Interim Measures for the Management of National Key R&D Programmes

On 28 June 2020, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance jointly released the Interim Measures for the Management of National Key R&D Programmes (Guo Ke Fa Zi [2017] No. 152). The Interim Measures constitute the main legal framework of the third pillar of the Chinese national STI funding system – the National Key R&D Programmes (NKPs). They specifically outline:

• General Provisions:
  • NKPs mainly finance the nation’s major strategic socioeconomic development needs, such as agriculture, energy and resources, eco-environment, and health, building up innovation chains from basic and frontier science to key technologies and applications;
  • NKPs are project-based. Specific projects have different topics and sub-topics that contribute to the main project deliverables;
  • NKPs shall be included in the National Service Platform and coordinated with NSFC, Megaprojects, Technology Innovation Guiding Fund(s), and the Bases and Talents Programme.

• Organisation and division of responsibilities:
  • The inter-ministerial joint council is responsible for reviewing the NKPs’ overall development plan, the establishment of new NKPs, and the selection of project management agencies;
  • The strategic consulting and revision committee is responsible for advising the inter-ministerial joint council on the NKP’s overall development plan, the establishment of new NKPs, and the division of tasks;
  • As the leading authority of NKPs, MOST is responsible for:
    • Researching and formulating NKPs-related management regulations;
    • Advising on NKPs’ goals, development, as well as the establishment of new NKPs;
    • Formulating NKPs’ implementation schemes and tender guidelines;
    • Recommending project management agencies for the daily management of NKPs;
    • Conducting annual and interim evaluations, formulating adjustment suggestions;
    • Promoting technology transfer and commercialisation, and information sharing;
    • Organising experts’ working groups for NKPs’ implementation and management;
    • Conducting strategy and policy research.
  • Relevant government bodies and local authorities are responsible for:
    • Advising on the R&D needs in relevant NKP areas;
    • Participating in the formulation of NKP tender guidelines;
    • Participating in the annual and interim evaluation of NKPs;
    • Daily management and monitoring of NKPs’ expenditure;
  • NKPs’ experts’ working groups are responsible for:
    • Launching strategy and policy research;
    • Advising on the NKPs’ implementation schemes and tender guidelines;
    • Verifying specific project proposals are compliant with the NKP implementation scheme and tender guidelines;
    • Participating in the annual and interim evaluation of NKPs.
  • The project management agencies are responsible for:
    • Participating in the formulation of tender guidelines;
    • Organising applications and evaluation of specific projects; signing legal contracts consortium leaders implementing NKPs;
    • Organising funds allocation; timely adjusting projects in line with de facto needs;
    • Reporting the implementation status of NKPs to MOST;
    • Promoting the commercialisation of results and information-sharing.
  • Consortium leaders are responsible for:
    • Implementing the specific research tasks for their NKPs;
    • Formulating implementation status reports, information reports, and S&T reports;
    • Reporting incidents and adjustments;
    • Cooperating in monitoring, evaluation, and final review procedures.
    • Fulfilling the obligations relating to confidentiality; protecting IPR; and promoting commercialisation and application of results.

• NKP implementation schemes and tender guidelines:
  • MOST leads the formulation of the NKPs’ overall development plan, which will be presented to the inter-ministerial joint council;
  • MOST and other relevant authorities select new NKPs to be launched, and formulate relevant implementation schemes according to the overall development plan approved by the inter-ministerial joint council;
  • NKPs are target-oriented and generally have a five-year implementation period, during which adjustments or extensions can be made according needs;
  • Tender guidelines and calls for applications to specific project activities are formulated annually, in line with the NKP’s development plan and implementation scheme. Tender guidelines are drafted by MOST, other relevant authorities, project management agencies, and by the experts’ working group;
  • NKP consortium leaders are mainly selected through public tendering. In limited cases these can be directly appointed by relevant authorities (i.e. “directional NKPs” *);
  • Tender guidelines are published on the National Service Platform after calls for comments have been published for public opinions. Lists of experts who drafted the document and application requirements should be included in the tender guidelines;
  • Tender guidelines of confidential projects are not published online;
  • The deadline for applications in principle is no less than 50 days from the day the tender guidelines are published;
  • Local governments and enterprises are encouraged to provide additional financial support.

• Selection of projects:
  • Project applicants: applicants to specific NKPs are research institutions, universities, and enterprises that:
    • Have strong capacities and conditions for R&D;
    • Have standardised operation and management procedures;
    • Have indipendent legal personality in mainland China;
  • Consortia applying to NKPs must indicate one unit as “consortium leader”. A joint application agreement among the consortium members should be signed;
  • PIs: individuals leading the implementation of the specific project topics and activities. They should meet the requirements specified in the tender guidelines;
  • International cooperation is encouraged:
    • China-based affiliates of overseas research institutions, universities, and enterprises that are registered in mainland China and have independent legal personality can lead or participate in NKPs, in line with the requirements specified in the tender guidelines;
    • Foreign experts (including from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao) can apply as PIs in line with the requirements outlined by the tender guidelines.
  • Evaluation experts:
    • Experts sitting in evaluation committees are extracted from the national S&T experts pool, and published online;
    • Foreign experts will be invited to sit in evaluation committees.
  • The tender application process consists of two parts:
    • Pre-application with the first round of review and screening, to be submitted online through the National Service Platform;
    • Official applications of candidates selected from the pre-application, to be submitted in hardcopy version to the project management agencies: 1) The evaluation committee reviews the official application materials, and selects a number of candidates three to four times higher than the final number of projects to be approved; 2) Selected candidates should attend an official interview via video conference.
  • Based on the interview outcomes, the project management agencies submit the list of selected project winners (including budget to be allocated) to MOST for final approval;
  • After MOST’s final approval, the final list of project winners is published online.

• Project implementation:
  • The project management agencies are responsible for supervising, reporting, and conducting ad hoc inspections of ongoing projects;
  • Each Consortium Leader shall submit an annual implementation status report every year in November, through the National Service Platform;
  • An interim evaluation for each project is conducted by project management agencies after three years of implementation;
  • Each NKP’s project management agency shall submit an implementation status report to MOST every year in December.

• Project conclusion and results management:
  • Project conclusion procedures should be completed within six months after the expiration of the contract (maximum extendable period is one year);
  • Project management agencies are responsible for supervising project conclusion evaluations through peer review, third-party assessments, etc.;
  • The experts’ committees consist of technology, management, and industry experts;
  • The outcomes of the evaluation can be divided into three categories:
    • Eligible: NKPs that have delivered the deliverables on time, and with satisfactory quality;
    • Non-eligible: NKPs that have not achieved the objectives due to reasons that are not force majeure; or NKPs with false project materials or missing reports;
    • Project termination: NKPs that have not achieved the expected results due to force majeure.
  • Within three months after the completion of project conclusion procedures, the project management agencies must provide feedback to the consortium leaders, and report to MOST;
  • Consortium leaders shall formulate achievement reports to be included in the National S&T Report Service System and the National S&T Achievement Database.*
  • IP ownership, utilisation and licensing rights of NKPs abide by relevant national laws and regulations. Consortium members shall sign in advance an official agreement on IPR ownership and utilisation. In case of national security emergencies, national or public needs, the State can authorise other parties to utilise IP generated from NKPs with or without compensation.

• Supervision and evaluation:
  • MOST, MOF and other relevant authorities will conduct regular inspections on:
    • The work of managing authorities and the effectiveness of project implementation;
    • The implementing consortium’s duties, implementation status, and fund management;
    • The experts participating in the drafting of tender guidelines or evaluations.
  • Each phase of the tender cycle should be highly-transparent;
  • Establishment of a uniform information system to include information on the launch of NKPs, annual and interim management, dynamic adjustment, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as the project assignment, financial distribution, process management procedures, etc. All information shall be traceable and retrievable.

• Supplementary provisions:
  • The Measures are effective from the date of publishing;
  • The previous Notice on Issues Related to the Management of National Key R&D Programmes during the Reform’s Transitional Period (Guo Ke Fa Zi [2015], No. 423) is no longer effective.

* Note: Contrarily to ordinary NKPs for which endorsement can be obtained from any bodies within one’s own administrative area, the “directional NKPs” (定向项目) require applications to be endorsed by explicitly indicated government bodies or units, and/or to be led by specific units, and/or to be launched in certain areas/facilities.

* Note 2: The National S&T Achievement Database was established in September 2014, and contains detailed information on S&T results across different regions and industries. S&T results contained in this database will be the main receivers of funds and investments from the National Fund for Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, under the 4^th pillar (see section on this website on the Technology Innovation Guiding Funds).

External link:

http://www.most.gov.cn/mostinfo/xinxifenlei/fgzc/gfxwj/gfxwj2017/201706/t20170628_133796.htm

See also:

Fund Management Measures for National Key R&D Programmes

Complementing Implementation Rules of the “Fund Management Measures for National Key R&D Programmes”