Ateneo Policy Center economist speaks on industrial policy in the post-pandemic poly-crisis world at DTI event

Last 4 December 2023, the Department of Trade and Industry-Competitiveness and Innovation Group (DTI-CIG) hosted the 2023 Mindfacturing and Creativity Summit with the theme “Mindfacturing and Creativity Summit: Unlocking the Potential and Expanding the Frontiers of Philippine Industries."

The summit brought together stakeholders from the government, industry, and the academe to explore the transformative role of mindfacturing and creativity in the development of Philippine industries.

Mindfacturing, is a term that blends "mind" and "manufacturing", and to the intersection of cognitive processes and modern manufacturing techniques. The event facilitated discussions on the following topics: concept and centrality of mindfacturing in the transition to Industry 4.0; importance of developing a skilled and creative workforce; and convergence of creativity and innovation and how they reinforce each other, especially in transforming traditionally structured industries to become more STI-driven.

Ronald U. Mendoza, PhD, senior economist with the Ateneo Policy Center joined the panel discussion on “Bolstering Industrial Policies for Economic Resiliency and Sustainability”. At this panel discussion, Mendoza discussed how industrial policy is essentially about building trust and spurring collective action to facilitate critical mass in investments toward industrialization.

“Policy commitment at the highest levels will be necessary – yet this will be challenging in our political context” Mendoza said. “To build commitment and political will over time, the main benefits from the program could be made transparent and more fully appreciated by the public. To accomplish this, rigorous and independent evaluations of both its successes and failures should be conducted” he added.