The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development has officially opened the 2026 Innovation Grants application cycle, with proposal submissions accepted from March 17 through May 5, 2026 via the Electronic Innovation Grants Information System at eigis-innovation.depdev.gov.ph. The grants are open to National Government Agencies, Local Government Units, State Universities and Colleges, and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations — making them directly accessible to the full range of public institutions across Northern Luzon.

For TBIs, LGUs, and SUCs in the region that have been building innovation programs with limited funding, this is one of the most accessible national grant windows currently open.

What Can Be Funded

The 2026 Innovation Grants cover four categories, each with its own funding ceiling.

Pre-commercialization, commercialization, or diffusion of innovations supports proposals that take innovative products, technologies, or services through market readiness — from refining and testing to commercial production and adoption in target markets. Proposals under the commercialization subtype must identify a private enterprise that commits to adopting the innovation. Funding ceiling: ₱7.5 million.

Innovation facilities and services covers proposals that create or improve physical spaces, resources, and support programs for enterprise innovation — including incubators, makerspaces, laboratories, and service programs that facilitate the transfer of innovative ideas into markets. Funding ceiling: ₱7.5 million.

Innovation culture promotion and capacity-building funds organizing activities that strengthen the broader innovation ecosystem — capacity-building programs, trade exhibits, expositions, missions, and networking activities that build collaborative partnerships. Funding ceiling: ₱5 million.

Innovation policy and administration supports proposals that design new policy tools, revise outdated regulations, pilot experimental approaches, or accelerate digital transformation in public administration. Regulatory sandboxes and pilot programs that test new ideas in controlled environments are explicitly included. Funding ceiling: ₱7.5 million.

Who Can Apply and How

Eligible entities are NGAs including their attached agencies and regional offices, LGUs including Local Universities and Colleges, SUCs, and GOCCs. The designated Project Leader — duly authorized by their Head of Agency — is the only person who can create a user account and submit a proposal in EIGIS.

The Project Leader must be a Filipino citizen of legal age, hold a permanent or regular position and not be due to retire during implementation, have no administrative or criminal case findings, and have no conflict of interest with DEPDev officials involved in processing or approving proposals.

The application process runs in two steps. Step 1 requires downloading and completing the Authorization Form, securing the Head of Agency's signature, and registering at eigis-innovation.depdev.gov.ph/register. Step 2 involves creating the proposal in EIGIS by completing Forms 1, 2, and 3, and submitting before the May 5 deadline. Note that once a proposal is submitted as final, no changes or uploads are allowed — even before the deadline. Save a local copy of all data before encoding.

Proposal status can be tracked through the EIGIS user account. Official results will be sent to all email addresses indicated in the submitted Form 1.

Why Northern Luzon Institutions Should Move Now

The May 5 deadline sounds distant from April 2026, but the authorization and proposal development process requires institutional coordination that takes longer than most teams expect. The Head of Agency signature, the EIGIS account registration, and the completion of three proposal forms — all before a non-extendable deadline — means institutions that start the process in late April are already behind.

For SUCs in Northern Luzon with active research programs — MMSU, BSU, PSU, Kalinga State University, and others — the pre-commercialization and innovation facilities categories are the most natural fits. Research outputs that have been validated but lack the funding to move toward market adoption are exactly what the grants are designed to accelerate. For LGUs piloting digital governance initiatives or building local innovation programs, the innovation policy and administration category provides funding that most local budget cycles cannot accommodate.

For TBIs and innovation offices that have been running capacity-building activities on shoestring budgets, the innovation culture promotion category — with a ₱5 million ceiling — can fund a meaningful program year of training, networking, and ecosystem development activities.

Apply at eigis-innovation.depdev.gov.ph. For inquiries, contact DEPDev at https://eigis-innovation.depdev.gov.ph/contactus or call (02) 8-631-0960 loc. 21611 or 21615. Full guidelines are in DEPDev Memorandum Circular No. 01, s. 2026.