The Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) , with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) , is implementing a project called Science and Technology Innovations for the Base of the Pyramid in Southeast Asia to foster innovations that can effectively address the developmental needs of the economically marginalized sector in the region. Working closely with research councils, trade agencies, and other relevant organizations and sectors in Southeast Asian countries, the overarching goal of the project is to facilitate better understanding of the processes that foster S&T innovations that can benefit the BoP.

The overall approach is to link the BoP movement to national policy frameworks, thereby contributing to the creation of an enabling environment to spur S&T innovations for the poor. The project will work with governments in Southeast Asia to inform policy decisions and develop the underlying conditions for BoP initiatives to create an impact.

Specifically, the project will:

1. Help raise awareness among policymakers and the private sector on the needs of the poor and the role that S&T can play in addressing them;
2. Contribute to the development of policy and governance tools that encourage S&T innovations for the BoP;
3. Develop an open platform for information-sharing and learning, in order to foster close linkages among research councils, and between them and other innovation system actors in the region;
4. Build the capacity of research councils to conduct policy research on pro-poor S&T innovations, in coordination with other key stakeholders; and
5. Facilitate dialogue among government, private sector, civil society and BoP stakeholders to encourage the creation of multi-stakeholder partnerships as a tool to encourage S&T innovations for the BoP.
   

The Ateneo School of Government will prepare a research agenda that includes documentation of BoP innovations, analysis of the conditions that facilitate the development and marketing of these innovations, and proposing effective policies for promoting pro-poor innovations. The project will also award research grants to qualified institutions and innovators to conduct studies consistent with the project framework and research agenda.

The following long-term outcomes are expected:

• Developing country governments are able to develop policy and governance tools that integrate the social, environmental, and economic benefits of S&T innovations;
• Selected communities of BoP are empowered to make informed decisions about contributing to the design of and adopting S&T innovations;
• Selected communitiesí needs and socio-economic conditions are met and improved;
• Governments, national research institutions, local development organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector use the results and recommendations from the researches to better the life of those at the BoP;
• Partners can sustain the gains of the project by providing financial and technical support in the conduct of more researches on S&T innovations in other thematic areas that benefit the BoP, and/or support the results and recommendations from these researches; and
• Partnerships with selected private companies are initiated and implemented.