Reasons why applications for scientific research funding are rejected

DNVN - At a regular press conference on December 1, Mr. Le Dinh Hanh - Deputy Director of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) - explained why many applications for funding for scientific research were rejected.

Mr. Le Dinh Hanh - Deputy Director of NAFOSTED Fund.

At the press conference, Mr. Le Dinh Hanh informed that the Fund had organized 6 rounds of calling for proposals for research tasks and received 1,654 applications from domestic research organizations. After the selection and review processes, 346 applications were approved and accepted for funding, accounting for more than 20% of the total number of applications reviewed. "This number is equivalent to the number of funding received by some funds in the world ," Mr. Hanh added.

Through the practice of receiving applications and organizing review meetings, NAFOSTED representatives said that most of the proposed applications were in the right research direction, meeting the minimum criteria as prescribed.

However, the quality of the applications is not consistent. Some applications do not meet the requirements due to unclear presentation, especially the market access and commercialization plan after research. These points have reduced the quality of the proposal. "Most applications that do not clearly explain the commercialization plan and implementation of the results will not be prioritized for funding," Mr. Hanh explained.

Besides, some research organizations have very good quality documents, while some organizations have low quality documents, which leads to a clear difference in the rate of approved documents per research organization.

According to Mr. Hanh, part of the reason for the uneven quality of records is that the transmission of information and guidance to research organizations in the new spirit has not been as expected and needs to be strengthened in the coming time.

Adding to this issue, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong added that in 2025, the Ministry of Science and Technology has amended and supplemented 5 laws, along with many decrees and circulars guiding implementation that have also been amended and supplemented. However, some research units and scientists have not fully grasped these changes. Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong directed the Fund and other units in the Ministry of Science and Technology to continue to guide ministries, localities, institutes and scientists about the new changes and supplements in the past time.

Hien Thao

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/nguyen-nhan-khien-ho-so-de-nghi-tai-tro-nghien-cuu-khoa-hoc-bi-tu-choi/20251202090012029