Streamlining public science and technology organizations to be lean and efficient

(Chinhphu.vn) - The Ministry of Science and Technology is developing a project to reorganize public science and technology organizations by focusing on merging and dissolving ineffective units, thereby allocating investment resources with focus and key points to strong organizations.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is developing a project on the organization of public science and technology - Illustrative photo

According to the orientation, the network of public science and technology (S&T) organizations will be structured into 3 levels: directly under the Government; directly under ministries, branches and under provincial People's Committees.

In which, public S&T organizations under the Government include: Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

These two Institutes conduct basic research, strategic and policy research; carry out key national scientific research and technology development tasks; solve major national problems; and play a leading role in scientific research and technology development.

Public science and technology organizations under ministries and ministerial-level agencies are expected to be structured as follows: 12 organizations for strategic research and sectoral policies; 27 organizations for development, application and technology transfer focusing on priority areas organized according to a multi-sectoral, multi-field model; 4 special-level organizations operating in the fields of: atomic energy; agriculture; forestry; irrigation; 01 special organization operating in the field of mathematics.

Each ministry and sector can establish at least one Innovation Center.

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies will need to reorganize or dissolve weakly operating organizations with overlapping functions and tasks; transfer basic research tasks to the two academies and higher education institutions; link science and technology organizations with businesses and higher education institutions. At the same time, focus on building key science and technology organizations in strategic technology fields; continue to maintain special and specific science and technology organizations.

For public science and technology organizations under the management authority of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities, there are 34 organizations performing the functions of supporting enterprises, transferring technology, incubating, transforming into innovation centers and 2 organizations conducting research on strategies and policies for local socio-economic development in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The goal of this Project is to form 15-20 strong S&T organizations to conduct scientific research and develop technology in strategic technology fields; 30% of S&T organizations will operate with self-financing and operate according to market mechanisms.

The rate of commercialization of research results from science and technology organizations performing applied research and technology development functions must be at least 2%. Science and technology organizations must become an important source of support for technological innovation for Vietnamese enterprises.

In particular, the 2026 - 2027 period will rearrange the network of public science and technology organizations; the 2027 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, will invest resources and develop science and technology organizations.

Recently, at the August 2025 State Management Conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology, giving opinions on the restructuring of public science and technology organizations, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Xuan Dinh emphasized the need to have a flexible approach to the transition period in accordance with actual conditions, especially in localities with limited research and development (R&D) capacity.

According to the Deputy Minister, if we only focus on innovation and ignore basic science and technology services such as quality measurement standards, statistical information, and experiments and testing, it will be difficult to ensure the stability and sustainable development of these organizations.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung also noted that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are two special localities, with sufficient conditions to establish more than one innovation center. Therefore, it is necessary to study and apply a separate mechanism to maximize the advantages of the two largest science and technology centers in the country.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/sap-xep-cac-to-chuc-khcn-cong-lap-tinh-gon-hieu-qua-102250908130339293.htm