2. The Science and Technology Basic Plan (2001-2005) (unofficial version)(decided by the Government of J apan on March 30, 2001)
1. R&D system reforms
1) Establishment of a competitive R&D environment
Creative R&D activities are promoted in a competitive environment
to ensure that all the capabi lities of personnel are being fully applied in
every phase. Such a competitive environment is encoura ged not only within research
organizations but also through the researchers' acquisition of comp etitive,
outside funds.
(a) Increasing the amount of competitive funds Funds received
on a competitive basis will be increased continually. Taking the United States
as a model the United States leads the world in the use of competitive funds
for S&T the amount of com petitive research funds will be doubled over the
period of the Second Basic Plan. And to make the bes t use of the funds, the
following reform actions, focusing on evaluation, will be essential. - For evaluation
of R&D themes, the system and operation of funds should be improved to clarify
the ideas and abilities of individual researchers. For instance, the number of
projects conducted by single researchers in cooperation with post-doctoral fellows
and research assistants should be great ly increased. In the case of group projects,
the responsibilities of collaborating researchers should be divided according
to individual expertise. - To attain valid results, each project should be granted
a necessary and sufficient amount of funds , and its planned duration should
range from 3-5 years. - An interim and a follow-up evaluation should be properly
conducted to assess the fund operation. T he interim evaluation may recommend
expansion, reduction, or suspension of the project, as well as a n extension
of the project period to achieve a better outcome. In addition, the judgments
of the int erim and follow-up evaluation will be utilized to make preliminary
evaluations for the next competiti on. These evaluations will be helpful for
the overall development of effective R&D activities in the long-term. They
should also be used to assure that funds are applied fairly, particularly with
re spect to researchers who have relatively less experience. - Every evaluation
should properly disclose all information on procedures, checkpoints, processes,
a nd results to the researchers of the project. - Evaluations should be conducted
in a systematic way using an adequate budget and full-time experts who have themselves
made substantial contributions to R&D. - In order to conduct a fair and transparent
evaluation that properly accounts for each researcher's performance, a database
of results and project progress should be established using information supplied
periodically by the researchers themselves. - Each ministry distributing competitive
funds must allow a maximum number of researchers to apply. - The research organization
should be in charge of the account for research funds, including, in pri nciple,
competitive funds directly distributed to individual researchers. - Objectives
of the competitive funds operated by each ministry should be clarified, and all
program s and systems related to the competitive funds should be properly integrated.
(b) Allocating funds for indirect expenses As a result of the expansion of competitive
funds, direct expenses for R&D have been increasing . To utilize funds effectively
and efficiently, it is necessary to pay the administrative expenses of the research
organizations managing the projects. For this reason, a set portion of the acquired
res earch funds should be allocated for the indirect expenses incurred by the
research organizations. Taking the United States model as a reference, this rate
will be set at 30% of the total acquired r esearch funds, but may be changed
upon review of the R&D system operation. Indirect expenditures shall be used
to improve the researchers' R&D environment and the or ganization's
overall function, and an organization which has acquired several competitive
funds is expected to utilize its total funds for indirect expenses efficiently
and flexibly. This use of in direct expenses will promote competition among research
organizations and upgrade the quality of rese arch; however, the records of expenditure
must be reported to the fund-distributing agencies to maint ain transparency.
With regard to national universities, a special accounting mechanism should be
arranged to allocate funds for indirect expenses to those universities that acquire
competitive funds.
(c) Handling basic expenses In conjunction with the projected doubling of competitive
funds, the use of basic expenses should b e examined so as to ensure a competitive
R&D environment. In this context, the following should b e assured: - The
basic expenditures for academic research should include funds to promote education
and support the university's administration. - The accumulated administrative
costs for researchers should include expenditures for administrativ e operation
of the research institutes.
2) Mobilization of human resources using fixed-term appointments
The tenure system under which permanent R&D positions are
granted to young researchers based on their performance during fixed-term appointments
is regarded as the principle source of R&D vita lity in the United States.
To realize such a vital R&D environment in Japan, efforts will be made to
promote fixed-term appointments in which researchers can work in a competitive
environment until their mid-30s. Also, to help researchers obtain a job corresponding
to their talents and abilities, J apan will popularize recruitment and mobility
of human resources on an apply-and-review basis in indu stry, academia, and government.
It is highly important to formulate a market mechanism that meets the needs of
both researchers and research organizations. For this reason:
- Governmental R&D organizations, such as national research
institutes, independent administrati ve institutions, and national universities,
should employ young researchers until their mid-30s under a fixed-term appointment,
and provide job opportunities widely and fairly to talented and capable re searchers
on an apply-and-review basis of recruitment in principle. Governmental R&D
organization s should issue guidelines for fixed-term appointments and apply-and-review
basis recruitment. Impleme ntation of such systems will be a checkpoint for evaluating
the organizations.
- Although the period of the present fixed-term appointment
for young researchers is less than three years, this period may be too short
to attain the objective. In order to provide sufficient and vari ous R&D
opportunities, the organizations should secure at least five years for young
researchers to work intensively, should permit reappointment under certain conditions,
and should endeavor to tre at researchers fairly according to their achievements
and abilities. At the universities, policies sh ould be revised so as to introduce
talent-based treatment of lecturers, including fixed-termed appoin tments.
- In order to increase the mobility and range-of-experience
of researchers, communication and cooper ation must be enhanced among the industrial,
academic, and government sectors. And to help researcher s secure career paths
not only in R&D but also in government or industry according to their inter
ests, a system should be developed for dispatching post-doctoral fellows and
young researchers to com panies and government ministries.
3) Independence of young researchers
Young researchers should be encouraged to work independently,
developing their self-reliance and ma king the most of their own instincts and
capabilities. To this end:
- The positioning of assistant professors should be reviewed
and, if needed, restructured to promote their autonomy in R&D. At the same
time, in order to draw out the full abilities of researchers, the R&D support
system should be reinforced and efforts made to encourage young researchers to
b e creative and have a broad perspective.
- Sufficient R&D space in research organizations should
be provided for gifted young researchers .
- Research funds for young researchers should be expanded in
conjunction with the doubling of compet itive research funds, and applications
by aggressive young researchers should be promoted in the comp etitive funds
in general.
- Awards should be increased to young researchers whose work
yields especially fruitful results.In t he case of post-doctoral fellows working
under research advisors, a plan to support 10,000 post-docto ral fellows has
been adopted, and has led to an improved environment for intensive and independent
re search. In the future, the post-doctoral fellowship system should be substantially
improved with emph asis on the following: allocating funds to research advisors
so that they can secure post-doctoral fe llows themselves; treating post-doctors
fairly according to their abilities; dispatching post-doctora l fellows to ministries
or companies; assuring adequate support for especially gifted doctorial stude
nts; and a full system review.
4) Reform of evaluation systems
Evaluations of R&D have been conducted in accordance with
The National Guidelines on the Method of Evaluation for Governmental R&D
(hereinafter referred to as the National Guidelines on Evalua tion), and Japan
will reform the evaluation system for the competitive R&D environment and
effect ive/efficient resource allocation in consideration of:
- Securing fairness and transparency of evaluations, and assuring
that the results of the evaluation s are reflected in the resource allocation;
- Securing the necessary resources for evaluations and arranging
a system for the implementation and support of evaluation.
During implementation, systematic and efficient evaluations
should be conducted for R&D themes, R&D organizations, and researchers' achievements.
The National Guidelines of Evaluation should themselves be revised
with the following emphases:
(a) Securing fairness and transparency of evaluations, and
reflecting evaluations into resource allo cation The evaluation of R&D themes
should be conducted flexibly according to the subject or field of each project.
In particular, evaluations of R&D projects according to policy objectives
should be conducted by independent experts. In the preliminary evaluations, the
checkpoints should be social/e conomic significance and effectiveness, and the
clearness of the goals; in the interim/follow-up eval uations, the checkpoint
should be progress against the implementation plan. In the case of R&D us
ing competitive funds, peer reviews should be performed by highly qualified individuals
to verify tha t the scientific and technological progress is original and forward-thinking,
and to evaluate the qua lity of R&D according to international standards.
Results of the follow-up evaluations should be referred to the next preliminary
evaluation of the same applicant's projects by the same or othe r competitive
funds. In addition to the preliminary, interim, and follow-up evaluations, each
ministry should conduct a tracking evaluation of the spin-off effect and impact
of R&D results, and then should verify prev ious evaluations. Moreover, the
R&D systems and their operations should be evaluated in terms of effectiveness
and efficiency in obtaining the objectives. R&D organizations should be evaluated
according to their organizational operation and their suc cessful implementation
of R&D to obtain their objectives. Organizational operation should be eval
uated according to the performance for the organizational objectives or improvement
of the R&D en vironment, under the discretion and the resources granted to
the director. R&D implementation sho uld be thoroughly evaluated according
to both R&D themes done in the organization and the achieve ments of member
researchers. Because the success of the R&D organization is a reflection
of its l eadership, this evaluation will also serve to evaluate the director
of the R&D organization. The performance evaluations of the researchers should
be performed by the R&D organizations, an d the director of the organizations
should arrange the rules for evaluations and perform them respons ibly. Versatile
standards should be used in order to evaluate R&D and related activities,
such as the contributions to society, and those activities with high grades in
terms of any of these standar ds should be highly evaluated. In order to secure
fairness and transparency in implementing the evaluation, an objective evaluatio
n index and external evaluations should be introduced, and evaluators should
disclose their methods, standards and processes of evaluation. Further, the results
of the evaluation should reflect the resource allocation, such as the continua
tion, expansion, reduction or suspension of the project, and the treatment of
researchers.In addition , as to universities, attention should be paid to academic
autonomy and the combined function of educ ation and R&D. And education,
R&D, contributions to society, and the organizational operation of universities
should be evaluated externally by the National Institution for Academic Degrees.
(b) Securing required resources and arranging a system for the implementation
and support of evaluat ion Because evaluation is indispensable for effective
and efficient S&T promotion, required resourc es should be secured and a
system for the implementation and support of evaluation should be arranged .
- Due to the shortage of full-time, highly qualified evaluators, a portion of
R&D funds should b e allotted for assessing and securing veteran evaluation
researchers either from Japan or abroad. - In order to select appropriate evaluators
and to evaluate each project reliably and universally, a national database of
researchers, funds, evaluators, and results should be established. - Computing
systems should be introduced to rationalize and improve the system for the implementatio
n and support of evaluation.
5) Flexible, effective, and efficient management of R&D
systems
(a) Securing flexibility and efficiency in executing the R&D
budget Because R&D projects are generally several years in duration, they
often cannot proceed as orig inally planned. For this reason, the governmental
R&D budget should be executed flexibly and effi ciently in accordance with
the progress of the project, such as by using special budgets that can be carried
forward into the fiscal year.At the same time, competitive funds should be budgeted
from the beginning of the fiscal year using smooth accounting procedures.
(b) Promoting a flexible working style In order to fairly employ and evaluate
researchers and thereby inspire their best performance, admi nistrative institutions
must be free to work with autonomy and discretion in the manner of private co
mpanies, promote the independence and performance of researchers, and consider
developing leave of ab sence systems.
6) Utilization of qualified persons and development of a variety
of career paths
(a) Expanding opportunities for gifted foreign researchers
It is important to provide an environment in which talented foreign researchers
can engage in R&D activities competitively.For example, public institutes
might employ young foreign researchers according to a fellowship scheme, based
on their abilities and achievements, and competitive research funds could be
arranged to enable foreign researchers working in Japan to submit an application
in English.
(b) Improving the environment for women researchers In order to attain a gender-equal
society, the job opportunities and working environment for women researchers
should be improved. In particular, to help sustain the abilities of female researchers
du ring maternity leave, as well as to encourage their return after maternity
leave, various forms of su pport should be provided, such as work-at-home and
limited-period positions, and special funds relati ng to their research.
(c) Developing a variety of career paths A variety of career paths should be
developed so that researchers can engage in a wide range of job s, such as R&D
planning/management, evaluation of R&D, and development of intellectual proper
ty rights. For young researchers to widen their work possibilities in the future,
job opportunities i n the government should be increased, and funding agencies
should adopt individuals with research exp erience. In the private sector, companies
are expected to employ capable young researchers, such as d octors and post-doctoral
fellows.
7) Realization of creative R&D systems To accomplish the reforms mentioned
above and to realize creative R&D systems, major R&D or ganizations should
be managed with flexibility and mobility under the director's leadership,
and centers of excellence should be established. Such R&D systems can be
developed from existing R&D organizations by reforming the manageme nt and
introducing novel methods that emphasize the abilities and achievements of researchers.
Moreover, new ideal R&D organizations comparable to top-level R&D organizations
in Europe and the United States should be established in prioritized areas and
emerging fields, without restricting existing organizational management. These
organizations should focus on generating world-class R&D achievements with
special emphasis on the following points: - limiting the term of the organization;
- establishing a clear separation between the organizational and the R&D
managers, and appointin g experienced professionals to both positions; - establishing
a department for assisting in adequate management of R&D, technological support,
and management of R&D achievements; - promoting young researchers, including
employment of post-doctoral fellows; - appointing foreign researchers; - promoting
the participation of industry, academia, and government; - allocating funds and
treating employees according to their R&D abilities and achievements; - managing
funds flexibly; - using English as the common language for R&D; - establishing
facilities based on international standards.
1) Universities and other academic institutions
Universities are required to play a number of significant roles
in R&D systems, including educa ting and securing excellent human resources,
encouraging international academic cooperation, and gene rating new discoveries
to help unlock the future.
However, universities in Japan have often been criticized for
their poor educational functions, exc essively specialized fields of education,
and exclusiveness or inflexibility of organizational manage ment.
From the viewpoint of activation, qualification, and individualization
of education/research in uni versities, the government has recently promoted
numerous university reforms, such as presenting a nat ional policy for universities,
increasing the number of graduate courses, establishing an advisory co mmittee
with external members in all national universities, and establishing a National
Institution f or Academic Degrees. From this point forward, although the government
will continue to promote instit utional reforms to help universities establish
their independence and operate more flexibly and auton omously, individual universities
will also be expected to promote their own operational and education al reforms.
To this end, each university is expected to promote a systematic
undergraduate education that foste rs a spirit of inquiry, and to establish graduate
schools as innovative bases of R&D and educatio n that will be both competitive
with and attractive to international researchers. Organizational flex ibility
will be needed to predict social/economic trends and to follow them autonomously,
which is a key subject for national universities operating under the restrictions
of public institutions. Univer sities should conduct strict self-evaluations
and make their results fully available. When presenting their results, universities
should reflect on their managerial reforms and educational and research activities.
In this way, and through their wide presence in Japan, it is hoped that universities
will form regional academic cores in cooperation with local governments and private
companies. In additio n, universities should intensify cooperation and collaboration
with other R&D organizations or pr ivate companies in order to activate a
variety of educational/research initiatives and elevate the un iversity generally.
(a) National universities and other public universities National
universities and national research institutes should function as independent
administrativ e institutions by promoting organizational reforms to be carried
out autonomously under the president 's leadership. And graduate schools,
especially prominent ones, should vary and specialize their education and research.
Public universities are required to provide a high-level education for their
geographic region and to contribute to studies for regional development, thereby
intensifying both their educational/resear ch functions and their unique regional
contributions.
(b) Private universities Private universities, which together account for 80%
of student enrollment in Japan, have been enha ncing their role in higher-education
by asserting a unique educational philosophy.They are expected t o continue to
upgrade their education and research while maintaining their autonomy as private
instit utions. To assist them, the granting of special funds and the acquisition
of private sources of fundi ng should be prioritized.
2) National research institutes and other institutes
National research institutes, independent administrative research
institutes, and public corporations have a mission to accomplish policy objectives.
To this end, they have conducted prioritized R&D, including basic/innovative
researches for S&T progress in Japan and systematic/integral researches with
concrete objectives to meet policy needs. Public research institutes in all prefectures
have played important roles in technological development and analysis to meet
the needs of local industries and communities. With the ever-increasing socio-economic
expectations for S&T in Japan, these institutions are expected to continue
yielding excellent results and making unique contributions to society. Special
emphasis will be placed on the following activities in particular:
- National research institutes, independent administrative research
institutes, and public corporati ons should execute R&D according to their
own objectives, such as R&D on national/social need s, basic researches for
future development, etc. These organizations should intensify their cooperati
on with universities and private companies, in order to more effectively industrialize
and disseminat e R&D results.
- Public research institutes are expected to contribute to industrial
development based on the chara cteristics of their respective regions. These
institutes should increase their efforts to transfer th eir basic and leading
achievements to regional industries and see them commercialized locally.Researc
h institutes that will become independent administrative institutions should
operate their organizati ons flexibly, generate and utilize outstanding R&D
results, and place special emphasis on the fol lowing:
- expanding the discretion of their directors-general, managing
R&D funds flexibly, and positive ly utilizing the results;
- conducting R&D using both outside funds and the budgets
from their respective ministries;
- appointing top-notch researchers and treating employees according
to their abilities under the dis cretion of their directors-general;
- seeking the advice of the National Personnel Authority in
regard to R&D suspension and the app ointment of fixed-term and other researchers.
3) Private companies
(a) Promoting R&D by private companies R&D by private
companies is a vitally important complement to governmental R&D. In order
to promote it, the government should apply incentives which stimulate private
companies to help themsel ves, such as tax reforms to promote R&D investments,
and grant and loan systems that reduce the r isks inherent in R&D. At the
same time, systems for R&D for economic growth should be reviewe d with an
eye toward increased efficiency and effectiveness. And the government should
allow researchers or research organizations to hold/utilize the rights to patents
generated from government-funded researches.
(b) Promoting the mobility of capable researchers In order to promote the mobility
of researchers in Japan, private companies are expected to employ capable young
researchers, such as doctors and post-doctoral fellows.
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. S&T system reforms