Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BKHCN Regarding Amendments and Supplements to Certain Articles of Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN dated May 30, 2014, of the Minister of Science and Technology on the Selection and Direct Assignment of Organizations and Individuals to Implement National Science and Technology Tasks Using State Budget Funds

CIRCULAR

Regarding amendments and supplements to certain provisions of Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN

dated May 30, 2014, issued by the Minister of Science and Technology on the selection and direct assignment of organizations and individuals to implement national science and technology tasks funded by the state budget

 using the state budget

funded by state budget

__________________

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

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 20/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 26, 2013 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 Legal Department;

The Minister of Science and Technology issues this Circular regarding the amendment and supplementation of certain provisions of Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN dated May 30, 2014, issued by the Minister of Science and Technology on the selection and direct assignment of organizations and individuals to implement national science and technology tasks using the state budget (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN).

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN:

1. Amending Clause 9 of Article 5 as follows:

"9. For science and technology tasks as prescribed by law that require matching funds: Legal documents committing and explaining the ability to mobilize funds from sources outside the state budget (financial statements of the organization registering as the main task organizer for the two most recent years prior to the submission of the application form; loan commitment or loan guarantee letters from credit institutions; legal commitments and confirmation documents regarding capital contributions from the main organizing organization and participating organizations)."

2. Amending Clause 5 of Article 8 as follows:

"5. The financial review team for science and technology tasks (hereinafter referred to as the review team) shall consist of three members, including:

a) The head of the review team is a leader of the unit managing the task under the Ministry responsible for the task;

b) The deputy head of the review team is a representative of the unit managing the budget of the Ministry responsible for the task;

c) One member is the chairman or vice-chairman or a peer reviewer of the selection and direct assignment council for organizations and individuals to implement science and technology tasks.

A representative of the unit compiling the science and technology plan of the Ministry responsible for the task is not a member of the Review Team but has the right to attend all meetings of the Review Team. In addition, upon practical requirements, the head of the Review Team may invite representatives of other relevant organizations, units, and individuals to attend and express opinions at the Review Team's meetings."

"Article 12. Provisions for owners and founding members

"Article 12. Evaluation of applications for the selection and direct assignment of organizations and individuals to implement science and technology tasks

Applications for the selection and direct assignment of organizations and individuals to implement science and technology tasks shall be evaluated and scored out of a maximum of 100 points according to the following criteria and scale:

1. Research topics and technological development projects:

a) General assessment (maximum score 8);

b) Content, research methods, and techniques used (maximum score 24);

c) Novelty and completeness of scientific and technological products (maximum score 16);

d) Transfer and application plans for products and organizational plans for product application (maximum score 16);

đ) Feasibility of implementation plan and budget (maximum score 20);

e) Capacity of the organization and individuals involved (maximum score 16).

2. Social science and humanities research topics and science projects:

a) Overview of research situation (maximum score 12);

b) Content and support activities for research (maximum score 12);

c) Approach and research methods (maximum score 12);

d) Feasibility of implementation plan and budget (maximum score 20);

đ) Novelty of products, benefits of research results, and transfer plans for products and research results (maximum score 24);

e) Capacity and experience of the implementing organization and individuals (maximum score 20).

3. Topics in other fields, depending on the research content, apply the criteria and scale stipulated in Clause 1 or Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Pilot production projects:

a) Overview of technological and market issues of the project (maximum score 8);

b) Content and implementation plan (maximum score 24);

c) Novelty and feasibility of the technology (maximum score 12);

d) Potential for development and expected socio-economic benefits of the project (maximum score 16);

đ) Financial plan (maximum score 24);e) Implementation capacity (maximum score 16)"

4. Amending point a, Clause 1 of Article 13 as follows:

"a) All three members of the Review Team must be present."

5. Amending Clause 3 of Article 13 as follows:

"3. The Review Team is responsible for reporting in writing to the Minister of the Ministry responsible for the task and proposing solutions for issues beyond their authority that arise during the examination of task application files for the Minister of the Ministry responsible for the task to consider and decide in the following cases:

a) The task description has been modified after the meeting of the Council with changes to the objectives and content compared to the approved procurement list decision or the conclusion of the selection and direct assignment council;

b) There is no agreement between the Review Team and the task leader regarding the implementation budget;

c) A Review Team member disagrees with the team's conclusion and requests to reserve their opinion."

6. Supplementing Clause 7 of Article 14 as follows:

"7. After the Review Team concludes its review, the Task Leader may be invited to attend another meeting of the Review Team to hear the conclusions of the Review Team. The Task Leader has the right to express their views if they disagree with the Review Team's conclusions, and the Review Team is responsible for reporting back to the Minister of the Ministry responsible for the task."

Article 2. Effective Date

7. Replacing the Form attached as Appendix II to Circular No. 10/2014/TT-BKHCN with the Form applicable for evaluating applications for the selection and direct assignment of organizations and individuals to implement national-level science and technology tasks attached as Appendix II to this Circular.

1. This Circular takes effect from November 5, 2014.