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Researchers will be better motivated to concentrate on their work, premier says China will further reform and improve the management of central
budgetary research funding to give researchers greater discretion in the
utilization of funds and better motivate them to concentrate on their
research, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li
Keqiang decided on Wednesday. "China is giving greater prominence to innovation-driven development.
With the guiding principles and broad policies in place, the new
policies introduced this time are part of a response to the views and
recommendations of research institutes and researchers over some time,
and what we need is to ensure their last-mile delivery on the ground,"
Li said. Budget compilation will be streamlined and the items subject to
budget accounting will be reduced, it was decided at the meeting. Power
over budget reassignment regarding equipment costs and others will all
be delegated to institutes undertaking research projects. The creation
of ceilings in funding that enable the retention of unused funds will be
promoted in basic research projects and talent-related programs. Researchers will be given greater incentives. The proportion of
indirect funding in research projects will be increased to see that as
much as half of research funding is used for personnel purposes. For
purely theoretical basic research projects such as mathematics, the
share of indirect funding may be raised to 60 percent. Cash rewards for the commercialization of research outcomes will not
be limited by the total amount of performance-based salary in the
institute concerned, or used for approving the performance-based salary
base for the next year. "We must resolutely support basic research. Researchers need to fully
devote themselves to their research, and do well in basic research in
the same spirit as a blacksmith in the past who would spend years
forging a perfect sword. This is of vital and long-term significance in
boosting China's strength in science and technology," Li said. Funds should be channeled to those carrying out projects within 30
days of the signing of project contracts. After a project is complete,
those undertaking the projects may keep the surplus project funding for
direct research expenditure. Lead scientists will be given the discretion to decide what to study,
how to build teams and how to use funds in line with the priorities and
scope of the country's agenda. A "budget plus negative list" management
model will be implemented in new research and development institutes. Except for special provisions, research outcomes and intellectual
property generated with budgetary funding support will be obtained by
new R&D institutes in accordance with law, and their application and
promotion decided by these institutes. Research projects will be equipped with financial assistants by
relevant parties to provide specialized services such as budget
compilation and reimbursement, in order to ease the administrative
burden on researchers. "Competent departments must rigorously implement the aforementioned
policies. The State Council General Office should step up accountability
inspections and compliance oversight," Li said. "Real support for
researchers cannot materialize unless these policy measures are fully
delivered."
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