291The shift in the thrust of research as integral component of national development
led to the organization of the 2014 National Research Conference organized by the
Commission on Higher Education – Higher Education Regional Research Center
(CHED-HERRC). The topics presented are on food security and fisheries, economic
and livelihood, agriculture, energy, health, biodiversity, environment, education,
social sciences, and sociocultural. The CHED is also working closely with state
universities and colleges (SUCs) in “generating research and developing new tech-
nologies in agriculture and fisheries that address food security issues in the face of
climate change” (Office of Planning Research and Knowledge Management 2014 ).
It “has supported several SUCs in conducting inter-university collaborative research,
development and extension program/s projects on climate change resiliency that
directly impact on the country’s food security, protect the livelihood of farmers and
fishermen, alleviate poverty among the country’s poorest sectors, and foster inclu-
sive growth” (Office of Planning Research and Knowledge Management 2014 ).
Policy Reforms and Research Direction
The shift in the research thrust is extensively articulated in the National Higher
Education Research Agenda 2 (NHERA 2) 2009–2018. It defines higher education
institution as a “major agent of economic growth” (see Angeles 2009 ). It is a
“Research and Development laboratory and a mechanism through which the nation
builds its human capital to enable it to actively participate in the global economy”
(Angeles 2009 ). Hence, higher education is expected to produce quality research
that will “advance learning and national development, as well as international com-
parability of the Philippine higher education system” (Angeles 2009 ).
It is stated in the NHERA 2 document that the main function of higher education
is research (Angeles 2009 , p. 1). Higher education is “expected to lead in the con-
duct of discipline-based, policy-oriented, technology-directed and innovative/cre-
ative researches that are locally responsive and globally competitive” (Angeles
2009 , p. 1). To be globally competitive, the research capability of higher education
needs to be improved by providing funds to support graduate scholarships and fel-
lowships. It is also equally important to enhance research productivity by providing
funds, by recognizing outstanding researchers and outstanding research programs
and outputs, and by adopting a system of accreditation of research journals (Angeles
2009 , pp. 2–4). To be locally responsive, it identifies the priority areas for research
grants. These are biodiversity and environmental management; human resource
development; agriculture and agri-based micro-, small-, and medium-scale enter-
prises; tourism; and ICT-related concerns (Angeles 2009 , p. 4). It also prioritizes
research that “aimed at developing innovative programs in cutting edge higher edu-
cation fields” such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communica-
tions technology, and material science (Angeles 2009 , p. 4). Based on these priority
areas, the following are identified as priority discipline clusters in research: science
and mathematics, education, health, information and communication technology,
16 Higher Education Research in the Philippines: Policies and Prospects