Draft Law on Science and Technology promotes science, technology and innovation

The Law on Science and Technology 2013 has updated new challenges and trends, in line with the guiding viewpoints of the Party and Government to promote science and technology in the period of 2015-2020.

However, after 10 years of implementation, the world context has changed dramatically, especially the rapid development of science and technology and the explosion of digital technology.

These changes have accelerated the pace of research and application of technology. Countries that invest heavily in science and technology have quickly overcome the middle-income trap to become high-income countries. In particular, the connection between socio-economic development and science and technology is increasingly tight, scientific research and technology development cannot be separated from the application of results to life.

Along with that, the concept of "research and development" has gradually been replaced by "research, development and innovation".

With the strong development of large technology corporations in the world, this activity not only takes place in research institutes and universities but is also popular in businesses. Many businesses even invest in basic research to create a foundation for inventions and technology applications in business.

Many research results of institutes and schools are of interest to businesses and people.

Over the past 10 years, the Party's guiding documents have repeatedly mentioned socio-economic development, industrialization and modernization.

In most of these documents, the role of science, technology and innovation is always affirmed as an important content: “science and technology are truly the top national policy”; “science, technology and innovation are one of the most important strategic breakthroughs towards rapid and sustainable development”. Therefore, these contents need to be promptly institutionalized in the Law.

Vietnam’s socio-economic development has been strong, with important contributions from state-owned and private enterprises. For businesses to continue to develop, investment in science and technology is necessary.

With this trend, the Law on Science and Technology needs to be amended to increase the mobilization of investment, attention and human resources from the business sector for research and development activities and to keep up with the general trend of the world.

The Law on Science and Technology 2013 will be renamed the Law on Science and Technology and Innovation. Although regulations on innovation have been mentioned in a number of current laws such as the Law on Science and Technology 2013 and the Law on Technology Transfer, the full content of innovation and its related elements have not been clearly defined.

Globally, a movement towards innovation has emerged, leading to the development of concepts such as national innovation systems, industry and other connected models.

Vietnam is also following this global trend, moving towards a model of developing a national innovation system, in which enterprises play a central role and research institutes and universities are the main research subjects. In addition to applying science and technology, innovation activities also focus on improving production processes.

This Law on Science and Technology is expected to establish a comprehensive legal framework to promote the development of the national innovation system, while encouraging this activity in enterprises, communities and state management agencies. These provisions will facilitate other laws, such as the Tax Law and the Land Law, by providing incentives to promote science, technology and innovation activities.

Strengthening human resources in science, technology and innovation

Experience from other countries shows that to develop based on science, technology and innovation, the number of research and development staff needs to reach about 12 people per ten thousand people.

To achieve the goal of increasing the number of research and development staff as well as increasing the level of social investment, comprehensive reforms are needed, including integrating research and development activities into the Law.

To increase investment in science and technology, developed countries have sought to increase the proportion of investment from society. Typically, the proportion of investment from the state will decrease from 100% to about 30%, while the proportion of investment from society will increase to about 70%.

In the Law on Science and Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology has planned to submit to the Government and then to the National Assembly with the goal of increasing the number of research staff from 7 to 12 people per 10,000 people.

The solution is to follow the model that countries have implemented, aiming to promote investment from society, business and the private sector in science and technology. This investment will include finance and the construction of research and development centers, research institutes, as well as the formation of research and development teams in enterprises.

However, it cannot be expected that businesses will immediately invest in science and technology, because this investment is often risky and does not immediately bring profits, while the main goal of businesses is to achieve profits and maintain existence.

Currently, most Vietnamese enterprises, except for some large corporations, do not have the motivation or willingness to invest in science and technology due to concerns that the benefits from this investment will only be reaped over a long period of time, not immediately.

Deputy Minister Bui The Duy said that the Law on Science and Technology this time needs policies to increase investment attraction from society. First, the State will implement support programs to facilitate the transfer of research results and connect universities with businesses.

On the other hand, it is necessary to establish incentive mechanisms, such as tax incentives and land rent reduction, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises in the initial difficult stage.

"I think that in order to achieve the goal of increasing the number of research staff and social investment sources, the Law on Science and Technology needs to be comprehensively revised, including integrating research and development activities of the whole society into the Law, not just relying on current regulations," Deputy Minister Bui The Duy emphasized.

In the issues proposed to amend the Law on Science and Technology, Deputy Minister Bui The Duy shared that solutions such as a group of new policies and issues have been proposed. Accordingly, universities are gradually becoming strong research entities, equivalent to research institutes. To develop scientific and technological activities in universities, there needs to be research content, activity content, and even investment funding for universities.

For example, we need to have graduate student training programs funded by science and technology. In fact, many countries in the world consider graduate students as the main research force. Because graduate students are the youngest, most creative and most passionate about their work. Therefore, it is necessary to build graduate student training programs and at the same time consider them as researchers, as research workers, not just as students.

In addition, there should be support programs after PhD students complete their studies. This will enable them to continue to be autonomous in carrying out research activities. At the same time, it is necessary to build centers of excellence in science and technology, closely linking research and training.

Many experts believe that it is desirable to propose separating the research teams of research institutes and universities from the notion of considering them as staff of public service units. Like in other countries around the world, lecturers and researchers are encouraged to participate in managing enterprises established by research institutes and universities, based on their research results and intellectual property. This helps bring innovation activities from enterprises closer to universities, even within universities.