourcing operators, DOST matters because the country’s claim on higher-value business process outsourcing (BPO) work rests on technical talent the state pays to train.

Voice contracts don’t need that. Analytics, engineering, and clinical work do, and so a call center floor in Cebu and a genomics lab in Taguig draw on the same public pipeline.

DOST scholarships, Balik Scientist returnees, and the 16-campus Philippine Science High School System all feed it.

Key takeaways

• DOST steers Philippine science, technology, and innovation policy under Executive Order 128, signed on 30 January 1987.
• The department runs seven research and development (R&D) institutes, three sectoral councils, 16 regional offices, and the 16-campus Philippine Science High School System.
• Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. has led DOST since 22 July 2022, and the post carries a seat in the Philippine cabinet.
• The Balik Scientist Program started in 1975 and had awarded 489 grants to overseas Filipino experts as of 2025.
• The Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), Project NOAH, and FASSSTER carry DOST research into small factories, disaster agencies, and public health.

How it works

DOST runs Philippine science policy from the DOST Complex in Bicutan, Taguig, through seven R&D institutes, three sectoral councils, 16 regional offices, and the Philippine Science High School System, all funded by yearly appropriations from Congress.

The department was created by Executive Order 128, signed by President Corazon Aquino on 30 January 1987. It replaced the old National Science and Technology Authority.

Funding flows from the national budget, topped up by partners such as JICA, USAID, and the World Bank’s Philippines country programme.

Grants move through three sectoral councils — PCAARRD for agriculture, PCHRD for health, PCIEERD for industry and emerging tech — into institutes, universities, and private firms.

International work runs through JICA on engineering and disaster science, USAID on public health and climate, and multilateral lenders on innovation finance. Bilateral deals with South Korea and Australia add space and marine research money.

Scholarships are DOST’s main route into the talent supply. The Science Education Institute funds undergraduate places in science, engineering, and health courses.

Postgraduate slots skew toward national priority fields such as semiconductors, biotech, and climate science, which lines DOST spending up with cabinet industry roadmaps.

Delivery reaches industry through SETUP, which helps micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) pay for better equipment, and through regional testing labs that certify food, textile, and metal products.

Examples

DOST-funded work shows up in pandemic response, disaster mapping, and small-factory upgrades. The department co-invests with universities and firms, then hands the finished tool to a public agency or licenses it to a private maker.

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 GenAmplify RT-PCR kit developed at UP Manila for local testing.

Project NOAH ran from 2012 to 2017 as the country’s flagship disaster-risk platform. Its flood, storm-surge, and landslide maps still get cited when local officials site infrastructure or draft climate plans.

The Balik Scientist Program is older than most people assume. It started in 1975, was reinstated inside DOST in 1993, and was institutionalised by Republic Act 11035, which President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed on 15 June 2018.

That law strengthened incentives and benefits rather than starting the scheme. As of 2025 the programme reports 489 overseas Filipino experts awarded a Balik Scientist grant, teaching, consulting, or running labs at home.

PCIEERD, the council for industry and emerging technology, is the one outsourcing operators bump into most often.

It funds university labs in data science, electronics, and materials. Those labs are where many analytics and engineering graduates get their first real project, long before a recruiter calls.

Tech transfer wins are more mundane and more common. The licensed GenAmplify kit reached regional laboratories, ITDI food-safety tests were picked up by manufacturers, and PTRI textile innovations went to weavers in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions.

For the outsourcing side, the point is supply. DOST-trained engineers and analysts are what let Philippine firms bid for information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) work.

That demand sits above simple voice and back-office jobs. It is the same pull behind offshoring deals in analytics, design, and clinical research.

Buyers weighing partners tied to these pipelines can browse our BPO directory for firms hiring DOST-trained engineers, analysts, and biomedical staff.

Related terms

The terms around DOST cover Philippine outsourcing infrastructure, talent pipelines, and the industry categories its funding touches. They sit beside the department, not inside it. DOST sets policy; the rest describe commercial work.

• Business Process Outsourcing: umbrella term 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 outsourcing investors.
• IT-BPM: the Philippine industry category spanning IT services and business process management.
• Offshoring: moving work abroad, often to countries with state funded talent pipelines.
• Research and Development: the applied science layer DOST funds inside industry.

FAQ

What does DOST stand for?

DOST stands for the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippine cabinet agency for science, technology, and innovation policy. It was created under Executive Order 128 on 30 January 1987. Its Secretary sits in the cabinet.

Who leads DOST today?

DOST has been led by Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. since 22 July 2022, an appointment made under the current Marcos administration. Solidum is a geologist who spent years at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

How does DOST help the BPO industry?

DOST funds STEM scholarships, R&D grants, and tech-transfer schemes that widen the technical talent base. That pipeline feeds knowledge-heavy outsourcing in analytics, engineering, and design. It also works with universities to line curricula up with employer demand.

What is the Balik Scientist Program?

It pays return costs and stipends so Filipino scientists working abroad can take assignments at home. The programme began in 1975, was reinstated inside DOST in 1993, and was institutionalised by Republic Act 11035 in 2018. As of 2025 it reports 489 awarded grants.

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 then into science, engineering, or research careers.

Which agencies fall under DOST?

DOST oversees seven R&D institutes — ITDI, FNRI, ASTI, PNRI, PTRI, MIRDC, FPRDI — three sectoral councils, 16 regional offices, and the Philippine Science High School System.

Explore more outsourcing terms and buyer guidance at Outsource Accelerator.