On September 14, 2011, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology recently issued the "Notice on Adjusting Several Provisions on the Management of Special Funds for National Science and Technology Plans and Public Welfare Industries" to adjust the scope of project expenditures and strengthen New provisions have been made on issues such as budget preparation and evaluation review requirements, strengthening fund allocation and management of surplus funds.
In terms of adjusting the scope of project expenditures, establish a project indirect cost compensation mechanism and divide project funds into direct costs and indirect costs. Indirect expenses are calculated using the segmented excess regressive proportion method and the total amount is controlled. They are determined according to a certain proportion that does not exceed the direct expenses in the project funds after deducting the equipment purchase fee. The specific proportions are as follows: the part of 5 million yuan and below shall not exceed 20; the part exceeding 500 shall not exceed 20%. The portion between 10,000 yuan and 10 million yuan shall not exceed 13; the portion exceeding 10 million yuan shall not exceed 10. Performance expenditures in indirect costs shall not exceed 5% of direct costs after deducting equipment purchase fees.
In terms of strengthening budget preparation and evaluation review requirements, project applicant units should prepare project budgets scientifically, reasonably, and realistically. The various direct expenses of the project shall not be arranged simply on a proportional basis. During the evaluation and review of the project budget, the direct cost budget of the project shall not be reduced in a simplistic proportion. Establish and improve the communication and feedback mechanism for project budget evaluation and review.
The "Notice" states that before the Ministry of Finance officially approves the department's budget, it can pay 1/4 of the "secondary budget" budget funds from January 1. The remaining funds for the project shall be recovered from the Ministry of Science and Technology or relevant competent authorities through the original channels, and shall be implemented by the Ministry of Science and Technology or relevant competent authorities in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Finance on the carryover of fiscal appropriations and the management of surplus funds. At the same time, we will publicize the budget arrangements for non-confidential projects and accept social supervision; gradually explore and establish a project performance disclosure system; and actively promote the disclosure of illegal use of scientific research funds.
In December 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics and other departments released the "Statistical Bulletin on National Science and Technology Funding Investment in 2014". my country has become the second largest country in science and technology investment after the United States, but there is a gap in the effectiveness of R&D investment. It is very large, mainly reflected in the conversion rate of scientific research results. According to data from the "Communique", China's total R&D investment in 2014 was 1.30156 billion yuan.
Meng Xiantang, deputy inspector of the High Technology Department of the National Development and Reform Commission: Our full-time equivalent of R&D personnel ranks first in the world, which is more than twice that of the United States and more than four times that of Russia. This shows that we have entered the ranks of major scientific and technological countries. .
With the largest number of manpower and the second largest financial resources in the world, it is well-deserved to be called a "big technological country". However, compared with developed countries, the effectiveness of China's R&D investment needs to be further improved. When talking about this, many people will directly think of the phenomenon of buying fake invoices to obtain scientific research funds that has been reported frequently. However, compared with the "drifting" of funds caused by management loopholes, what affects the efficiency of R&D investment more is the insufficient conversion rate of scientific research results. In 2013, Zhang Xiaoqiang, former deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that my country’s scientific and technological achievement conversion rate was only 10, while the ratio in developed countries was more than 40. In this regard, Meng Xiantang said that scientific research investment by enterprises that better understand market needs should be promoted, and this has been reflected in the "Several Opinions on Innovation-Driven Development" issued by the State Council.
Meng Xiantang: In the past two years, as our investment in scientific research has continued to increase, we have ranked first in the world in the number of invention patent applications and second in the world in the number of scientific papers. However, these can only truly contribute to economic development through enterprises. From the perspective of the shortcomings, it is precisely the enterprises.