INNOVATION HUB. Key officials show signed copies of the memorandum of understanding for the creation of the Regional Inclusive Innovation Center in Eastern Visayas. The Department of Trade and Industry said on Friday (Sept. 9, 2022) that the center seeks to generate products, processes or service innovations deemed important to the goal of inclusive growth and development of the region.(DTI photo) TACLOBAN CITY - Various government agencies and schools in Eastern Visayas have forged ties for the creation of the Regional Inclusive Innovation Center (RIIC). Led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional office here, the RIICs are virtual or physical platforms for collaborative programs to generate products, processes, or service innovations deemed important to the goal of inclusive growth and development of the region. "Collaborations are expressed through government-academe-industry partnerships, access to shared service facilities such as research and development laboratories, co-working spaces, fabrication laboratories, and in the case of regional startups, access to capital and investments," DTI Eastern Visayas Regional Director Celerina Bato said in a phone interview on Friday. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) will engage 17 national government agencies and state universities and colleges. The deal, Bato said, seeks to build an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Eastern Visayas by strengthening the linkages between government agencies, industries, and academe. The signing of the MOU on September 1 was attended by key officials of DTI, Department of Science and Technology, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippine Coconut Authority, Eastern Visayas State University, Southern Leyte State University, Biliran Province State University, Samar State University, and Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering. (PNA) }