PH slips 2 spots in global innovation ranking

The Philippines fell two spots in a global ranking of economies based on their innovation capabilities, according to this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII) released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Under WIPO’s GII, the Philippines ranked 52nd among 139 economies, down from 50th last year.

The ranking also fell short of the government’s target of 49th place under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

The decline was mainly due to the Philippines’ lower ranking in innovation inputs, which covers resources and conditions that support innovation. The country fell to 69th from 59th in this category, while its ranking for innovation outputs, or the results of those innovation efforts, remained unchanged at 49th.

Despite the lower overall ranking, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said the country continued to show “strength in turning innovation inputs into meaningful outputs,” with several innovation and intellectual property (IP) indicators ranking competitively worldwide.

The IPOPHL said the Philippines performed “above expectations” for its level of economic development, generating more innovation despite weaker inputs.

The country ranked third among 36 lower middle-income economies and 11th among 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania.

Among the Philippines’ strongest GII indicators were high-tech exports, utility models, patents, trademarks, creative goods and research-industry collaboration.

“Beyond the headline ranking, we see areas where the Philippines is already demonstrating global competitiveness, from utility models and patents to brands, creative goods, high-tech exports and research-industry collaboration," IPOPHL Director General Teodoro Pascua said.

"The task now is to build on these strengths and scale them further and faster,” he added.— MCG, GMA News

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