June 22, 2026 — 101 Health Research recently presented the final findings of the Mid-Term Evaluation of the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) 2023-2028 to the Philippine National Health Research System – Research Agenda Management Committee (PNHRS-RAMC).
Since its establishment in 2006, the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) has served as the country’s primary framework for identifying and prioritizing health research areas that address national health needs. Developed through a consultative and evidence-informed process under the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS), NUHRA helps guide researchers, academic institutions, government agencies, funding bodies, and other stakeholders toward shared national priorities.
Over the years, NUHRA has evolved from a list of research priorities into a strategic instrument for coordinating investments, strengthening partnerships, and aligning health research with broader national development goals. Periodic evaluations are conducted to assess its implementation, relevance, and impact, ensuring that the agenda remains responsive to emerging health challenges, scientific advances, and societal needs.
As part of this continuing effort, 101 Health Research was commissioned to conduct the Mid-Term Evaluation of NUHRA 2023-2028.
A Nationwide Mixed-Methods Evaluation
Led by Dr. Venus Oliva Cloma-Rosales, the evaluation employed a comprehensive mixed-methods design that integrated multiple sources of evidence.
The study included a nationwide Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey among health researchers, key informant interviews and stakeholder consultations across the country, extensive document reviews, and analysis of major national databases from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).
To complement traditional evaluation approaches, the team utilized Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to analyze patterns across research proposals, funded projects, publications, and research outputs, providing a systems-level perspective on how health research priorities are translated into action.
Key Findings
Across the various data sources, the evaluation found that NUHRA has successfully established itself as the country’s health research “North Star”—a widely recognized framework that guides research planning, funding decisions, and institutional agenda-setting across the Philippine health research ecosystem.
Findings from the nationwide KAP survey demonstrated broad awareness and adoption of NUHRA among active researchers and institutions. Many respondents reported that NUHRA influences the development of organizational research agendas and serves as an important reference in identifying priority research areas.
Document and database analyses showed that the current NUHRA themes and subthemes remain highly relevant to national health needs. However, research activity, funding, and outputs were found to be distributed unevenly across priority areas and geographic regions, suggesting opportunities to strengthen support for underrepresented themes and research communities.
Qualitative interviews highlighted the important contributions of existing PNHRS structures, including regional health research consortia, national databases, governance mechanisms, funding programs, and institutional partnerships. Stakeholders consistently described these components as valuable assets that have helped strengthen the country’s research capacity over the past two decades.
At the same time, participants identified persistent challenges related to funding access, administrative processes, ethics review timelines, research capacity disparities, and the translation of research findings into policies, programs, products, and services.
Integrating the Evidence
When findings from the surveys, qualitative interviews, document reviews, and database analyses were examined together, a consistent picture emerged.
The Philippine health research system already possesses many of the essential building blocks needed to support high-quality and impactful research. Strong institutions, committed researchers, functioning regional consortia, established funding mechanisms, and growing national databases are already in place.
The next phase of development may therefore depend less on creating new structures and more on strengthening connections among existing ones.
The evaluation suggests that future efforts may benefit from greater integration across institutions, more standardized monitoring and evaluation systems, improved interoperability of research information platforms, streamlined administrative processes, and stronger mechanisms that connect research investments to policy development, health innovations, and population health outcomes.
In many ways, the challenge ahead is not simply determining what research should be done, but ensuring that the entire research ecosystem works together more seamlessly to maximize impact.
Looking Ahead
The findings from this evaluation will inform ongoing implementation efforts for NUHRA 2023–2028 and contribute to future discussions on strengthening the Philippine National Health Research System.
A series of publications arising from the evaluation is currently being prepared for a forthcoming Special Issue of the Asian Journal of Public Health Practice. Findings will also be presented and discussed in upcoming NUHRA, PNHRS, and health research forums across the country to support evidence-informed dialogue among researchers, policymakers, funders, and institutional leaders.
A Collaborative National Effort
This project was made possible through the collective efforts of 101 Health Research’s quantitative researchers, qualitative researchers, data scientists, project staff, and interns who contributed across all phases of the evaluation.
We are deeply grateful to the researchers who participated in the nationwide survey, the key informants and stakeholders who generously shared their time, expertise, and perspectives, and our partners from DOST-PCHRD, the Department of Health, and the broader PNHRS community for their trust, collaboration, and confidence in our team.
The insights generated through this work reflect a shared commitment to advancing a stronger, more connected, and more impactful health research ecosystem for the Philippines.
