Innovation isn't just about developing tools; it's about unlocking access to knowledge that drives discovery. That’s the vision behind Manuskrito, a platform designed to redefine how academic research in the Philippines is accessed, discovered, and shared.

Manuskrito isn’t another repository or a digital archiving platform. It’s a national effort to build a digital backbone for Philippine research – connecting researchers, institutions, and innovations in an open-search ecosystem designed for accessibility, collaboration, and progress.

Let's breakdown why Manuskrito matters.

The gap

In the Philippines, academic research is often fragmented and difficult to access. Research works are scattered across individual university websites, locked in libraries, buried in poorly indexed repositories, or entirely unavailable online. This fragmentation limits national collaboration, slows discovery, and prevents local researchers from being seen on a global stage. Manuskrito is changing that.

The advocacy

Manuskrito advocates for Filipino researchers to be 'open-search' (means having the freedom to discover information within the vast body of public knowledge), without requiring users to visit each institution’s site. It uncovers academic records that are otherwise hidden or under-indexed. It aggregates research outputs across institutions into a unified platform, free for use. It cross-matches academic works with innovation records, such as patents, clinical trials, and trademarks. The cross-search feature allows users to explore how research connects with real-world applications and determine its innovative potentials . It brings visibility to national research trends, offering insights into where local science is heading. Manuskrito harnesses the power of algorithm to help researchers make a groundbreaking discovery in the country.

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The purpose

Manuskrito lets you:

1. Find Filipino research in one place. Instead of checking every institution site, you can now find Filipino academics from different schools, institutions, and organizations in one search. Manuskrito lets anyone (students, collaborators, businesses, and institutions) find academic research and provide guidance on how to access the materials.

2. Discover hidden records. Research buried in small, poorly indexed websites now appears in search results. Theses from provincial schools or lesser-known colleges are no longer invisible. Manuskrito actively retrieves them.

3. Access resources from major academic institutions. Get a holistic view of a research topic across the country. Instead of piecing together studies from individual schools, Manuskrito brings resources from major academic institutions into one view, helping researchers see the full picture of how a topic is being explored nationwide.

4. Cross-match your search with innovation databases. A thesis on plant genetics can now be cross-checked against patents, clinical trials, and innovation databases automatically. Manuskrito helps users connect academic research to real-world applications without needing specialized tools.

5. Understand local research trends. Curious about what fields are growing in the Philippines? Manuskrito provides practical insights into national research trends, revealing which topics, regions, or institutions are most active.

6. Build research from existing knowledge or previous work. Manuskrito helps students and scientists trace earlier studies, discover prior findings, and develop their own projects based on accessible academic records.

Looking ahead

The preliminary work we've done on Manuskrito is now helping make the more than 112,000 academic records more visible for research continuity, collaboration, and innovation. From agriculture and health sciences to engineering and education, we’re mapping how knowledge is produced and where it’s headed.

But we're only just starting.

Many research works remain unused, hidden, and wasted. Manuscripts stored offline, projects locked within institutional silos, and untapped research from regional and private institutions are gaps we continue to address.

Our impact: to ensure that every manuscript becomes searchable, and every discovery becomes reachable (and we do it with a smiling face 🙂).

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