University Research Agenda

University Research Agenda, Thrusts, and Priorities (2021-2025)

The University’s goal in institutionalizing this research agenda is to increase research productivity, enhance research capability, maintain quality, and promote a quality- and excellence-driven research environment.

The University’s research agenda and its thrusts and priorities are anchored in the country’s long-term vision – Ambisyon Natin 2040 – and in the country’s long-term development agenda Agenda 2030, in conjunction with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

The QCU Research Thrusts and Priorities (2021-2025) have been developed with input from its stakeholders, particularly faculty and students, and in response to the community’s and partners’ needs.

The following are the University’s priority interdisciplinary research programs, organized by Colleges and Departments:

  • Accounting and Finance
  • Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Education
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Public Management and Governance

The following research agenda will be guided by the QCU Research Thrusts and Priorities (2021-2025):

  • As a Smart and Competitive City, Quezon City. As a local university, QCU is an integral part of the Quezon City local government’s program implementation. As a result, one of the University’s research priorities is to assist Quezon City in becoming a smart city and promoting its competitiveness. The adoption of information technology is critical to the creation of a smart, competitive city. This research program’s core components are focused on applying technology to provide services and solve urban problems. Additionally, the program includes research that highlights Quezon City’s competitiveness. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Digital Transformation
    • Big and Open Data
    • Urbanization
    • Cybersecurity and Privacy
    • Interoperability Testing
    • Biometrics
    • Health Information Technology
    • Voting Systems
    • E-commerce and Mobile Payments
    • Management Information Systems
    • Transportation Technology
    • Automation and Decentralization of Government Services
    • Universal QC ID System
    • Data-Driven Governance
    • Development of Prototype Smart Farms (urban farming) via an Integrated Use of Data Analytics, Weather, Heat, and Water Sensors, Information Communication and Phone Applications
    • Application of Data Analytics in the Development of Urban Systems
    • Utilization of Data Analytics by Heath Care Providers for Disease Surveillance
  • Accelerate Human Capital Development. The digitalization and automation brought by the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, will have a long-term evolutionary effect on occupations and job profiles, changes in employment forms, and a more significant role for the platform economy. This research program aims to conduct empirical studies that will help youth adjust to this new era. Additionally, the program emphasizes achieving educational objectives, acquiring necessary skills, and honing communication and social skills. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Labor and Employment Dimension
      • Human Capital Accumulation 
      • Employment and Industrial Reforms and Development
      • Human Resource Management
    • Business, Cooperative, and Management Dimension
      • Agrarian Reform and Industrialization
      • Business Processing and Outsourcing
      • Entrepreneurship/Technopreneurship/ Social Enterprise
      • Development and Testing of Techno-entrepreneurship Programs in Formal and Non-formal Education Settings
      • Industry Needs Analysis
      • Investments and Banking System and Operations
      • Livelihood, Startup and Business Development
      • Micro-financing and Micro-Lending
      • MSMEs, Cooperatives, and Social Enterprises
      • Quality Management
      • Resource Management
      • Supply Chain Management
      • Lean Six Sigma
      • Design Sprint and Product Design and Development
      • Operation Management and Productivity Tools
      • Management Accounting
    • Educational Dimension
      • Educational Reforms and Policy Studies
      • Academe-Industry Partnership
      • Alternative Learning System
      • Open Education
      • Distance Learning
      • Graduate Tracer Studies
      • Outcome-based Education
      • Faculty Development
      • Quality Assurance
      • Student Support
      • Student Demography
      • Educational Technology
      • Technical Vocation
      • Case Studies and Other Innovations in STEAM education from Pre-K through University
      • Impact Assessment of STEAM Programs on Student Learning
      •  Lifelong learning on STEAM
      • Women and STEAM
  • Ensuring Safe, Secure, and Peaceful Community. The 21st century is more complex, intricate, and technologically dependent than any previous century. A safe community embraces a methodology and infrastructure that encourages collaboration among all community sectors to safeguard citizens’ well-being and property. This research program aims to generate studies, research, and possibly even technologies and processes to improve safety, risk management, and overall peace and community engagement. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Children and Armed Conflict
    • Human Rights and Rule of Law
    • Democratization
    • Intergovernmental and Institutional Relations
    • Peace and Conflict Resolution
    • Organized Violence
    • Digital Hate Crimes 
    • Peace Innovation
    • Conflict Prevention
    • International relations
    • Internationalization
    • Pandemic, Peace, and Conflict
    • Emerging Technologies in Peace and Conflict
    • Responsible Innovation
    • Peace and Development
    • Human Security
    • Conflict-related Sexual Violence
    • Women, Peace, and Security
    • Peacebuilding Technologies
    • Mediation and Peaceful Settlements
    • Police and Public Order
    • Gender and Development
    • Child’s rights
    • Right to Equality and Non-discrimination
  • Clean and Healthy Environment. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the critical connections between development, the environment, human well-being, and full enjoyment of a broad range of human rights, including life, health, food, water, and sanitation. This research program focuses on studies and researchers that examine the relationships between environmental quality and human health and well-being. Additionally, it will address the broader drivers of these connections, such as inequality, unplanned urbanization, migration, unhealthy and wasteful lifestyles, and unsustainable consumption and production patterns. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Housing and Development
    • Transportation
    • Isolated Communities
    • Health Access and Disparities
    • Sustainable Communities
    • Migration
    • Food Service and Development
    • Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
    • Disaster and Risk Management
    • Urban Planning
    • Sustainable Production Technologies
    • Assessment and Management of Landscapes and Seascapes
    • Prevention, Monitoring, and Risk Assessment of Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
    • Environmental Policy Studies
    • Environmental Health Management
    • Energy Conservation
    • Alternative Energy Sources
    • Urban Ecology
    • Food Security, Sufficiency, and Productivity
    • Structural Engineering
    • Urban Gardening/Farming
    • Water Supply and Treatment
    • Sustainable Utilization of Bio-resources
  • Effective and Efficient Governance. Effective and efficient governance is critical to the well-being of any country. Governance is the exercise of political, economic, administrative, or other authority or power to manage a country’s resources and affairs. This research program examines the mechanisms, processes, and institutions by which citizens and groups express their interests, exercise their legal rights, fulfill their obligations, and resolve their conflicts. Additionally, the program emphasizes empirical evidence of effective and efficient governance in relation to the functioning of the public sector, emphasizing accountability and oversight. It is concerned with the public sector’s performance in terms of the link between policy and implementation. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Good Governance
    • Local Government Studies
    • Public Accountability and Transparency
    • Risk Management in Public Organizations
    • E-Government and Democracy
    • Local Economic Growth and Development
    • Demographics
    • Public Policy
    • Leadership
    • Lobbying 
    • Health Management
    • Human Resource Management and Development in Public Office
    • Public-Private Partnership
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Change Management
    • Performance-based and Meritocratic Management System
  • Promotion of the Philippine Culture and Values. Enhancing the social fabric entails increasing cultural awareness, identifying and instilling values for the common good, cultivating creativity, and incorporating cultural sensitivity into governance and development efforts. This research program focuses on preserving Quezon City’s intangible cultural heritage, increasing public access to cultural resources, preserving living traditions, and promoting the corpus of Filipino values. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Cultural Mapping
    • Digitization of Cultural Properties
    • Access to Cultural Services through Technologies
    • Development Planning in Culture
    • Data Auditing in Cultural Agencies
    • Social Protection and Human Resource Development among Cultural Workers
    • Policy Reviews
    • Creative Industries and Creative Economy
    • Needs of Creative Economy Workforce
    • Culture for Development
    • Natural Heritage Preservation
    • Historical Demography
    • Enhancing Cultural Education
  • Innovation Stimulation and Technology Adoption. Advancing science, technology, and innovation (STI) by increasing the use of scientific and technological breakthroughs will institutionalize improvements in business, health, education, government, and infrastructure systems, among other areas. This research program is focused on promoting and accelerating the adoption of new technologies and on stimulating innovation. The following research topics are proposed and identified:
    • Hard Infrastructure
      • Communications Infrastructure and Facilities
      • Wireless Electricity
      • Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
      • Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics
      • Telecommunications
      • New Energy Technology and Energy-saving Technology
      • Planning, Design, and Evaluation of Energy Systems from Energy Production to Energy Utilization, and Safety Counter-measures for Environmental Protection
    • Soft Infrastructure
      • Cloud Computing and Virtualization
      • Mobile Testing
      • Systems and Networking
      • Wireless Systems
      • Data Science
      • Data Management and Visualization
      • Machine Learning
      • Computer Graphics and Game Science
      • Internet of Things
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Data Engineering
      • Incubation

The QCU R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. Program

To realize the goals of the QCU Research Agenda, the QCU R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. Program will be composed of eight component areas, also following the acronym RESEARCH:

  • Risk and Organizational Management, Public Administration, and Governance (ROMPAG)
  • Education, Arts, Culture, and Human Development (EACH) 
  • Sustainability, Urban Agriculture and Farming, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (SAFE-DRRM)
  • Employment, Businesses, Labor, Entrepreneurship, Accounting, and Management (EmBLEAM) 
  • Application of Computer Sciences and Technology for Quezon City (ACTS for QC)
  • Revolution in Digital Infrastructure, Engineering and the Sciences, Innovation, Game Applications, and Navigations (REDESIGN)
  • Curriculum, Learning, and Academic Performance (CLAP)
  • Human Rights, Community Engagement, Equality, Gender and Development, Peace, and Safety (HRiCE-GDPS)

These component areas should be approached holistically and collaboratively. Researchers can work on research projects that encompass different disciplines as we promote inter-, trans-, multi-disciplinary approaches as a University.