The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is drafting a revised Law on Science and Technology. One of the new points of the Law is the acceptance of risks in scientific research.

At the April press conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep, Director of the Legal Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) said that the content on risks in scientific research was included in the conclusion of the Politburo dated January 11, 2024. Accordingly, Vietnam will review mechanisms and policies to demonstrate the specificity of science and technology, including accepting risks in scientific research.

The 15th National Assembly also assigned the Government and ministries to study and perfect mechanisms and policies on science and technology, including the content on accepting risks in research. This shows that this policy has been demonstrated throughout. In the process of amending the Law, the Ministry of Science and Technology will have the task of institutionalizing the policy into regulations.

According to Ms. Diep, the characteristic of the field of science and technology is research and exploration of new things. “ We can set a goal, but in the process of research and exploration, we do not reach any results. This is nothing new and has been accepted internationally, ” shared the Director of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

A representative of the Ministry of Science and Technology said that this is not a completely new content but has been included in a number of regulations. In fact, the Law on Science and Technology 2023 also has regulations related to accepting risks in scientific research in Article 23 on incentives in the use of human resources and the promotion of talents.

Specifically, those appointed to scientific research or technological positions will be exempted from civil liability in case of damage or risk to the State. This occurs during the performance of duties, due to objective reasons, even though they have fully and correctly performed the procedures.

With the Law on Science and Technology currently under study and revision, this policy will continue to be refined. The draft on regulations related to risk acceptance in research will be more extensive than the current regulations.

“ It is expected that scientists will be exempted from civil liability if they cause damage or risk to the State, or if they have researched and fully implemented the process but do not reach the final result. They may not have to reimburse the costs they have used, ” revealed the Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

According to Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Hoang Giang, the current policy mechanism has bottlenecks. One of them is whether or not to accept delays and risks in scientific research.

" When using the State budget to research a project, the process is done according to regulations, following the correct steps but still does not produce results. Previously, we considered that a failure, but now it is acceptable if the new mechanism is implemented," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Giang.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is currently working hard to amend the Law on Science and Technology. This week, the Ministry will have a working session with the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment to coordinate the implementation of the Law amendment. One of the important issues discussed is the acceptance of risks in scientific research.

“ Only accepting risks can encourage scientists to participate in research. This is something the Ministry of Science and Technology is very interested in and wants to amend the Law as soon as possible, ” Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Giang affirmed.

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