Circular No. 02/2021/TT-BKHCN stipulates criteria for classification, conditions for establishment, merger, consolidation, and dissolution of public science and technology organizations

CIRCULAR

Regulations on criteria for classification, conditions for establishment, merger, consolidation, and dissolution

of public scientific and technological organizations

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Pursuant to the Law on Science and Technology dated June 18, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of 11 Laws Related to Planning dated June 15, 2018;

Pursuant to Decree No. 08/2014/NĐ-CP dated January 27, 2014 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of onenumberprovision of the Law on Science and Technology;

Pursuant to Decree No. 120/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2020 of the Government on establishment, restructuring, and dissolution of public institutions;

Pursuant to Decree No. 95/2017/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2017, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

At the proposal of the Director of the Personnel Department and the Director of the Legal Department;

The Minister of Science and Technology promulgates this Circular stipulating criteria for classification, conditions for establishment, merger, consolidation, and dissolution of public scientific and technological organizations. 

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates specific criteria for classification, conditions for establishment, merger, consolidation, and dissolution of public scientific and technological organizations.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Circular applies to:

a) Public scientific and technological organizations under the management of ministries and ministerial-level agencies (hereinafter referred to as ministries), including:

a1) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under ministries;

a2) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under general bureaus and organizations equivalent to general bureaus under ministries;

a3) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under bureaus, directly under sub-bureaus under bureaus under ministries;

a4) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under offices under ministries;

a5) Public scientific and technological organizations under bureaus under general bureaus under ministries;

b) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under agencies under the Government (including public institutions abroad);

c) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under non-public institution organizations established by the Government;

d) Public scientific and technological organizations under the management of provincial People's Committees and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial level), including:

d1) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under provincial People's Committees;

d2) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees (hereinafter collectively referred to as departments);

d3) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under sub-bureaus and equivalents under departments;

d4) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under other administrative organizations under provincial People's Committees;

đ) Public scientific and technological organizations directly under district People's Committees, urban districts, towns, and cities under provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government;

e) Public scientific and technological organizations under public scientific and technological organizations defined from point a to point đ of this clause.

2. Public scientific and technological organizations established and funded by higher education institutions, political organizations, and political-social organizations shall operate according to this Circular or relevant laws.

3. This Circular does not apply to:

a) Public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, and public scientific and technological organizations that are higher education institutions;

b) Public scientific and technological organizations under the management of special administrative-economic zones shall implement according to laws and guiding documents applicable to such zones.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Public scientific and technological organizations are public institutions operating in the field of science and technology, with primary functions stipulated in their charter being scientific research, applied research, experimental implementation, trial production, technological development, production, and marketing of products resulting from scientific research and technological development, and scientific and technological services, established and registered for operation in accordance with the law.

2. Merger of public scientific and technological organizations is the process whereby all or part of one or more public scientific and technological organizations (hereinafter referred to as the merged organization) merges into another public scientific and technological organization (hereinafter referred to as the receiving organization), or part of the merged organization merges into another public scientific and technological organization, by transferring all or part of the functions, tasks, powers, together with all or part of the human resources, assets, rights, obligations, and legitimate interests corresponding to the receiving organization, while simultaneously terminating the legal entity status and removing the name from the register of scientific and technological activities of the merged organization.

3. Consolidation of public scientific and technological organizations is the process whereby several public scientific and technological organizations consolidate with each other (hereinafter referred to as consolidated organizations) to form a new public scientific and technological organization (hereinafter referred to as the newly formed organization) by transferring all human resources, assets, rights, obligations, and legitimate interests of the consolidated organizations to the newly formed organization, while simultaneously terminating the legal entity status and removing the names from the register of scientific and technological activities of the consolidated organizations.

4. Dissolution of public scientific and technological organizations is the termination of the legal entity status of public scientific and technological organizations and removal of the organization's name from the register of scientific and technological activities; all human resources, assets, rights, obligations, and legitimate interests of the organization shall be decided upon by the competent authority in accordance with the law.

Article 4. General Principles for Establishing, Merging, Consolidating, and Dissolving Public Science and Technology Organizations

1. The establishment, merging, consolidating, and dissolving of public science and technology organizations must comply with the provisions set forth in Decree No. 120/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2020 of the Government on the establishment, restructuring, and dissolution of public service units; Decree No. 08/2014/NĐ-CP dated January 27, 2014 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Science and Technology and related legal regulations.

2. The results of merging, consolidating, and dissolving must ensure that the organization operates efficiently and effectively while maintaining its functions and tasks to serve state management, provide essential public services.

3. Public science and technology organizations formed through restructuring and consolidation must have some or all functions and tasks consistent with those of the main state management agency.

4. The establishment, merging, consolidating, and dissolving of public science and technology organizations abroad must meet the conditions stipulated in Decree No. 120/2020/NĐ-CP; Decree No. 08/2014/NĐ-CP, and the provisions of this Circular, while ensuring consistency with the foreign policy of the Party and State and international treaties between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the local government regarding the establishment, merging, consolidating, dissolving, and operation of public service units.

Chapter II

CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION, ESTABLISHMENT, MERGING, CONSOLIDATING, AND DISSOLUTION OF PUBLIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS

Article 5. Criteria for Classifying Public Science and Technology Organizations

a) Public service units serving state management functions include: extension services; strategic policy research; information dissemination on Party guidelines and State laws; scientific and technological research, theoretical and operational studies; training and capacity building for civil servants, officials, and managers; human resource development, public policy, and rural development; application and development of information technology, digital transformation, statistics, forecasting, libraries, and other public service activities serving state management functions in the agriculture and rural development sector as prescribed by law;

a) Public science and technology organizations serving state management

In the charter of the organization's structure and activities, it has the function of researching applications to serve one of the following tasks: drafting normative legal documents, strategies, plans, standards, procedures, norms, and economic-technical quotas within the scope of state management by sector or field.

b) Public science and technology organizations providing basic and essential public services

In the charter of the organization's structure and activities, it has the function of providing at least one service listed in the Catalogue of Basic and Essential Public Services in Science and Technology or the Catalogue of Public Services Using State Budget Funds under the Ministry of Science and Technology's jurisdiction.

c) Public science and technology organizations serving the public interest of the state

In the charter of the organization's structure and activities, it has one of the following functions or tasks:

c1) Conducting fundamental research as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 3 of the Law on Science and Technology. Conducting some applied research, scientific and technological services (if applicable) not overlapping with the provisions of points a and b of Clause 1 of this Article;

c2) Conducting applied research, scientific and technological services not overlapping with the provisions of points a and b of Clause 1 of this Article.

2. Classification based on financial autonomy level Implement according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 54/2016/NĐ-CP dated June 14, 2016 of the Government on the mechanism of autonomy for public science and technology organizations. Specifically:

a) Public science and technology organizations self-funding regular expenses and investment costs;

b) Public science and technology organizations self-funding regular expenses;

c) Public science and technology organizations partially self-funding regular expenses;

d) Public science and technology organizations with regular expenses funded by the State.

Article 6. Conditions for establishing public science and technology organizations

Simultaneously meet the conditions stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 4 of Decree No. 08/2014/ND-CP and the minimum number of employees as provided in Point d Clause 1 of Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2020/ND-CP.

Article 7. Conditions for restructuring and improving public science and technology organizations through merger

1. The organization to be merged

Does not meet one of the conditions for establishing public science and technology organizations as specified in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. The organization receiving the merger

a) Meets all the conditions stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

b) In addition, the organization receiving the merger must also satisfy the following requirements:

 b1) Has functions and tasks, or has been supplemented with functions and tasks that are appropriate to the functions and tasks of the organization being merged, or has a field of scientific and technological activities similar to that of the organization being merged;

b2) Has the capacity to accept all or part of the human resources, assets, rights, obligations, and legitimate interests of the organizations being merged;

b3) Has a plan to continue operations with functions and tasks after restructuring and improving the organization, ensuring quality and effectiveness approved by the competent authority.

3. Degree of autonomy of public science and technology organizations after merger

a) Merger of organizations under Points a and b Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular. Public science and technology organizations after merger must ensure a financial autonomy level no lower than the highest financial autonomy level of the organizations implementing the merger at the time of initiating the merger activity.

b) Merger of organizations under Points c and d Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular. The financial autonomy level of public science and technology organizations after merger shall be implemented according to the decision of the competent authority.

c) Merger of organizations under Points a and b Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular with organizations under Points c and d Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular. Public science and technology organizations after merger must ensure a financial autonomy level no lower than the highest financial autonomy level of the organizations implementing the merger at the time of initiating the merger activity.

Article 8. Conditions for restructuring and improving public science and technology organizations through consolidation

1. Organizations to be consolidated Public science and technology organizations are considered for consolidation when simultaneously meeting the following conditions:

a) Not meeting one of the conditions for establishing public science and technology organizations as specified in Article 6 of this Circular.

b) Having functions and tasks that are similar, overlapping, or conflicting with the functions and tasks of other organizations.

c) Having a degree of autonomy that is nearly identical. Do not consolidate organizations with a degree of autonomy under Point a or Point b Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular with organizations having a degree of autonomy under Point c or Point d Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular.

2. Organization formed after the consolidation process

a) Has functions and tasks ensuring the maintenance of the functions and tasks of the organizations being consolidated.

b) Meets all the conditions stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

3. Degree of autonomy of the organization formed after the consolidation process

a) Consolidation of public science and technology organizations under Points a and b Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular.

The organization formed after the consolidation process must ensure a financial autonomy level no lower than the highest financial autonomy level of the organizations being consolidated at the time of initiating the consolidation activity.

b) Consolidation of public science and technology organizations with a degree of autonomy under Points c and d Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular

The financial autonomy level of the organization formed after the consolidation process shall be implemented according to the decision of the competent authority.

Article 9. Conditions and requirements for the dissolution of public science and technology organizations

1. An organization shall be dissolved if any of the following situations occur:

a) As prescribed in Clause 1, Article 16 of Decree No. 08/2014/NĐ-CP.

b) As prescribed in Point d, Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2020/NĐ-CP.

c) Failing to meet one of the conditions for establishing a public science and technology organization as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

d) Failing to complete tasks for three consecutive years according to the assessment of the competent authority; or being assessed as having ineffective operations for three consecutive years in the report conducted by an independent evaluation organization in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Science and Technology and Circular No. 18/2019/TT-BKHCN dated December 10, 2019 of the Minister of Science and Technology regarding the evaluation of activities and service quality of public institutions in the field of science and technology.

2. Requirements when implementing the dissolution of public science and technology organizations: The organization shall only proceed with dissolution after the plan ensuring payment of all debts and property obligations has been approved by the competent authority.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 10. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from April 25, 2021.

2. In cases where the legal documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the newly issued documents.

Article 11. Reporting System

1. The managing agencies of newly established, merged, consolidated, or dissolved public science and technology organizations shall conduct evaluations of their performance, report to higher-level management agencies before November 15 of the following year.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, agencies established by the Government or the Prime Minister, provincial People's Committees, and centrally governed municipalities shall regularly compile and report on the organizational structure and activities of public science and technology organizations under their jurisdiction to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology before December 15 each year for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

Article 12. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Minister, head of a ministerial-level agency, head of a government agency, head of an agency established by the Government or the Prime Minister, Chairperson of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed municipalities, and related agencies and organizations are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. In case of difficulties or obstacles during implementation, agencies and units are requested to reflect these issues in writing to the Ministry of Science and Technology for guidance on handling or research for appropriate amendments and supplements./.