Mission - oriented governance reform of national research institutions: Origin, dilemma and approach

使命导向国家科研机构治理变革—源起、困境与路径

Abstract

In the context of technological competition among major countries, the mission-oriented innovation has become a crucial policy approach to addressing “major challenges”. As important players to implement mission-oriented innovation, national research institutions urgently need to promote the mission-oriented governance reforms. Based on the analytical framework of multiple institutional conflicts under the decentralization of authority among research organizations, the paper analyzes the conflicts among government, research institutions and researchers. It discusses the real dilemma of national research institutions as their missions lose focus and proposes the reform approach for these institutions by using international experience for reference. The study indicates that since the reform and opening-up, China’s research institutions have generally shifted from centralized management in the planned economy era to decentralized research management involving multiple players, leading to multiple institutional logic conflicts between formal and informal institutions and weakening the institutional foundation crucial for the operation of a “mission-oriented” logic. To reform the management system of national research institutions in the new era, it is necessary to coordinate the relationship among the government, research institutions and researchers, establish a multi- governance structure, strengthen the collaboration among multiple players, reinforce institutionalized research organizations, and implement performance target management. This will create a “closed-loop” management path where the government ensures resource support and performance constraints while national research institutions independently organize activities of scientific research.