Reconnoitering LGU’s Potential as a Creative Innovation Center of Nueva Vizcaya Using CMCI

The Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA) has identified the promotion of creative hubs and clusters as a key strategy to develop and support Philippine Creative Cities. This study assessed the potential of local government units (LGUs) in the province of Nueva Vizcaya to serve as creative innovation centers, utilizing the 2022 and 2023 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) results, with the purpose of developing strategic actions to assist the LGUs in strengthening their potential and promoting stronger linkages and collaborations among stakeholders in the creative industries and the government. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Percentile ranking was used to obtain the sum scores of the five main CMCI pillars – economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation – to visualize the LGUs’ potential as creative innovation centers, with the 50th percentile serving as the benchmark. Comparative analysis was also performed to evaluate the potential of the LGUs as creative innovation centers in the province and determine their respective strengths and weaknesses. The results showed that the municipality of Bayombong is considered the potential LGU for a creative innovation center. The province of Nueva Vizcaya presented more strengths in the resiliency and innovation pillars, but more weaknesses were seen in the infrastructure pillar. Based on these findings, the researchers crafted proposed strategic actions to enhance the LGUs’ potential as creative innovation centers.