Circular No. 06/2012/TT-BKHCN on Determining Scientific and Technological Tasks under National Key Science and Technology Programs

CIRCULAR

Regarding the determination of Science and Technology tasks under national key Science and Technology programs

Science and Technology Programs of National Importance

________________________

Pursuant to the Law on Science and Technology dated June 9, 2000;

Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2002/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Science and Technology;

Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2008, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Department of Planning and Finance;

The Minister of Science and Technology issues this Circular on the determination of Science and Technology tasks under national key Science and Technology programs for selection or direct assignment to organizations and individuals for implementation.

Article 1. Scope and objects regulated

This Circular guides the organization of determining Science and Technology tasks ordered by the State, including research topics (hereinafter referred to as topics) and experimental production projects (hereinafter referred to as projects) under national key Science and Technology programs (hereinafter referred to as programs).

Science and Technology tasks related to state secrets are not within the scope of regulation of this Circular.

Article 2 Interpretation of Terms

1. Proposing orders to implement Science and Technology tasks under the program is the act of Ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, government-affiliated agencies, provincial People's Committees, centrally governed cities; political-social organizations, central-level social organizations; groups and corporations (hereinafter collectively referred to as Ministries, sectors, and localities) proposing Science and Technology tasks that need to be resolved through the programs.

2. Ordering the implementation of Science and Technology tasks under the program is the act of the Ministry of Science and Technology representing the State setting objectives, requirements, contents, ensuring funding, and signing orders with organizations and individuals to implement the topics and projects of the program.

Article 3. Basis for bidding proposals

1. Requirements from Party and State leadership.

2. National strategies and socio-economic development plans of Ministries, sectors, provinces, centrally governed cities.

3. Long-term Science and Technology development strategy and mid-term Science and Technology objectives, tasks of the State.

4. Objectives, contents, and expected products of the program approved by the Minister of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the program framework).

Article 4. Requirements for topics and projects under the program

1. General Requirements

a) To have objectives, contents, and expected products consistent with the program framework;

b) To directly contribute to solving national-level, cross-sectoral, and cross-regional Science and Technology issues;

c) Not to overlap in content with Science and Technology tasks already implemented or currently being implemented;

d) To have the ability to mobilize resources from Science and Technology organizations, businesses, domestic and foreign scientists to participate in implementation;

đ) To impact the development of industries, fields, and economic regions;

e) The implementation period of the topic or project must be consistent with the program requirements. In special cases, the decision shall be made by the Minister of Science and Technology.

2. Requirements for topics

Research results should be demonstrated in one of the following requirements:

a) Providing scientific grounds for addressing practical issues in formulating and implementing Party policies, socio-economic development policies, and state laws;

b) Creating new technologies or products of significant importance to socio-economic development, ensuring national security and defense, and social welfare, reaching advanced levels in the region or internationally;

c) Having high applicability, leading to improvements in productivity, quality, and efficiency.

3. Requirements for projects

a) Technologies or Science and Technology products that need further research and improvement include:

- Research results of Science and Technology topics evaluated, accepted, and recommended for application by the Science and Technology Council;

- Results from exploiting inventions; other Science and Technology products.

b) The created technology or product must be new and advanced compared to existing technology in Vietnam, capable of replacing imports;

c) To have the ability to mobilize non-budgetary funds for implementation and have application addresses for products;

d) The project's product must have the potential for widespread application to create new industries, increase employment and income for the community.

Article 5. Principles for determining topics and projects under the program

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology assigns the Program Management Boards to compile a list of topics and projects under each program.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology reviews and approves the list of topics and projects according to each program for announcement and selection, directly assigning organizations and individuals to implement based on the advisory opinions of the advisory council for determining science and technology tasks within the program (hereinafter referred to as the advisory council) established by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. Topics and projects in the announced selection and direct assignment list shall be determined by name, orientation, objectives, and requirements for products. For projects, additional economic and technical indicators for the product must also be specified.

4. The procedures for determining topics and projects in the list of science and technology tasks are stipulated in Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this Circular.

Article 6. Proposing Orders

1. Each year, Ministries, sectors, and localities base on the guidelines for building science and technology plans issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the provisions of this Circular, guide subordinate units and relevant organizations and individuals to propose scientific and technological issues that can be resolved through one or several topics and projects (Annex 1, Table A1-1).

2. Ministries, sectors, and localities compile scientific and technological issues requiring orders (Annex 1, Table A1-2) and send them to the Ministry of Science and Technology before January 30 of the preceding year of the planning period.

3. Ministries, sectors, and localities are responsible for receiving and applying results if their proposed orders are accepted. For orders from groups and corporations, additional commitments regarding matching funds are required.

4. In addition to the orders proposed by Ministries, sectors, and localities, to ensure the completion of the goals, contents, and products of the programs, the Program Management Board may propose scientific and technological issues to be resolved through the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 7. Building the List of Topics and Projects

Building the list of topics and projects is carried out in two steps:

1. Step 1: Selecting scientific and technological issues expected to be implemented.

a) Compiling ordered scientific and technological issues according to each program: Based on the orders prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular, the Program Management Board selects and compiles the orders for the program (Annex 2, Table A2-1);

b) The Program Management Board collaborates with expert teams (three to five people who are not members of the Program Management Board) to select scientific and technological issues that can be resolved through one or several topics and projects in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Article 4 of this Circular. Expert comments are recorded in writing (Annex 2, Table A2-2).

The results of the work of the Program Management Board and the expert teams are recorded in minutes (Annex 2, Table A2-3) and summarized in the work results (Annex 2, Tables A2-4 and A2-5).

2. Step 2: Building topics and projects.

a) The Program Management Board leads the collaboration with expert teams (five to seven people who are not members of the Program Management Board) based on the list of proposed scientific and technological issues (Annex 2, Table A2-5) to build topics and projects. These topics and projects must meet the requirements stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular;

b) During the process of building topics and projects, the Program Management Board may seek the opinions of Ministries, sectors, and localities to ensure that the topics and projects meet the requirements of the proposed orders;

c) Based on the specific conditions of each topic and project, the Program Management Board may recommend the method of selecting organizations and individuals to implement through selection or direct assignment;

d) The results of the work of the Program Management Board and the expert teams are recorded in minutes (Annex 2, Table A2-3) and summarized with priority ranking (Annex 2, Table A2-6) and sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology for organizing advisory councils.

Article 8. Advisory Board

1. The Advisory Board shall be established by the Minister of Science and Technology according to the scientific and technological field of the program for advising the Minister on topics and projects within the program developed by the Program Steering Committee.

2. Members of the Advisory Board shall be reputable experts in science and technology with a sense of responsibility, appropriate professional qualifications, deep understanding of the relevant scientific and technological field, active in scientific and technological activities in the last five years in the assigned advisory field, and experienced managers from related industries, sectors, and enterprises expected to benefit from research results.

Members participating in the Advisory Board may be selected from the database of experts of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. The Advisory Board shall consist of nine to eleven members, including a chairman, vice-chairman, and committee members. The Program Steering Committee shall not participate in the Advisory Board. The composition of the board (excluding the chairman) shall include: half of the members being scientists and technologists; the other half belonging to state management agencies, production and business organizations, enterprises, and other related organizations.

4. The Advisory Board shall operate based on democratic and objective principles; each member shall be individually responsible for the objectivity and accuracy of their independent advisory opinions, while the board as a whole shall be collectively responsible for its final conclusions.

Article 9. Organization of Advisory Board Meetings

1. The chairman and vice-chairman of the board shall be responsible for uniformly assigning reviews at least five days before the Advisory Board meeting. Each topic and project in the list shall have two members conducting the review.

2. Working Documents of the Advisory Board

a) Program framework;

b) List of topics and projects of the program developed by the Program Steering Committee (Annex 2, Table A2-6);

c) Review form (Annex 3, Table A3-1);

d) Other related materials.

These documents must be sent to the board members at least three days before the Advisory Board meeting.

3. Invited guests attending the Advisory Board meeting shall include representatives from the Program Steering Committee, the management agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the agency proposing the commissioning.

4. At least two-thirds of the board members must attend the Advisory Board meeting, including either the chairman or vice-chairman. Board members provide written comments (Annex 3, Table A3-1). Written opinions from absent members only serve as reference.

5. The chairman of the board shall preside over the Advisory Board meetings; if the chairman is absent, the vice-chairman shall preside over the meeting.

6. The board shall analyze and discuss each topic and project in the list regarding the following issues:

a) The appropriateness of the topic and project concerning the scientific and technological issues raised;

b) Compliance with the requirements stipulated in Article 4 of this Circular;

c) The appropriateness of the name, target orientation, and product requirements for the topic, and the name, target, and economic-technical criteria requirements for the project;

d) The rationality of setting economic-technical criteria for the project;

đ) The appropriateness of the method for selecting organizations or individuals to undertake the task.

7. Procedures for the Advisory Board's work

a) Announce the decision to establish the board; the board shall unify the working methods and appoint one member as the scientific secretary responsible for recording discussion opinions and drafting minutes of the board meetings;

b) Representatives of the Program Steering Committee present the list of topics and projects;

c) Reviewing members present their opinions on the assigned topics and projects;

The board discusses the requirements stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article;

d) The Program Steering Committee is responsible for providing additional explanations if requested by the board;

đ) Board members evaluate each topic and project according to the prescribed form (Annex 3, Table A3-2);

e) The board elects a ballot counting team consisting of three members, including one head. Ballot counting results (Annex 3, Table A3-3);

g) Topics and projects proposed by the board to be included in the list must be confirmed by at least two-thirds of the attending board members (and more than half of the total number of members as decided) to meet general requirements;

h) The board discusses to unify requirements for each topic and project that meets general requirements and votes through the board's conclusion for each task based on a majority principle and recommends methods for selection or direct assignment for each topic and project;

i) The board approves the working minutes (Annex 3, Table A3-4) accompanied by the list of topics and projects approved by the board, ranked from highest to lowest according to the number of confirmation votes meeting general requirements (Annex 3, Table A3-5).

8. Advisory Board meetings are organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 10. Review of the List of Research Topics and Projects

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall organize the review of the list of research topics and projects. The review of the list of research topics and projects shall be carried out through review teams. The review team shall be established by the Minister of Science and Technology, consisting of 5 to 7 members including the team leader, deputy team leader, and other members representing functional units of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. Where necessary, the Ministry of Science and Technology may seek opinions from relevant ministries, sectors, and localities on the research topics and projects before conducting the review.

3. Documents for review include:

a) The completed list of research topics and projects after receiving comments from the advisory board confirming the tasks;

b) An explanation by the program steering committee regarding the comments of the advisory board (if any);

c) Minutes of the advisory board's meetings accompanied by comments from reviewing members;

d) Documents and minutes of meetings of the program steering committee during the process of developing the research topics and projects.

4. Content of the review

a) Checking the procedures for developing research topics and projects according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular;

b) Checking against the requirements stipulated for research topics and projects under Article 4 of this Circular;

c) Checking the methods for selecting or directly assigning each research topic and project;

d) Considering and proposing solutions to issues with differing opinions between the program steering committee and the advisory board.

5. In cases where necessary, the review team may recommend that the Ministry of Science and Technology seek opinions from independent domestic and foreign experts or establish another advisory board for consultation.

6. The results of the review team's work shall be recorded in minutes of the meeting (Annex 4, Form A4-1) along with the proposed list of research topics and projects for approval (Annex 4, Form A4-2).

Article 11. Approval of the List of Research Topics and Projects for Ordering

Based on the review results, the Minister of Science and Technology shall consider approving the list of research topics and projects to be put up for selection or directly assigned to organizations and individuals for implementation in the next planning year.

Article 12. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial People's Committees, and centrally governed city People's Committees shall apply this Circular to guide and organize the determination of science and technology tasks within their respective jurisdictions.

3. During the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Science and Technology for study and amendment.