DOST Caraga's project portfolio analyzed through the Three-Horizon lens — from near-term MSME productivity (H1) through technology commercialization (H2) to future industry creation (H3) — with Key Results tracking for all 11 KRs.
The DOST Three-Horizon Strategic Framework structures the Department's interventions across three time-bound and ambition-differentiated levels, each with specific quantitative Key Results that serve as planning targets for the medium-term period.
Horizon 1 is the most extensively addressed strategic horizon in Caraga's portfolio, with 60 projects aligned to one or more of its three Key Results. All 57 SETUP projects and a subset of LGIA projects (notably the iFWD PH and TechConnect programs) contribute to Horizon 1 objectives. The full SETUP program is aligned to all three H1 Key Results simultaneously: each SETUP-funded enterprise represents a modernized MSME (H1-KR1), a business committed to productivity improvement targets (H1-KR2), and a node of employment sustained or upgraded through technology (H1-KR3).
The concentration of H1-aligned projects in Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte reflects the higher density of registered MSMEs in these provinces relative to the more rural Agusan del Sur and Dinagat Islands. This geographic pattern warrants attention from a spatial equity standpoint, as the provinces with the greatest development needs — those with the highest poverty incidence — receive relatively fewer direct enterprise-level interventions.
Horizon 2 targets represent the most complex and systemic objectives in the Three-Horizon Framework, requiring the co-creation of innovation ecosystems, commercialization pathways, and knowledge transfer infrastructure. 38 projects in DOST Caraga's portfolio contribute to one or more Horizon 2 Key Results, with LGIA projects providing the dominant contribution.
The H2-KR5 objective — training 15,000 professionals in technology commercialization and innovation management — is the most widely addressed KR in Horizon 2, appearing in 20 projects. Programs such as IGNITE (startup ecosystem transformation), TechConnect (technology transfer facilitation), and the i2FAME Center operationalization collectively build Caraga's capacity to move from technology generation to market-ready products. The Food Innovation Centers in FSUU, NEMSU, and CSU are particularly critical H2 nodes, having received sustained LGIA support across both FY 2024 and FY 2025.
The H2-KR3 objective — establishing seven KIST Parks covering distinct sectors — has no directly tagged projects in the current portfolio, representing a gap that DOST Caraga may need to address in the next planning cycle through dedicated KIST Park feasibility and establishment programs.
Horizon 3 — the creation of transformative future industries — is represented by 35 projects in the FY 2024–2025 portfolio. This is a notably substantial representation for what would traditionally be considered the most aspirational and long-range strategic horizon, reflecting DOST Caraga's deliberate ambition to leapfrog toward future-ready economic structures even as it manages near-term MSME productivity gaps.
The SSCP program, newly introduced in FY 2025, is the primary vehicle for H3 delivery. Its six projects — covering smart community infrastructure, EV charging systems, agro-optimization platforms, and sustainable city roadmaps — directly pursue the H3 objectives of investment attraction (H3-KR1), high-skill job creation (H3-KR2), and future-industry employment placement (H3-KR3). The NOVA Hub (Establishment of the Caraga Network of Open Virtual AI for Startup Ventures) and the ACCESS program (Accelerating the Development of Caraga through Smart and Sustainable Communities) are the flagship H3 initiatives, embodying the region's aspiration to become a hub for artificial intelligence-enabled enterprise creation and digital community governance.