R&D SYSTEM IN VIETNAM

1. Overview The R&D institutes in Vietnam have been established mainly after the August Revolution in 1945. Over fifty years especially after 1975 recognizing the importance of S&T for socio-economic development, the Government paid attention to development of S&T human resources and establishment of R&D institutes in many disciplines. Until now there are over 1000 R&D institutions including about 660 government research institutes in 5 disciplines (natural, technical, agricultural, medical pharmacy, social sciences and humanities. The number of institutes increased rapidly since 1960 (Table 1). Table 1: Number of R&D institutes (1960 - 1999) Year Number 1960 11 1965 16 1970 39 1975 53 1980 107 1985 170 1990 264 1995 340 2000 517 2001 661

Source: MOSTE - "Fifty Years of Vietnam S&T" and Vietnam S&T 1996-2000, 2001

R&D workforce in Vietnam Bachelor Colleges Universities Research Institutes Total

(Source: MOST 2004)

Master 106 5115 914 6135

Ph D 18 3188 3142 6348

Total 573 20061 18203 38837

449 11758 14147 26354

* According to the data from Ministry of Education & Training. Vietnam has totally about 14,200 PhD and about 20,000 Master Degree holders. However, those involved in R&D activities are much lower * There is no statistics on RSD personnel in Enterprises (both state-owned & private) During the centrally planning Economy (before 1989) most of the R&D institutes have been established according to the model of the former Soviet Union and received funding from Government. Given the nature of the centrally planning economy R&D institutes during this period have been established independently from production sector. The application of scientific research results have been carried out through the mediation agencies which are responsible for management of S&T and economy. This leads to the fact that research usually does not start from the need of production and thus the possibility of applying these results is rather low. During the 1980s a number of reform measures for management of S&T was introduced, for example the regulation allowing R&D institutes to sign economic contracts with enterprises, provision incentives to enterprises applying scientific results in production. However, during this period market mechanism has not yet been established, therefore S&T policy measures introduced have not yet been enforced.

During the transition to the market economy (after 1990) the Government issued policies mobilizing various social actors involved in S&T activities to improve the potential impacts on socio-economic development. Decree 35 passed in 1992 allow organizations and individuals setting up R&D institutions, operating based on the principle of selfdetermination of human resources, infrastructure and financial resource. This decision has been warmly welcomed by the scientific communities, thus a number of R&D institutes and institutes providing S&T services have been set up based on the principle of selffinancing. The institutes established according to the Decision 35 can be grouped into the following types: (i) semi-public research institutes and universities; (ii) private or collective institutions set up by individual scientists or group of scientists. During the transition to the market economy the Government wants to reorganize the system of government R&D institutes towards focusing investment on public organizations serving the general need of society and some S&T national priorities to avoid the investment spread over many fields with the limited financial resources. The R&D institutes whose operating profiles are closely linked to the production have been transformed into companies or moved into corporations. For these institutes the Government will reduce the budget allocated for a certain period and they will gradually transform themselves to meet the market mechanism. The Decision 782 issued in 1996 elaborated this policy. However, due to the lack of concrete financial and economic tools and other measures related to S&T human resources, the Decision has not fully been implemented. A number of institutes after being merged into the corporations have not improved their linkages to production; in some cases their research activities have been reduced compared to those in the past. In contrast, some other institutes have transformed themselves successfully, thus linking their activities with the needs of production and society, such as Institute of Machinery Tools (IMI), Chemical Engineering Corporation (CECO). Because the merging institutes into corporations does not lead to the expected goals, the Government has allowed institutes to set up their companies on the pilot scale through Decision 68 issued in 1998 to transferring quickly their scientific results into production. Table 2 shows the rapid growth of number of R&D institutes during the transition to market economy under the policy of mobilization of many actors involved in S&T activities, especially those institutes in technical and agricultural sciences. The majority of these new institutes are not public and their operations closely linked to production. This proves that this policy contributes to improve the potential impacts of S&T, partly meet the needs of production. Table 2. Structure of R&D institutes
No I II 1 2 3 III 1 2 3 4 5 IV R&D Institutes Total Grouped according to functions: Scientific research Survey and design Physical planning Grouped according to scientific fields: Natural sciences Technical sciences Agricultural sciences Medical and pharmacial sciences Social sciences and humanities Grouped according to the geographic Number 264 239 19 6 42 85 40 27 70 1990 percent % 100 90,53 7,19 2,2 15,91 32,20 15,15 10,23 26,51 Number 610 594 11 5 30 625 109 32 114 1999 percent % 100% 97,54 1,8 0,82 4,92 53,28 17,87 5,24 18,69

1 2 3

location: North Centre South

219 13 32

82,96 4,92 12,12

526 25 59

86,23 4,10 9,67

2. The Nature of R&D System State management system on S&T Our S&T management system has been consolidated and considerably improved from the central to local and grass - root levels. The Government uniformly exercises state management of science and technology. According to the Law on the Organization of the Government, the responsibilities and rights of the Government in the S&T field are as follows: 1. To build and direct implementation of S&T development plans; 2. To decide on S&T policies, invest in and encourage sponsorship for science with priority given to spear-headed sciences and technologies; 3. To manage and efficiently use S&T research organizations and scientific information; 4. To manage standards, measurements, product quality; industrial property and technology transfer. National Council for Science and Technology Policies is a consultative body of the Prime Minister on important issues relating to S&T development. The National Council for Scientific and Technological Policies is an advisory agency assisting the Prime Minister on important issues regarding scientific and technological development. The Council is tasked to give comments to the Prime Minister before making decisions on: - Orientations and strategies on scientific and technological development, the scientific and technological fields to be given priority in each period. - Great policies to boost scientific and technological development. - Draft legal documents on science and technology. - Major norms of five-year and annual scientific and technological plans. - The State-level scientific and technological programs. - Scientific and technological issues related to great socio-economics projects. - Other important scientific and technological issues as requested by the Prime Minister. - Scientific and technological issues which the Council deems it necessary to propose to the Prime Mister. State management system on S&T at central level The Ministry of Science and Technology is a governmental agency which performs the function of State management over scientific and technological activities, as well as development of scientific and technological potentiality; product quality measurement standards, intellectual property, atomic energy as well as radiation and nuclear safety; performs the State management over public services in the domains under its management; acts as representative of the owner of State capital portions at State-invested enterprises under its management according to law provisions. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall have to perform the tasks and exercise the powers, functions, tasks, powers and organizational structures of the ministries and ministerial-level agencies as well as the following specific tasks and powers:

1. To elaborate and submit to the Government and the Prime Minister bills, draft ordinances and other draft legal documents, strategies, development plannings as well as long-term, five-year and annual plans regarding the domains under the Ministrys State management;

National Assembly Prime Minister PM Advisory Council National S&T Policy Council

MOST National Institute of Science and Technology Vietnam Institute of Social Sciences Ministry of Education and Training Universities Colleges

Ministry of Industry Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Post and Telecommunication Other Ministries and Agencies S&T Administration system

Ministry of Planning and Investment Ministry of Finance Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Culture and Information Ministry of Defence

2. To promulgate according to its competence decisions, directives, circulars and other documents within the Ministrys State management scope; 3. To direct, guide, inspect and take responsibility to organize, the implementation of legal documents, strategies, plannings and plans within the Ministrys management domains after they are approved as well as other legal documents within the Ministrys management scope; to propagate, educate and disseminate legal documents on the domains under the Ministrys State management; 4. Regarding scientific and technological activities: a- To elaborate and submit to the Government and the Prime Minister schemes on orientations for scientific research and technological development, technological transfer, development of scientific and technological market, promotion of the formation of economic and technical branches and domains on the basis of new technologies and high technologies;

b- To assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the ministries, branches and localities in elaborating and submitting to the Government a scheme on planning of the nationwide network of scientific research and technological development organizations. To elaborate and submit to the Prime Minister the conditions for setting up, and mechanism for operation of, scientific and technological enterprises according to law provisions, mechanism for scientific and technological development investment, measures to implement the policy of socialization of scientific and technological activities, the States key scientific and technological tasks, as well as use and development of scientific and technological personnel; c- To coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in elaborating and submitting to the Government annual budget estimates for the scientific and technological sector in compatibility with socio-economic development as well as scientific and technological activities particularities according to the provisions of the State Budget Law; d- To prescribe the evaluation, pre-acceptance test, application and announcement of scientific research and technological development results; e- To specify conditions for setting up scientific and technological research and development as well as service organizations of different types. To uniformly manage the registration of operations of scientific and technological research and development as well as service organizations according to law provisions; f- To direct and guide the operation of the national scientific and technological development funds according to the Governments regulations; g- To organize the State evaluation and expertise of technologies of Group-A investment projects and socio-economic development programs; to uniformly manage evaluation, appraisal, expertise, consultancy and technology transfer activities; h- To direct and organize the implementation of the work of statistics as well as scientific and technological information; i- To act as the standing body of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Policies and the Council for Ho Chi Minh Award and State Award on Sciences and Technologies. 5. Regarding standardization, measurement and product quality control: a- To perform the uniform State management over the system of Vietnamese standards according to law provisions; to guide the application of international standards and foreign standards in Vietnam; b- To perform the uniform State management over the system of measuring standards, certify standard models, prescribe measurements and measuring methods, and approve measuring devices models; to organize the expertise of measuring devices, recognize expertising capability and authorize State expertise; c- To perform the uniform State management over product quality, prescribe principles, conditions and criteria of the quality-recognizing and certifying organizations; to organize the quality recognition and certification; to assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in signing and implementing international agreements and treaties on mutual recognition in activities of product quality recognition and certification;

6. Regarding intellectual property (excluding copyrights over literature, arts and goods labels): a- To organize the establishment of intellectual property right; b- To apply measures to protect the legitimate interests of the State as well as organizations and individuals in the field of intellectual property; c- To prescribe and direct operation of the system of organizations managing the intellectual-property activities; to provide direction on intellectual property operations for branches, localities, enterprises and establishments; 7. Regarding atomic energy as well as radiation and nuclear safety: a- To perform the tasks of researching into atomic energy and nuclear technologies; b- To direct, inspect and organize the declaration, registration and granting of permits on nuclear safety and radiation safety; c- To uniformly manage radioactive waste and radioactive environment geodesy; to control and handle radioactive incidents; 8. To manage and organize the implementation of investment projects under the Ministry according to the provisions of the legislation on investment and construction; 9. To guide and inspect the implementation of undertakings, policies and law provisions as well as the profession and operations in the domains under the Ministrys State management by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government and local Peoples Committees; 10. To enter into international cooperation in the domains under the Ministrys State management according to law provisions; 11. To organize and direct the implementation of plans on scientific research and application of scientific and technological advances at units under the Ministrys management; 12. To elaborate and submit to the Government for promulgation mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of public services within the domains under the Ministrys State management; to decide on specific undertakings and measures and direct the implementation of the mechanisms for operation of public-service organizations according to law provisions; to manage and direct the operation of nonbusiness and public-service organizations under the Ministry; 13. To perform specific tasks and exercise specific powers regarding the representative of the owner of State capital portions at State-invested enterprises under the Ministrys management according to law provisions; 14. To perform the State management over activities of associations and non-governmental organizations in the domains under the Ministrys State management according to law provisions; 15. To inspect, examine, settle complaints and denunciations, combat corruption and negative phenomena, and handle law violations in the domains under the Ministrys State management; 16. To decide on, and direct the implementation of, the Ministrys administrative reform program according to the objectives and contents of the State administrative reform program already approved by the Prime Minister;

17. To manage its organizational apparatus and payroll, direct the implementation of wage regime as well as preferential treatment, commendation and discipline regimes and policies for State officials, public servants and employees under the Ministrys management; to elaborate and prescribe professional criteria, provide professional training and fostering for officials, public servants and employees in the domains under the Ministrys State management; 18. To manage the assigned finance and assets, and organize the implementation of the allocated budget according to law provisions.

SPECI A LI ZED S&T COUNCI L

MI NI STRY OF SCI ENCE A ND TECHNOLOGY

NA TI ONA L S&T POLI CY COUNCI L

ADMINISTRATION OFFICE

DEPT OF NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF STANDARDS, MEASUREMENT, QUALITY OFFICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF S &T POLICY AND STRATEGY VIETNAM ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY(FPT) MODERN TECH IMPORT -EXPORT TECHNOLOGY (NACENIMEX) INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY COMPANY (INVESTIP ) INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, MACHINERY & ENVIRONMENT (EMECO) TECHNOLOGY &DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (HCM CITY)

DEPT OF S &T PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION

DEPT OF INDUSTRIAL S&T

INSPECTORATE OF MOST

DEPT OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

RADIATION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY AUTHORITY

NATIONAL CENTRE OF S &T INFORMATION

DEPT OF PLANNING AND FINANCE

DEPT OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOPARK MANAGEMENT BOARD

NATIONAL CENTRE OF S &T INFORMATION

INSTITUTE FOR S &T MANAGEMENT TRAINING

DEPT OF LAWS AND LEGISLATION INFORMATICS CENTRE DEPT OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

SCIENCE & DEVELOPMENT NEWSPAPER

S&T PROGRESS APPLICATION COMPANY (MITEC)

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY JOURNAL

S&T PUBLISHING HOUSE

LIGHT-RAY JOURNAL

MOSTs Framework The MOST is a standing agency of National Council for Science and Technology Policies. S&T management departments within ministries and agencies. Ministries, ministryequivalent agencies, government-affiliated agencies are responsible for state management of S&T as assigned by the Government. Agencies which assist ministers in managing S&T activities in their ministries or agencies are S&T management departments in these ministries or agencies. S&T management agencies in ministries and agencies have the function of organizing and guiding implementation of S&T plans and applications of S&T advances. Simultaneously, ministries and agencies also decide economic and technical standards, procedures and norms of the agencies under their management.

To provide ministers with consultations on S&T-related issues, ministerial S&T councils are established in most ministries and agencies. State management system on S&T at local level S&T state management agencies in localities comprise Departments of Science and Technology and boards and offices in districts under the form of S&T offices under the district peoples committees or units within planning offices or the committees offices. Department of Science and Technology which is part of the peoples committees of provinces and cities under central management (hereinafter referred to as provinces) exercises the state management function over science and technology in the province according to the States law. Department of Science and Technology is under professional direction, guidance and supervision of the MOST. Provincial S&T council is an important consultative agency to local authorities on STrelated development issues. S&T management at grass root level ST management at grass root level comprises science management units in research institutes and universities or technology/technique units in large enterprises. Main function of these units is to carry out and manage R&D activities in their facilities. In general, S&T management at grass root level tends to increasingly develop. Scientific council at R&D organizations serves as a consultative body to the head of the organization on relevant S&T issues. With the present state of the national system of R&D institutes mentioned above. The nature of this system can be basically characterised as follows: First, the division of institutes into hierarchical academies in accordance with the hierarchical levels of administrative management from the center to local apparatus. Moreover, the functions given to research institutes have been compartmentalized: (i) strict division between branch / line ministries; and (ii) social division between "materialproduction" and "non-material production" or "bureaucratic-administration" spheres. In Vietnam S&T activities have been considered part of the "non-material production" sphere. With these characteristics, the R&D system came to be organized accordingly: Level 1. The national research institutes or centers directly under the Council of Ministers, for example the National Centre for Natural Sciences and Technologies, the National Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities, which receive most of their resources from the state budget. Level 2. The research institutes (natural, social, medical, educational, agricultural) and technological branch institutes under ministries, cities and provinces. Level 3. The local research units in, for example districts or cooperatives, which are to apply the results supplied by those institutes mentioned above to meet the local conditions. Second, scientific research and technological development activities have been carried out at institutes independently from activities supporting technological innovations in industries such as design and operation of production procedures. The capacities of R&D of industries have not been developed in enterprises and companies, but established in national or branch research institutes, funded by the government with the assumption that

enterprises do not have the capabilities or concerns of investing in their own R&D activities. Third, the social division of functions among research institutes in line with the linear model of technological innovation applied in developed countries does not take into consideration the differences on conditions and context of development between Vietnam and developed countries (ASEAN, 1998) .Accordingly, basic research is conducted at the two national centres. This is then transferred to applied branch institutes in order to develop technologies which are supposed to be applied in enterprises. With this way of division most of R&D activities have been carried out in government research institutes and a small part in universities. Enterprises have not been involved in R&D activities. Fourth, the system of R&D institute has been established with the belief that in order to increase the effectiveness of investment in S&T and the socio-economic impacts of R&D activities, government research institutes and universities should be the ones carrying out R&D. Thus most of the efforts has been given to strengthen the R&D capabilities at government institutions with the expectation that these R&D results are useful to enterprises. As result, the majority of resources has been geared to establishing and strengthening R&D institutions and investment resources for R&D is allocated outside of the production system. Last but not least, the centrally planning system for application of scientific and technical progress administrated at the former State Committee of Planning in the past (now Ministry of Planning and Investment) did create in the beginning the gap between research and production spheres while the national system of S&T has been set up. In the beginning of the 1980s the institutional mechanism of S&T planning stipulated in the Decision 263 did not recognised the links between R&D and production innovation in the national economy system. Strategy of S&T development Vietnam considers science and technology a leading national policy, which plays a pivotal role in building and safeguarding the Fatherland, forming the foundation and motive force for industrialization and modernization, and rapid and sustainable national development. The resolution of the 2nd Plenum of the 8th Party Congress on December 24th , 1996 provides general direction for S&T development strategy towards 2020 as follows:
-

To creatively apply and develop Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thoughts, inherit the nation's values of cultural traditions, absorb essence of mankinds intellect, thoroughly investigate and explore reality to conduct in-depth review of the national renovation. To build and further develop a theory system on the path to socialism in Vietnam; provide scientific foundations for continued supplement and improvement of guidelines and policies of the Party and State in order to successfully build socialism and firmly safeguard the socialist Fatherland; To strongly accelerate researches of applying S&T advances in production and business, services, management, national defense and security; quickly improve national technological level. To attach great importance to basic research, to master and improve imported technologies, work toward creating more new technologies in areas pivotal to national development in the 21st century. To increase endogenous capacity, build and develop our countrys S&T potentials: train, foster and use scientists and skilled workers; rejuvenate and develop S&T

cadres who obtain good virtues and talents, consolidate the organizational system, strengthen materialand technological bases, expand sources of information suppplies, gradually take shape a modern S&T foundation for Vietnam which can address a majority of pivotal issues arising from the industrialization and modernization process. S&T policy To strive to bring S&T into a foundation and motive force for the national industrialization and modernization during the years from 1996 to 2005, S&T management work in our country underwent many renovations in conformity with the national socio-economic development with a view to encouraging investment in S&T, strengthening the linkage between R&D and production and social life. A re-arrangement of R&D organizations according to Decision 782/TTg of 24th October 1996 of the Prime Minister with a view to changing the form of affiliation of State-owned R&D organizations as well as allowing to establish, on pilot basis, state-owned-enterprises within training and research facilities following to Decision 68/1998/QD-TTg of 27th March 1998 of the Prime Minister reflected an advocation to push up a linkage between S&T research and business production. S&T planning during this period also changed significantly following Decision 419/TTg of 21st July 1995 of the Prime Minister on mechanisms of managing R&D activities. Accordingly, the way to build and implement research and deployment tasks followed a focus model and that of multi-tiers and regulations according to which grass root organs shall propose their own tasks that are subsequently selected and assigned by higher management authorities. With regard to financing for S&T activities, apart from increasing state budget for S&T, the State promulgated preferential policies on investment, taxation and credit for S&T activities in order to encourage businesses to invest in S&T (Decree 119/1999/ND-CP of 18th September 1999 of the Government on some financial policies and mechanisms to encourage businesses to invest in S&T activities). In the field of technology management, in order to strengthen technological potentials of the country, the State encouraged importation of advanced technologies from abroad with a priority given to high and spear-headed technologies and at the same time gradually built a technology market in Vietnam. However, improvement and renovation of imported technologies did not receive proper attention. Businesses paid little attention to domestic R&D activities. To guarantee S&T development, the Law on Science and Technology and other legal documents laid out some main solutions as follows: On training and utilization of S&T human resources The State allocated a portion of the budget for training and retraining of S&T human resources both domestically and abroad. Organizations and individuals were enabled to train themselves and participate in training human resources and nurturing S&T talents. The State well treated talented persons, created all favorable conditions for them to innovate and contribute; promulgated policies and measures to attract talented persons to the implementation of prioritized and focal S&T tasks; formulated incentive policies in training and utilizing female workforce in S&T activities; developed strong S&T units on

par with regional and international counterparts' standards; formulated policies on worthy contribution-based remuneration. On S&T development investment Investment in S&T is tantamount to development investment. The State gave top priority to allocation of state budget for S&T, guaranteeing that the portion of state budget for S&T in total budget reimbursement proportionally increase in response to S&T development requirements. The State encouraged organizations and individuals to invest in S&T. Legal framework on S&T Renovation of S&T management mechanism in Vietnam over the past time was undertaken in an pro-active manner. S&T activities were gradually directed at serving the development of a multi-sector goods economy. The formulation of S&T legal documents recorded new developments: content of management was expanded; quality of documents and legal effectiveness were increasingly improved and gradually became synchronized with rapid reforms and perfection of economic legal system, especially with legal documents encouraging all Vietnamese citizens, organizations and individuals to invest in and transfer technology. Formulation of S&T legislations has been focusing on the research of supplementing and amending imperfect provisions which do not genuinely encourage scientific innovations, and quickly formulating new documents to supersede old ones unsuitable to the new situation. From 1996 to 2005, the State promulgated many legal documents on S&T, the most significant of which are: - Decision 782/TTg of 24th October 1996 of the Prime Minister on arranging S&T research and application facilities. - Decision 68/1998/QD-TTg of 27th March 1998 of the Prime Minister on allowing experimental establishment of state-owned enterprises within training and research facilities. - Decree 119/1999/ND-CP of 18th September 1999 of the Government on some financial policies and mechanisms to encourage businesses to invest in S&T activities. - Law on Science and Technology adopted by the 10th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the 7th session on 9th June 2000 and entered into force as from 1st January 2001, and Decree 81/2002/ND-CP of October 17, 2002 on Detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Science and Technology. - Decision 148/2003/QD-TTg of May 2003 on State budget expenses for the training of scientific and technical cadres foreign establishments. - Decision 272/2003/QD-TTg of December 31, 2003 on Ratifying the strategy for Vietnam Scientific and Technological development till the year 2010. - Decree 122/2003/ND-CP of October 22, 2003 on the setting up of the National Foudation for Science and Technology Development. - Decision 148/2003/QD-TTg of July 17, 2003 approving the Regulation on organization and operation of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Policies (the 20032008 tenure).

- Decision 171/2004/QD-TTg of September 28, 2004 on Approving the Scheme on Renewal of Science and Technology Management Mechanism. The Law on Science and Technology clearly states that the objective of S&T activities is to build an advanced and modern S&T foundation in order to bring into full play production force, enhance management level; rationally use natural resources, protect environment; accelerate industrialization and modernization; build an advanced culture imbued with national identity; generate a new Vietnamese person; contribute to rapid and sustained economic development; enhance peoples quality of life and guarantee national defense and security. The Law on Science and Technology marked an important milestone in the S&T law formulation process in Vietnam. For the first time, our country has a separate and uniform law regulating social relations in S&T activities. Researchers in Vietnam by Organization
25000

20000

Persons

15000

Ph D Master Bachelor

10000

5000

Colleges

Universities
R&D org

Research Institutes

Researchers by qualification
Total Research Institutes Unive rsities Colleges 0% 10% 20% 30% 11758 449 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 26354 14147 5115 6135 914 6348 3142 3188 106 90% 18 100%

Bachelor

Master

Ph D