The Philippine Innovation Act, also known as Republic Act 11293, recognizes the importance of innovation in national development and sustainable economic growth. As part of the effective implementation of this law, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is authorized to issue grants for innovation programs, activities, and projects, subject to guidelines issued by NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
NEDA is now opening the Call for Proposals for the 2023 Innovation Grants until June 13, 2023, 11:59 PM. Interested proponents from various government agencies are required to authorize primary and/or alternate focal persons to create an account, complete the grant application forms, and provide supporting documents through the Electronic Innovation Grants Information System (EIGIS), accessible at: https://eigis-innovation.neda.gov.ph/.
For more detailed information, please refer to the attached guidelines or visit eigis-innovation.neda.gov.ph/resources1. For inquiries, you may reach the Innovation Fund Management Division through eigis-innovation.neda.gov.ph/contactus.
Entities eligible for the submission of proposals are the following:
In the absence of the abovementioned requirements, regional offices and operating units should submit proposals through their respective central offices or parent agencies.
The following types of programs, activities, and projects may qualify for innovation grants. Applicants may choose to combine elements from each type as they deem relevant:
a. Pre-commercialization, Commercialization, or Diffusion Projects – refers to the pre-commercialization and commercialization activities of research and development (R&D) outputs; it includes activities beyond the ideation phase, such as prototyping, testing, intellectual property development and registration, production, and promotion activities.
It also pertains to the public sector, inclusive, or grassroots innovation, and social innovation that a proponent may undertake with the aim of introducing product innovation or enhancing existing services and processes.
b. Innovation Facilities and Services – refers to the establishment of new or enhancement of existing infrastructure or properties to strengthen the innovation ecosystem, including operating expenses for innovation centers, co-working spaces, incubation support, or shared business services, among others.
c. Innovation Culture Promotion – refers to activities which foster a culture of innovation and strengthen the innovation ecosystem such as educational programs, capacity-building activities, trade exhibits, expositions and missions, hackathons, or other platforms for networking and collaborative partnerships.
d. Innovation Policy Research – refers to research studies which aim to introduce new or significantly improved solutions relating to innovation policy and governance.
The funding support threshold for the implementation of new or existing innovation-related programs, activities, and projects shall not exceed five million pesos (PHP 5 million).
The following items shall comprise the negative list for access to the funds appropriated for grants for innovation programs, activities, and projects:
a. Mandatory provision of health and social services;
b. Mandatory provision of water supply and sanitation services;
c. General construction and public works;
d. General services and administration;
e. Standalone computerization or installation of IT and telecommunications equipment;
f. Livelihood seed capital and training programs;
g. Conduct of research studies, support to ongoing theses or dissertations, or other investigatory projects involving experimental procedures to acquire new knowledge or search for application of new findings; and
h. Tourism promotion activities.
i. Form 1 – Grant Application Form
ii. Form 2 - Summary of Previous Innovation-related PAPs
iii. Form 3 – Work and Financial Plan
iv. Form 4 – Line-Item Budget (auto-generated by EIGIS based on the answers on Form 3)
v. Form 5 – Undertaking