Design-Led Innovation and Triple-Helix Collaboration for MSME Product Development: The PROPEL Project in Bohol, Philippines

Angeline Baldapan Elegio

doi:10.46604/aiti.2026.15898

Authors

Angeline Baldapan Elegio College of Engineering, Architecture and Industrial Design, Bohol Island State University, Bohol, Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46604/aiti.2026.15898

Keywords:

triple helix, design-led innovation, prototyping, rural innovation systems

Abstract

This study aims to examine design-led pedagogy as a mechanism for knowledge and technology transfer within a triple helix collaboration supporting product development among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a resource-constrained rural setting. Using a qualitative case study of the PROPEL Project in Bohol, Philippines, it analyzes how collaboration mechanisms, design-led processes, and boundary conditions shape product outcomes. The findings show that innovation outputs depend not only on institutional alignment but also on enacted coordination, iterative prototyping, mentoring, and feasibility-based refinement among university, government, and MSME actors. The decline from 148 approved concepts to 58 exhibited prototypes reveals selective translation under time, material, and organizational constraints. Prototype realization is influenced by mentorship intensity, coordination quality, and MSME absorptive capacity. The study refines the triple helix interpretation by clarifying design-led pedagogy as a transfer pathway and identifying boundary conditions that shape the visibility of innovation outputs in rural innovation ecosystems.

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