Since its inception in 1975, the Balik Scientist Program (BSP) has addressed brain drain and enhanced the scientific and technological human resources in the country by encouraging Filipino scientists, technologists, and innovation experts abroad to return and share their knowledge and expertise in the country. This has provided benefits and support for collaborations between Balik Scientists and local scientists working in host institutions.
To identify and evaluate the short-term and long-term results of the BSP for governance and accountability, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) funded the project, “Impact Assessment (IA) of the Balik Scientist Program (BSP) under the Department of Science and Technology” in 2021. The impact assessment is being conducted by researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), led by Professor Nelson Jose Vincent B. Querijero of the College of Public Affairs and Development. Started in June 2021, the project aims to determine the economic and socio-institutional impacts of the BSP, identify the facilitating and hindering factors that affect the BSP implementation, and provide policy recommendations for the future direction of the program.
During the midterm review held on February 7, 2022, Professor Querijero presented the activities conducted during the first half of the project’s implementation period and discussed the initial results of analyses. UPLB Chancellor Dr. Jose V. Camacho, Jr. and Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow Dr. Roehlano M. Briones, economics and impact assessment experts, provided insights and recommendations for further improvement of the project’s methodology.
Meanwhile, DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development (R&D) Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara and the DOST-PCAARRD’s Deputy Executive Director for R&D Dr. Feliciano G. Calora, Jr., Socio-Economics Research Division Director Dr. Ernesto O. Brown, and Institution Development Division Director Dr. Fezoil Luz C. Decena shared relevant information about the program and provided recommendations to address the challenges encountered by the IA research team.
The IA project will verify whether the BSP was able to contribute significantly to the advancement of R&D initiatives in the country, through identification and quantification of the program’s actual outputs, outcomes, and impacts. By identifying the facilitating and hindering factors in program implementation, the project will also provide bases in formulating program support and management policies.