Circular No. 14/2010/TT-BKHCN detailing standards, procedures, and processes for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology.

CIRCULAR

Detailed regulations on criteria, procedures, and formalities for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology.

The Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology

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

Pursuant to the Law on Competition and Reward dated November 26, 2003, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 42/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 15, 2010 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Competition and Reward;

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;

After reaching consensus with the Ministry of Interior (Central Committee for Competition and Reward), the Minister of Science and Technology hereby details the criteria, procedures, and formalities for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology as follows:

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular stipulates the criteria, procedures, and formalities for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology to the authors of scientific and technological works that have been created, published, and utilized in Vietnam from September 2, 1945 (the founding date of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) to the present, including:

The Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science and Technology is awarded to the author of outstanding scientific and technological works of exceptional excellence, with very high value in science and technology; having significant and long-lasting effects on people's lives, contributing importantly to the development of the economy, society, national defense, security, and the advancement of the science and technology cause of the country.

The State Prize for Science and Technology is awarded to the author of excellent scientific and technological works of high value in science and technology; generating tangible economic and social benefits, significantly serving the development of the economy, society, national defense, security, and the advancement of the science and technology cause of the country.

2. This Circular applies to: the author, co-authors who are Vietnamese citizens; and other organizations and individuals related to the matter.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

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

1. Scientific and technological work eligible for award is the product of creative labor in scientific research, technological development, and application of scientific and technological achievements, including scientific research works and technological research works.

a) Scientific research works eligible for award are those researching and discovering natural and social laws, scientific inventions, scientific theories leading to important changes in understanding, having a significant impact on science, the economy, and society of the country.

b) Technological research works eligible for award include Development and Innovation of Technology Research Works and Special Creative Application of Technology Research Works.

- Development and Innovation of Technology Research Works create new technical solutions, new materials, new varieties, new products leading to significant changes in the technological base, enhancing the country's competitive capacity, serving the development of the economy, society, national defense, security, and the advancement of the science and technology cause of the country.

- Special Creative Application of Technology Research Works are successful and creative applications of technological achievements in important economic and technical projects of the country such as construction and architectural projects, national defense and security projects, and other projects, decisively affecting the effectiveness of these economic and technical projects.

2. A set of scientific and technological works eligible for awardincluding:

a) A collection of works by the same author or co-authors identified within the same field of science or application.

b) A collection of works independently carried out by multiple authors resulting in the same outcome but using different methods, principles, and techniques.

3. Scientific and technological works and sets of scientific and technological works are referred to as works.

4. Author construction is a person who directly creates the work through their own labor. Co-author of the work is two or more persons who directly create the work through their own labor. Those who only provide technical, material, or financial support to the author or co-author without directly participating in creating the work shall not be considered as the author or co-author of the work. their own labor directly to create the work.

Those who only assist or support the author or co-author with technical, material, or financial means without directly participating in the creation of the work shall not be considered as the author or co-author of the work.

Article 3. Rights and benefits of authors with works or clusters of works awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for Science and Technology

Authors with works or clusters of works awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for Science and Technology shall be granted the Certificate of the Ho Chi Minh Prize or the State Prize for Science and Technology by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with monetary awards as prescribed by the Government, and shall enjoy other rights and benefits as provided by current laws.

Article 4. Time for awarding prizes

1. The Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science and Technology shall be considered and announced once every five years on National Day, September 2.

2. The State Prize for Science and Technology shall be considered and announced once every two years on National Day, September 2.

Article 5. Levels for awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology

The process of awarding the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to collectively as "awarding") shall be conducted independently and at three levels:

1. Basic level: awarding at the Basic Award Council established by the head of the basic unit.

2. Ministry, Province, City, and equivalent levels (hereinafter referred to collectively as "Ministry level"): awarding at the Ministry Award Council established by the Minister, head of a ministry-level agency, head of a government agency, Chairman of the People's Committee of a province or centrally-administered city, or Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology.

3. National level: awarding in two steps:

- Step 1: awarding at specialized award councils established by the Minister of Science and Technology based on coordination with the National Award Council for the State Prize for Science and Technology.

- Step 2: awarding at the National Award Council for the State Prize for Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the "National Award Council") established by the Prime Minister.

Article 6. Obligation to publicly announce the results of awarding prizes

Before submitting the application dossier for awarding to the higher-level Award Council, the head of the authority establishing the Basic and Ministry-level Award Councils shall have the responsibility to publicly announce on state information media or sectoral media about the results of awarding within their units within ten working days after the results are obtained (Form E1-2).

Article 7. Complaints, accusations, and resolution of complaints and accusations

1. Organizations and individuals have the right to complain about the results of awarding; individuals have the right to accuse violations of regulations, procedures, and processes of awarding and bear responsibility for the contents of their complaints and accusations.

a) An organization's complaint must clearly state the name of the complaining agency or unit, reasons for complaint, content of complaint; it must be stamped and signed by the authorized authority.

b) An individual's complaint or accusation must clearly state their full name, position, address, reasons for complaint or accusation, content of complaint or accusation, and must be directly signed on the document.

c) The first complaint or accusation must be submitted to the head of the Award Council establishment where the organization or individual perceives a violation.

2. The head of the Award Council establishment, the head of the authority receiving complaints or accusations, has the responsibility to examine and respond to complaints or accusations according to regulations; they will not examine incomplete complaints or anonymous ones as specified in Points a and b of Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter II
CONDITIONS AND STANDARDS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE HO CHI MINH AWARD AND THE STATE AWARD FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Article 8. Conditions for Consideration of the Award

The works proposed for consideration of the Ho Chi Minh Award or the State Award for Science and Technology must meet the following conditions:

1. A work can only be proposed for consideration of the Ho Chi Minh Award or the State Award in one award round.

2. Works proposed for consideration of the Ho Chi Minh Award or the State Award must have been published or applied in practice for at least three years as of the date of submission of the application for consideration.

3. There must be no disputes over copyright, no complaints or accusations regarding the content and results of the work at the time of consideration.

4. Reports on the research results of the work must have been submitted to the National Science and Technology Information Center (now the National Science and Technology Information Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology), to the Provincial Departments of Science and Technology for works that are the results of science and technology projects funded from the state budget, accepted after 1980 (in accordance with Regulation No. 271/QD dated June 20, 1980 of the State Committee for Science and Technology on registering topics and submitting research result reports, and the Regulation on registration, storage, and utilization of the results of implementing science and technology tasks issued together with Decision No. 03/2007/QD-BKHCN dated March 16, 2007 of the Minister of Science and Technology), or to the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security for projects managed by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 9. Standards for Works Considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award

1. For scientific research works

Scientific research works considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award must meet the following standards:

1.1. Regarding scientific value:

a) Achieving particularly outstanding scientific achievements leading to significant changes in understanding, production, and social life.

b) Having very high scientific value.

c) Being published and cited in reputable domestic and international scientific journals.

1.2. Regarding practical value:

a) Having a wide-ranging and long-lasting impact on people's lives, making a significant contribution to the development of the country's economy, society, science, and technology, and belonging to one of the following categories:

- New discoveries about the nature or laws of society that have a particularly important impact on understanding and social life;

- Valuable theoretical proposals clarifying the path of Vietnam's development; scientific evidence making a particularly important contribution to the formulation of sustainable development policies and economic integration; providing a deep theoretical and practical basis for the process of industrialization and modernization of the country; - Basic research results guiding applications that play a decisive role in selecting, adopting, mastering, and developing advanced technologies imported from abroad;

- Particularly important scientific achievements in community health care activities, environmental protection, natural resource exploitation and utilization, disaster monitoring and forecasting, and disaster prevention.

b) Making a particularly important contribution to the development of fields or sectors of science domestically, regionally, and globally.

2. For research and technological innovation works

2.1 Research and technological innovation works considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award must meet the following standards:

a) Regarding technological value:

Having particularly important innovation and technological creativity:

- Solving key issues to improve technology, develop, or create new products;

- Significantly contributing to promoting structural transformation in production, creating conditions for the formation and development of new industries, enhancing the competitiveness of products and economic sectors;

- Basic economic and technical indicators of the product or technology reaching international levels or exceeding those of similar domestic products, processes, or systems (specific comparison addresses must be provided).

b) Regarding economic, socio-economic, and scientific and technological effectiveness:

- Creating very large economic or socio-economic benefits; making a very large contribution to economic and social development and national defense and security.

- Making a significant contribution to the development of science and technology in the field.

2.2 Works with solutions protected by intellectual property rights will be given priority points when considering the award.g 3. For works applying technology with particular creativity

Works applying technology with particular creativity considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award must meet the following standards:

3.1 Regarding technological value:

Developing an overall plan with accompanying technical solutions or making particularly important technical improvements to successfully and creatively apply advanced technologies in important national economic and technical works such as construction and architectural works, defense and security works, or other works, having a decisive impact on the effectiveness of these economic and technical works.

3.2 Regarding economic, socio-economic, and scientific and technological effectiveness:

a) Creating very large economic or socio-economic benefits; making a very large contribution to economic and social development and national defense and security.

b) Making a significant contribution

a) Creating significant economic effects or significant socio-economic effects; making a very large contribution to economic and social development and national defense-security.

b) Making a significant contributiong 3. For works applying technology with particular creativity

Article 10. Criteria for works to be considered for the State Prize

1. For scientific research works

Research works to be considered for the State Prize must meet the following criteria:

1.1 Scientific value:

a) Achieve outstanding scientific achievements leading to significant changes in understanding, production, and social life.

b) Have high scientific value.

c) Being published and cited in reputable domestic and international scientific journals.

1.2 Practical value:

a) Have wide-ranging effects and influence on society and belong to one of the following categories:

- New discoveries about the nature or laws of society that have a significant impact on understanding and social life;

- Valuable theoretical proposals clarifying the path of Vietnam's development; important scientific arguments contributing significantly; - Basic research results guiding applications that play a decisive role in selecting, adopting, mastering, and developing advanced technologies imported from abroad;

- Basic research results guiding application with a significant impact on the selection, adaptation, mastery, and development of advanced technologies imported from abroad;

- Important scientific achievements in community health care activities, environmental protection, natural resource exploitation and utilization, disaster monitoring and forecasting, and catastrophes.

b) Make significant contributions to the development of domestic and regional fields or sectors of science.

2.1 Research and technological innovation works considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award must meet the following standards:

2.1 Research and technological development works to be considered for the State Prize must meet the following criteria:

Having particularly important innovation and technological creativity:

Be innovative and technologically important:

- Resolve key issues to improve technology, develop, or create new products;

- Contribute significantly to promoting structural transformation in production, creating conditions for the formation and development of new industries, enhancing the competitiveness of products and economic sectors;

- The basic economic and technical indicators of the product or technology exceed those of similar domestic products, processes, or systems (specific comparison addresses must be provided);

- Creating very large economic or socio-economic benefits; making a very large contribution to economic and social development and national defense and security.

- Generate significant economic benefits or socio-economic benefits; make large contributions to economic and social development and national defense-security;

- Contribute to the development of science and technology in the field.

Works applying technology with particular creativity considered for the Ho Chi Minh Award must meet the following standards:

3.1 Regarding technological value:

Works applying creative technology to be considered for the State Prize must meet the following criteria:

3.2 Regarding economic, socio-economic, and scientific and technological effectiveness:

Develop an overall plan with accompanying technical solutions or create important technical improvements to successfully and creatively apply advanced technologies in major economic and technical projects such as construction-architecture projects, national defense-security projects, or other projects, having a significant impact on the effectiveness of these projects.

b) Making a significant contribution

a) Generate significant economic benefits or socio-economic benefits; make large contributions to economic and social development and national defense-security.

b) Contribute to the development of science and technology in the field.

Chapter III
PROCEDURE AND AWARDING PROCESS

Article 11. Principles of operation of the Award Council

1. The principles of operation of the National Award Council shall be stipulated by the Prime Minister.

2. The Award Council at the Base Level, Ministry Level, and specialized councils (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Award Council) shall include representatives from institutions that have applied the results of the work, reputable and impartial scientists, technologists, and managers with appropriate expertise and deep knowledge of the scientific field of the work.

3. Each member of the Award Council has the responsibility to review, comment, and evaluate the award proposal file in writing. The Base Level and Ministry Level Award Councils assign two experts with deep knowledge of the scientific field of the work to provide written comments and evaluations of the work.

4. The Award Councils operate according to the following principles:

a) The evaluation meeting of the Award Council (with secret ballot) must have at least three-quarters of the members of the Council present, including the Chairman or Vice-Chairman and at least one reviewer. In the absence of a reviewer, a written comment and evaluation must be provided.

b) The Council evaluates works based on the principles of fairness, democracy, and objectivity. Works receiving at least three-quarters of the total votes from Council members recommending them will be forwarded to the higher-level Council for consideration. A valid evaluation vote is a vote marked by a Council member according to the regulations in one of the two corresponding boxes on the form.

c) The higher-level Award Council only considers works recommended by the lower-level Award Council.

d) Members of the Award Council do not participate in evaluating works (do not participate in discussions and do not vote) if they are authors, co-authors, or have interests related to the works or have other reasons affecting the objectivity of the evaluation.

5. The Award Council only considers valid award proposal files. A valid file is one submitted on time and containing all required documents and materials as specified in Clause 1 of Article 12, Clause 1 of Article 13, and Clause 1 of Article 14 of this Circular.

Article 12. Examination for Award at the Base Level

1. The dossier for examination for award at the base level includes:

a) Application for examination to present the Ho Chi Minh Prize or State Prize from the author, co-authors, or the lawful representative of the author and co-authors.

b) Summary report on the work (according to Forms E1-1-KH, E1-1-CN, E1-1-UD respectively for scientific research works, technological research works, and applied works with special creativity).

c) Brief introduction of the work with a list of authors (Form E1-2).

d) Copies of relevant documents, scientific and technological materials related to the work:

- Thesis, monograph, article (cover page and table of contents).

- Intellectual property protection certificates (if any).

- Comments from organizations or individuals using the results of the work.

- Certificates issued by competent authorities for technology appraisal or measurement and testing of scientific and technological products of the work for those works that are the results of scientific and technological projects funded by state budget and evaluated after acceptance in 2004.

- Other related documents (if any).

đ) Minutes of the evaluation of the research project's results or experimental production project's results by the National Evaluation Council or the Council established by the corresponding project management level.

e) Confirmation letter stating that the research result report has been submitted according to Clause 4, Article 8 of this Circular.

2. Organization of Examination for Award at the Base Level:

a) Works funded by the state budget must be registered and examined for award at the legal entity base where the work was primarily created, managed, or where the author is employed.

In cases where these bases no longer exist at the time of registration for examination, the Ministry, Province, City, and equivalent superior managing bodies of the base where the work was primarily created shall be responsible for designating a suitable scientific and technological organization under their jurisdiction to organize the Base Level Award Council.

Works not funded by the state budget must be registered and examined for award at specialized science associations or specialized science and technology associations.

For social science works not funded by the state budget but lacking specialized associations such as sociology, religion, philosophy, they must be registered and examined for award at corresponding specialized institutes under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

b) The Base Level Award Council shall consist of seven to nine members. The Chairman of the Base Level Award Council must be a reputable scientist knowledgeable about the field of the work. In cases where there is a lack of experts familiar with the work, the head of the base unit may invite additional external experts to participate in the Base Level Award Council.

c) The Base Level Award Council is responsible for reviewing and evaluating each work: writing review sheets (Forms E1-3-KH, E1-3-CN, E1-3-UD) confirming the list of co-authors (if any), voting on evaluation (Forms E1-4, E1-5), counting votes (Forms E1-6, E1-7), drafting minutes of evaluation (Form E1-8), and submitting the application dossier for examination for award at the Ministry to the following addresses:

- Ministry, Ministry-level agency, Government agency, People's Committee of province, city managing authority;

- Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (for works not funded by the state budget registered for examination through specialized science and technology associations).

Article 13. Examination for Awards at the Ministry Level

1. The dossier for examination for awards at the ministry level includes:

a) A letter proposing to examine and present the Ho Chi Minh Award and State Award from the head of the basic unit.

b) The dossier for examination for awards at the basic level as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 12 of this Circular.

c) Minutes of the examination of the Basic Level Award Council.

2. Organization of examination for awards at the ministry level:

a) Scientific and technological management units under Ministries, Agencies equivalent to Ministries, Agencies under the Government, Vietnam Association for Science and Technology, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as ministries, sectors, provincial and municipal cities) shall be responsible for assisting the heads of ministries, sectors, provincial and municipal cities in organizing the Ministry-level Award Council to evaluate and select works.

b) The Ministry-level Award Council consists of 09 to 11 members. The Council is responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and selecting works that meet the award examination criteria: write review sheets (Form E2-1-KH, E2-1-CN, E2-1-UD), vote on evaluation (Form E2-2, E2-3), count votes (Form E2-4, E2-5), draft evaluation minutes (Form E2-6), and submit the award examination dossier to the National-level Award Council.

Article 14. Examination for Awards at the State Level by Sectoral Councils

1. The dossier for examination for awards at the state level by sectoral councils includes:

When required, the author, co-authors, or the legal representative of the author and co-authors must facilitate conditions for the Council members to work directly with the original documents and texts related to the work as specified in Point d, Clause 1 of this Article.

2. The final deadline for submitting the dossier for examination for awards at the state level according to the announcement of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The date of receipt of the dossier is calculated based on the postmark of Hanoi Post Office (in case of sending by post) or the "Received Document" stamp of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Office (in case of direct submission).

The permanent agency assisting the State-level Award Council, established by the Minister of Science and Technology, is responsible for dispatching specialists to check the validity of the award examination dossier.

4. Organization of examination for awards at the state level:

a) The sectoral award council consists of 11 to 13 members, including: members of the National-level Award Council with expertise in the same field as the sectoral council; reputable scientists, technologists, managers with relevant expertise and deep understanding of the scientific field of the work, and representatives of institutions that have applied the research results of the work. The Council appoints one member as the scientific secretary of the Council.

b) The sectoral award council assigns three experts to write reviews and evaluate the work (Form E3-2-KH, E3-2-CN, E3-2-UD). In necessary cases, upon the request of the sectoral award council, the Minister of Science and Technology invites additional experts who understand the work but are not members of the Council to participate in writing reviews and evaluations of the work.

c) The sectoral award council bases on the criteria of each award type to review, evaluate each work and vote on evaluation (Form E3-3 for works proposed for the Ho Chi Minh Award and Form E3-4 for works proposed for the State Award), while drafting minutes of vote counting (Form E3-5, E3-6), minutes of award examination (Form E3-7), and a summary of award examination results (Form E3-8) with a list of works proposed for the award (corresponding to the two types of awards) to be submitted to the National-level Award Council for consideration.

Chapter IV
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE AWARD EXAMINATION WORK

Article 15. Sources of Funding

The funding for organizing the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology shall be balanced within the science and technology public expenditure budget, specifically:

1. Funding for organizing the prize evaluation at the institutional level: from the budget of the institutional unit.

2. Funding for organizing the prize evaluation at the ministry level: to be balanced within the science and technology public expenditure budget allocated to ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities.

3. Funding for organizing the national-level prize evaluation, funding for awarding the prizes, and accompanying prize money for the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize: to be balanced within the science and technology public expenditure budget allocated to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 16. Time Limit for Organizing the Awarding of Prizes

1. The time limit for completing each round of prize evaluation for the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Science and Technology at all levels of the prize council shall be stipulated by the Minister of Science and Technology.

2. The time limit for the national-level council to report the award results to the Prime Minister shall be carried out according to the Prime Minister's regulations based on the proposal of the Central Steering Committee for Competitions and Awards after reaching consensus with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 17. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of signature.

2. Heads of relevant agencies and units are responsible for widely promoting and guiding the full, accurate, and transparent implementation of the provisions of this Circular.

During the implementation process, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, agencies, organizations, and individuals should report them to the Ministry of Science and Technology for timely review and resolution.