The project wasn't successful… but it still made a contribution.

(NLĐO) - In response to questions, the Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Thanh Hoa province stated that the essence of science is to discover something new, which is uncertain, may succeed or fail, but even if it doesn't succeed, it still contributes to helping scientists avoid repeating past mistakes.

On the afternoon of July 9th, within the framework of the 20th session of the 18th term of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Council, the council continued its work, conducting a question-and-answer session.

Mr. Tran Duy Binh, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Thanh Hoa province, answers questions.

During the questioning session, Mr. Tran Duy Binh, Director of the Department of Science and Technology (S&T) of Thanh Hoa province, stated that, in addition to carrying over tasks from previous years, the Department of S&T of Thanh Hoa province advised the Provincial People's Committee to implement 179 new tasks during the 2020-2023 period.

Over the three years, 130 provincial-level projects were completed and approved, including 104 projects transferred from before 2020 and 26 projects from 2020-2023.

According to Mr. Binh, many tasks, after being approved, have been applied in practice, yielding high economic efficiency and contributing to the socio-economic development of the province.

Delegate Trinh Thi Hoa, Vice President of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Federation of Labor (Thanh Hoa City Delegation), posed a question during the interpellation session.

Mr. Binh also acknowledged that during the implementation process, 11 tasks failed to meet targets and had to be stopped to recover funds for the state, some tasks requested extensions, and 2 tasks failed the acceptance test. Besides objective factors, Mr. Binh also stated that the infrastructure and equipment for scientific research were insufficient and outdated.

"The essence of science is discovering something new, something uncertain, something that may or may not succeed, and it doesn't have a profit motive from the outset; it must go through many steps. Among these, the testing phase usually carries the most risk. Therefore, unsuccessful research projects and applications are also a contribution, clarifying the direction for the community and preventing future scientists from conducting duplicate research," Mr. Binh said.

Mr. Le Duc Giang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa Province

Many delegates have expressed concern and asked the Director of the Department of Science and Technology to clarify the scientific projects that the Department is currently implementing, including projects that are delayed or prolonged, projects that are unsuccessful, and projects that have been completed but have low practical application effectiveness.

Representative Trinh Thi Hoa (Thanh Hoa City delegation) questioned why, despite being allocated 60 billion VND each year by the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee for the implementation of tasks in 2022 and 2023, the implementation rate was low (29.4 billion VND in 2022 and 28.4 billion VND in 2023). She asked what the reasons were for this.

Delegate Nguyen Tuan Tuong (from the Ba Thuoc district delegation) pointed out that out of the 179 projects implemented by the Department of Science and Technology, nearly half are projects transferred from the central government or other localities, and there are no projects with a strategic focus specific to the province.

Do Trong Hung, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council of Thanh Hoa province, presided over the meeting.

Responding to questions from delegates, Mr. Tran Duy Binh stated that while there are many research topics, their quality, novelty, urgency, and modernity are not high, and there is much overlap. "Some topics are proposed year after year, but their feasibility is low. Meanwhile, many proposals are not selected by local departments and units, and the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused many difficulties, leading to delays in project evaluation and failure to meet the set requirements," Mr. Binh said.

According to the Director of the Department of Science and Technology, the criteria for selecting research topics must not be duplicated, so there are a few topics with some overlapping points. Therefore, during the evaluation process, conditions are created to allow for inheritance and reduce the budget. "The name may not be the same, but the content inside must be improved to be effectively applied for the province. Transferring copyrighted technology from outside is very difficult. So there are things we have to transfer, master, imitate, and create ourselves," Mr. Binh frankly stated.

Further explaining this issue, Mr. Le Duc Giang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, said that in addition to the achievements, the science and technology sector still has some shortcomings and limitations.

According to Mr. Giang, Thanh Hoa currently has a very large number of intellectuals, with 236,000 people, including 38 associate professors, 500 PhDs, and 2,500 masters, but the number of intellectuals directly involved in applied research in technology is still small. Secondly, the number of science and technology enterprises has not developed proportionally to its potential; while we have 38,000 registered enterprises, only 32 have been recognized as science and technology enterprises.

Scenes from the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Council meeting on the afternoon of July 9th.

Furthermore, scientific research proposals are uneven across fields, with many sectors and localities failing to propose any scientific or technological research projects for many years.

To overcome existing limitations, Mr. Le Duc Giang suggested that the science and technology sector needs to eliminate the bureaucratic mindset in its activities, shifting from a rigid, mechanical management approach to one focused on serving businesses, organizations, and scientists. He also called for the development, amendment, and supplementation of regulations on task identification and funding approval, reducing administrative procedures, and minimizing wasted time and effort for scientists. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of promptly honoring and rewarding organizations and individuals who lead science and technology projects with high efficiency, contributing to the province's socio-economic development.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/giam-director-so-kh-cn-thanh-hoa-de-tai-khong-thanh-cong-nhung-cung-co-dong-gop-196240709190302856.htm