The final product will be contracted to the scientist

According to the Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan, the state will pilot the contracting mechanism to the final product, buy research results so that scientists can be assured of working.

This can be considered as one of the very new steps to bring science and technology to develop, because the problems of financial settlement have always been the biggest barrier for scientists.

- Dear Minister, 2012 can be considered an important year when many key projects and programs are approved. This is also the year the Ministry of Science and Technology (Science and Technology) submitted to the National Assembly of the Law on Science and Technology with many significant improvements and scientists are waiting for that change to become a reality. In 2013, what will be the important point of the ministry?

Minister Nguyen Quan : We will focus on the National Assembly to approve the amended Science and Technology Law. The Law will focus on the focal points for developing sub-law documents, which is the method of investment in science and technology innovation and a key policy for scientific staff.

2013 is also the year to launch all national programs on science and technology. In which, there are 3 biggest programs are national product program, national program for science and technology innovation and national program for high science and technology development.

Hopefully in the synchronization, in the next stage we will have more valuable and more influential science and technology products.

- There is a fact in the past few years, scientists are often afraid of going to financial settlement rather than researching scientific products. How will this knot be solved by the Ministry of Science and Technology?

Minister Nguyen Quan : The scientific world is those who desire to work honestly and most scientifically. Therefore, it is very desirable to renew the financial mechanism so that it does not take much time to legalize vouchers but take the time to concentrate on research.

We have to institutionalize the Party's resolution on science and technology, by building a revised Science and Technology Law and sub-law documents. In particular, the financial mechanisms will have to be solved synchronously in the stages of developing annual plans, reforming the implementation method, changing the spending level for scientists to work honestly. and ensure the effectiveness of the project.

We also pilot the contracting mechanism to the final product. This means that when scientists submit to the final results that meet the criteria and requirements of the original project commitment, the whole process of finalization, billing and voucher, intermediate stage will not needed anymore. The scientist is responsible for the management agencies on the use of the state budget.

In particular, we must pilot the state mechanism to stand out to buy science and technology products of scientists. Thus, scientists can use funds from any source to do research and after having products the state will buy at agreed prices.

When we implement the mechanism of purchasing research results, it will be a motivation for scientists to be assured of doing science, quality assurance as well as their research results.

Of course, the pilot will have many problems arising, we will have to evaluate the summation and multiply. However, I think that this is a method consistent with international practices and most countries apply.

- Dear Minister, does the contracting to the final product without good management lead to bad cases?

Minister Nguyen Quan : To avoid this situation, the output and input will be tightened. Scientists must develop estimates with norms set by the state, then agencies will establish councils for appraisal and evaluation. Once submitted to the competent authority for approval, the funds will be allocated to scientists.

When the scientist finishes, he / she still has an acceptance committee to see if the product meets the set criteria and the topic, or not. If the product meets, it is considered that the scientist has completed the task.

- Currently, investment in science and technology accounts for only 2% of the budget. According to him, is this a low level of investment and how to mobilize businesses to invest in scientific research?

Minister Nguyen Quan : Currently, investment in new science and technology is only in the state budget. The 2% level is not low, but Vietnam is still poor, so 2% of the total budget value is very small, unable to meet the country's development needs.

Currently, we are mobilizing the investment of the whole society, especially from enterprises for science and technology and consider this a very important solution to get a large budget to meet this activity.

This mobilization is through forced state enterprises to win a certain proportion of pre-tax profit to establish a Science and Technology Development Fund of the enterprise. That percentage is how much depends on the type of business and their business sector.

Besides, we also encourage businesses in all economic sectors to follow the model of state enterprises.

We and the Ministry of Finance more appropriately regulate how to use this fund. Currently, enterprises spend 75% of the budget and 25% of the state but are controlled up to 100% as the state budget so many businesses are not interested in setting up funds.

With such synchronous solutions, we hope that in the coming time, social investment will be mobilized many times higher than state investment to support the development of science and technology.

- Thank you, Minister!

Specially use excellent scientists

According to Minister Nguyen Quan, the Ministry of Science and Technology will have a special policy to focus on the field of scientists in science and technology focusing on 3 subjects: the leading scientist, the scientist assigned the task of the country and the scientist. Children really have talent.

Accordingly, the above scientists will be favored by the working environment, the best working conditions, to use the national key laboratories.In addition, they will be self-sufficient in funding from the state budget, agreeing on salary for people working with them as well as being free to research creatively in state orders.

The above scientists will also be proactive in international integration, attend international conferences in their fields, purchase books, documents, designs and technological know-how with the state budget.

Minister Nguyen Quan also said that this policy will actually depend on the amended Science and Technology Law to serve as a legal basis for developing Decrees and Circulars to guide and decide on each case.