History
The UP Los Baños Development Foundation, Incorporated (UPLBFI) has evolved into a prominent private institution working in tandem with UP Los Baños in applying science and technology in agricultural development. Its existence dates back to September 13, 1977 when it was formally organized by top officials of UPLB and registered with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a non-stock and non-profit corporation named Generator of Integrated Resources Development (GIRD) Foundation, Inc. It is worth mentioning that in the year prior to the Foundation's establishment it was estimated that UPLB expert services spent in working on development projects of public and private organizations in the Philippines and of international institutions amounted to approximately 63 person-years.
The mission of the Foundation is to assist UPLB in harnessing effectively and efficiently it's numerous and varied manpower expertise and modern facilities in the service of national and international agencies, institutions and individuals concerned with rural and agricultural development food and nutrition, enable the Foundation to pursue its mission it has been granted the following specific powers:
- To initiate, conduct, manage and/or evaluate research and developmental projects;
- To design, fabricate, construct, improve and/or adopt structures, strategies and systems toward agricultural and rural development;
- To maintain and develop manpower capabilities through training, extension and formal education;
- To own and trade in patents, technology, literature and intermediate or finished products;
- To encourage, underwrite and finance research, extension and instruction resources and activities at the UPLB, and
- To enter into contract with, and execute with any person, corporation, partnership or association, public or private, any lawful agreement for the study and management of agricultural and rural development enterprises and projects.
Soon after its formal organization, GIRD began crafting proposals for funding that are responsive to local and international rural and agricultural development needs. At the same time began accepting projects from various clients. The very first project undertaken and completed by the Foundation was the provision of the services of a Taxonomist who collected and analyzed rice varieties from Sri Lanka for the International Rice Research Institute. Since then numerous UPLB experts have served in various capacities in agricultural and rural development projects in the Philippines. Individually or in group, they have provided cover consultancies; conduct of researches, policy studies and surveys; project conceptualization, design and implementation; information production and dissemination; design and implementation of project benefit monitoring and evaluation, manpower training; computer applications; electronic data processing; statistical design and analysis; and environmental impact assessment. The Foundation has also served as fund manager of grants and donation to support student/scholars studying in UPLB.
It is worth mentioning that in 1983 a team of UPLB was commissioned to undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the USAID-funded Capas-Butolan Highway, a pioneering effort at that time because of the absence tried or tested EIA protocols . Satisfied with that outcome of the assessment, the same team was engaged by the same client to perform the EIA of two other projects in Pampanga namely, Sapang Bato Resettlement Project in Mabalacat and the Pampanga Public Market Project in Angeles City.
Although not among its specific mandates, the Foundation took the cudgels for UPLB in managing as well as providing part of the funds to initiate construction of the Diamond Jubileeville Housing Project designed by the UPLB which was launched in January, 1984 for the benefit of its personnel.
Lately, UPLBFI ventured into publishing books authored by UPLB Faculty. It will also reopen its bookstore project in its headquarters.
The three decades of UPLBFI operation provides sufficient evidence that the Foundation is indeed an efficient effective private arm of UPLB that serves as a conduit for harnessing the human resources and facilities of the University in the service of national and international agencies and institutions concerned with agricultural and rural development. By working through the foundation UPLB Experts are enabled to earn what the job commands in the open market. More importantly, the Foundation allocates contributes 60% of it's gross income to UPLB which can be spent for equipment acquisition, scholarships, professional chairs, improvement of facilities, and for meeting needs which cannot be met by the university's operating funds. (RGCorcolon)
