One Stop Research, Ideation, and Innovation Center Rises in DOST 

A one-stop-shop for thinkers, innovators, and technopreneurs will soon rise within the compound of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the City of Taguig.  

The Science and Technology Resource and Incubation Center (STRIC), the new structure being built to address the expanding roles and services of DOST’s Regional Office in the National Capital Region, is designed to provide end-to-end support for researchers and entrepreneurs:  from business and product conceptualization to prototyping and commercialization. It will have specialized facilities and mini laboratories that will encourage design thinking and ideation. Consistent with DOST’s commitment of OneDOST4U: Solutions, Opportunities for All, the new facility will also have access to DOST’s advanced facilities and laboratories in the Bicutan compound, as well as to innovation hubs all over Metro Manila.   

At the historic Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new building last 4 July 2025, DOST Secretary, Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr., said that STRIC will be a nurturing hub where innovative minds and transformative technologies meet. “STRIC is a space where mentoring, networking, and collaboration will happen daily. It is a place where students, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and community enterprises will be supported through technical consultancies, forums, and guided development of minimum viable products. From prototyping to IP protection and market entry, STRIC is designed to be a launchpad for Filipino innovation.”   

The Science Chief added, “Let STRIC be a reminder that when we invest in science, technology, and innovation, we are also investing in people. And when we empower people with innovation, we build a stronger nation.”  

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which played a critical role in making STRIC possible, had no less than its Secretary, Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, at the ceremony, who praised DOST’s commitment to innovation and assured his Department’s continual support to DOST’s future initiatives.  

The new science center will have a Gallery and Exhibit Area that will showcase DOST-developed technologies, and a 200-seat Training Hall to host seminars, pitching sessions, and capacity-building workshops for DOST-NCR’s multisectoral clients. It boasts of all the capacitating tools and equipment to nurture innovation, including an i2i or Ideation to Incubation Laboratory for student innovators and enthusiasts, with CAD-equipped workstations, prototype printing bays, and advanced tools like 3D printers and vacuum forming machines, and a Digital Design Lab to provide customizable and hands-on label and packaging design services that are critical for small businesses eyeing bigger markets. In addition, there will be a Mini Amphitheater that will also function as a Creative Simulation Lab for Virtual and Augmented Reality, e-sports simulations, and TedTalk-style presentations aimed at stimulating new ideas.   

Food manufacturers, which make up the majority of the businesses in the NCR, can avail themselves of the Laboratory Test Kitchen or the Juan Metro Kusina, which would offer support to food innovators in critical areas like product development, process validation, and technical testing.   

Reflecting the agency’s commitment to promoting and utilizing green technology and renewable energy, the roof deck of the new STRIC will also be equipped with solar panels to augment the building’s energy needs.   

To help DOST-NCR’s staff to amplify its promotion of science, technology, and innovation, the new facility will have an iCREATE or the Innovation, Creatives and Engagement Communication Lab. This is envisioned to be a full-fledged media production space, equipped with a video studio with green screen technology, an acoustically designed audio booth, and collaborative workstations for developing creative content and training materials.    

DOST-NCR Regional Director, Engr. Romelen Tresvalles, paid tribute to the agency’s previous Regional Directors, Dr. Teresita Fortuna and Mr. Jose Patalinjug lll, who were instrumental in making DOST-NCR the change enabler that it is today. She vowed to continue the office’s commitment to the public that the previous administrations had started.   

Talking about the new facility, RD Tresvalles said that “STRIC will stand as a physical embodiment of our guiding vision: Science Beyond Borders. A mission to break barriers, including the most persistent and painful ones: poverty, inequality, limited access, and disconnection. Through STRIC, we hope to create not just programs, but solutions and opportunities for all”.  

More than an innovation hub, RD Tresvalles stressed that STRIC will be a nurturing space for people, “people with high hopes and dreams to move our nation to progress, such as scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, educators, and students, who will all be working together to turn knowledge into action, and action into impact,” she added.   

DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations, Engr. Sancho Mabborang, noted that the morning’s ceremony went beyond simply breaking ground for a building. “It is about unlocking the power of regional transformation- a potential that science, technology, and innovation (STI) uniquely hold.” He added that “STRIC is more than a center; it is a commitment- DOST’s commitment to be a catalyst of change- to harness our regions’ untapped potential and translate it into meaningful, measurable progress for the nation.”  

Calling on the various change agents, Undersecretary Mabborang said, “as a fellow advocate of innovation, I am calling upon every entrepreneur, researcher, student, and policymaker here today and beyond to maximize this facility and let it serve as the launchpad of your innovation journey.”   

The Ceremony highlighted the laying of a time capsule containing symbolic items and messages from DOST executives, as well as DOST-NCR’s staff, for the future employees, researchers, and innovators who would be opening the time capsule 50 years from now.  

The future Science and Technology Resource and Incubation Center is indeed not just the culmination of one agency’s dream. The Center is a tangible symbol of commitment to the Filipino people to harness the powers of science, technology, and innovation to provide solutions and opportunities for all beyond borders.  

By Pinky F Marcelo, SCCU