Chapter 52 Chapter 50 How Deep is the "Black Hole" of Scientific Research Funding

Using research projects as a means of "circling money" not only leads to a huge waste of scientific research funds, but also encourages academic corruption and hinders the improvement of the country's scientific and technological innovation capabilities. In April 2009, the "He Haibo Dissertation Incident" of Zhejiang University was settled.However, in the conclusion of the investigation, the relationship between the falsified papers and the relevant scientific research funds was not involved, nor did it talk about whether to recover the relevant funds. "In addition to personal moral factors, the occurrence of this fraud incident, the rigidity of the evaluation indicators of scientific research personnel and the existence of a 'black hole' in the management of scientific research funds are also important reasons that induced the parties involved to take risks." Professor Qi Shanhong, a doctoral supervisor at Nankai University, was interviewed by reporters pointed out.

The reporter's investigation found that due to the lack of effective supervision of the use of some scientific research funds in our country, some scientific researchers have used research projects as a means of "circling money", which not only leads to a huge waste of scientific research funds, but also encourages academic corruption and hinders national science and technology The improvement of innovation ability. In recent years, my country's investment in science and technology has increased steadily. In 2006, the central financial allocation for science and technology reached 71.6 billion yuan, an increase of 19.2% over the previous year. On March 5, 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council stated in his government work report during the "two sessions" that we must vigorously promote technological innovation. This year, the central government invested 146.1 billion yuan in science and technology, an increase of 25.6%.

The so-called scientific research funding refers to the expenses allocated to universities and scientific research institutions for scientific research through financial means.It stands to reason that these funds should be earmarked for special purposes, but in real life, these funds have become "Tang monk meat" that some people slaughter at will. According to the National Audit Office, the 2004 audit found that 2 departments and 45 scientific research units in the scientific research system transferred, occupied, and embezzled 669 million yuan of scientific research funds.In addition, 13 units illegally lent, invested, or even invested 327 million yuan in scientific research funds into the stock market.

In July 2007, the 2006 annual audit report of Shandong Province was released. In the audit of the use of scientific research funds in universities, it was found that only 40.5% of the expenses were directly used for research projects, while nearly 60% were spent on management expenses and personnel expenses. . It is understood that the scientific research funds of universities and scientific research institutions generally consist of two parts, that is, the project funds uniformly applied and managed by the scientific research management department of the unit and the project funds applied by the employees of the unit themselves.No matter which part of the funds are used, they will be managed and used by the scientific research institution.

However, behind this seemingly strict management system, there are some little-known puzzles hidden.It is understood that in some universities and scientific research institutions, scientific research personnel apply for projects, and as rewards, they can get a certain percentage of commission.In addition, some universities and scientific research institutions have to send a certain percentage of kickbacks to relevant personnel after winning scientific research funds.Because it depends on a certain project to apply for scientific research funding, the project must first pass the review of the expert group of the competent party.

After layers of management, the scientific research funding has reached the hands of the research group responsible for implementing the project.Among them, there will be a phenomenon that a small number of scientific researchers embezzle scientific research funds through misappropriation, false reporting, embezzlement and other means. It is conceivable how much funds are ultimately used for scientific research projects themselves. "Many scientific research institutes in my country rely on scientific research funds to maintain their operations, and most of the salaries and benefits of scientific research personnel are drawn from scientific research funds." A professor at Beijing Normal University, who did not want to be named, told reporters, "Other Expenses, in addition to normal travel expenses, materials fees, and expert argumentation fees, some scientific researchers even try their best to reimburse their home phone bills, transportation expenses, private car insurance premiums, and maintenance expenses from scientific research funds."

"When making a project budget, if you need 800,000 yuan, many people will usually report 1 million yuan." A researcher from a well-known scientific research institution in Beijing revealed to the reporter, "As long as the funds are allocated, we have to find ways to use them up. If The project is almost finished, so I can buy a computer, buy office supplies, and so on.” The reporter's investigation found that there are serious problems in the funding methods of some projects at present. The main reason is that the funds are not in place when the projects start, and the funds are not allocated until halfway through the project, but they are required to be spent on time, so there is a phenomenon of surprise spending .

Many interviewees believe that there is a serious polarization phenomenon in the allocation and use of scientific research funds in my country.Some scientific research fields have become the "sphere of influence" of some authoritative figures, and only "insiders" can get big projects.For other personnel, it is very difficult to get a scientific research project. "At present, there are some academic leaders who seldom participate in specific scientific research work, but spend most of their energy on running projects." Qi Shanhong said, "At present, the declaration of several major national scientific research funds is becoming more and more standardized, but there are also some projects that have not yet been applied for. There are 'hidden rules'. Some project leaders use their reputation and connections in the academic world to greet the judges in advance, and as a result, there are always projects available. They ask their students or friends to do the projects they have won. I became the 'project boss' myself."

The reporter's investigation found that it is becoming more and more difficult to apply for many topics, and the competition is very fierce. "Project bosses" have become a very eye-catching group in universities and scientific research institutions because they control certain advantageous resources. "The salary in our unit is not high, and the income mainly depends on doing projects." A staff member of a scientific research institution in Beijing told the reporter, "Those academic leaders have great control over the scientific research funding. Who will bear the responsibility in the project?" What kind of role is determined by the academic leader, and the amount of income is naturally closely related to this."

It is understood that the amount of project approval and scientific research funds won each year is also a "hard indicator" for the higher authorities to assess some scientific research units.In order to obtain scientific research funds, some universities and research institutions, in addition to research groups and scientific research personnel, also widely mobilize employees to apply for scientific research projects, which are linked to professional titles and salaries. According to a survey of scientific and technological workers by the China Association for Science and Technology, 50.7% of people believe that the biggest difficulty encountered in scientific research is "difficulty in applying for projects", and 14% of people think that the time and energy spent on project application most.

"Being able to win a national-level subject project is a sign of ability, and has the capital to evaluate titles, awards, and even become a doctoral supervisor." Professor Li Chengyan, a doctoral supervisor at the School of Government and Administration of Peking University, said in an interview with reporters, "Because The assessment pressure is high, and after some scientific research leaders apply for the project, they invest very little funds in scientific research, but use the money to build relationships and run to the next project." "There are fewer and fewer people who can calm down and do research, and more and more people are eager for quick success. Such an atmosphere will destroy some promising researchers." Looking at the current universities and scientific research institutions, the Chinese society Researcher Yin Yungong of the Academy of Sciences expressed his concerns in an interview with reporters. Many interviewees believe that there is a "black hole" in the management of scientific research funds, which to a certain extent affects the enthusiasm of scientific researchers and encourages the prevalence of "hidden rules" such as relationship building.Especially in some fields of scientific research, the phenomenon of "small circles" where authorities share key topics has emerged, which deviates from the scientific spirit and the principle of fair competition. "The investment and management of scientific research funds are directly conducted by government departments, and there are many problems in their work procedures, fund allocation, project evaluation, and achievement appraisal." Li Chengyan believes that within universities or scientific research institutions, this kind of unfairness has formed income. Inequality also pollutes the spirit of fair competition and active innovation within the intellectual group. The reporter's investigation found that many academic journals are now in order to generate income, and whoever pays will first distribute them.After receiving the scientific research funding, some scientific researchers simply searched for literature on the Internet, wrote so-called "scientific research papers", and paid high "page fees" for publication, seriously endangering the academic ecology of our country. In such an environment, academic corruption is naturally common. In 2006, the "Hanxin counterfeiting incident" of Shanghai Jiaotong University shocked the Chinese science and technology circles. "Hanxin" was once known as "China's chip", but no one thought that the "Hanxin" series of chips developed by spending hundreds of millions of yuan in research and development by the country were actually fake! In August 2007, the National Natural Science Foundation of China released the first supervisory committee briefing of the year, stating that 13 academic research institutions and individuals were suspected of "plagiarizing papers" or "falsifying in applications" to obtain research funding. However, almost no one has been legally prosecuted for academic corruption that defrauds the country of scientific research funding.Under normal circumstances, even if it is found that scientific research funds have been used improperly, the penalty measures are only to limit the future application of new projects by the person in charge of the project. It is understood that the chaos in the management of scientific research funds in my country has attracted the attention of relevant state departments. On June 26, 2005, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance promulgated "Several Opinions on Further Strengthening the Management of Scientific Research Funds in Universities" and put forward 12 measures; in August 2007, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the first system that specifically regulates the supervision and management of scientific and technological funds Provisions - "Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of National Science and Technology Plans and Special Funds".However, the reporter's investigation found that because my country lacks a strong supervision and punishment mechanism in the approval, allocation, use, and settlement of scientific research funds, these regulations have not played their due role. At present, my country is advocating the establishment of an innovative society, and the country expects to enhance the overall strength of the country by increasing investment in science and technology and the level of scientific research.Therefore, how to use research funds scientifically, rationally and efficiently becomes particularly urgent and important. In the United States, the government does not set up research institutes, but entrusts scientific research tasks to universities or private companies by signing research contracts.Except for a few national defense secret projects, the vast majority of scientific research funding relies on projects provided by the National Science Foundation, National Sanitation Foundation, and high-tech organizations of the Ministry of Defense, and is operated by research universities and other laboratories through competition. In view of the current actual situation in our country, Yin Yungong suggested: "A performance evaluation system for financial science and technology funds should be established, and the performance goals of government science and technology plans and applied science and technology projects should be clearly established. On the basis of simplified procedures, open bidding for projects can be carried out, as long as When the scientific research unit completes the task, the 'product' is qualified, and the supply and demand can pay with one hand and deliver the "goods" with one hand, which will reduce many links that may cause corruption." "All fiscal expenditures at all levels of the country need to be included in the financial supervision system, and scientific research funds should not be an exception." Qi Shanhong believes, "It is necessary to start with project approval, deepen the reform of the administrative approval system and the scientific and technological management system, and ensure that the whole process of project approval is open. Fairness and transparency, follow-up and assessment of the responsible subjects of the project, and strengthen the supervision of science and technology funds through special audits. At the same time, play the role of network supervision and allow peers to supervise and report.” "The existing scientific research project evaluation mechanism should be further reformed and improved." Professor Gong Weibin of the National School of Administration said in an interview with reporters, "The evaluation of some major national projects, the selection of evaluation experts, the setting of evaluation procedures, the adoption of evaluation opinions and Publicity should have scientific regulations. The establishment of scientific research projects and other important links must be evaluated. The selected scientific research projects should be tendered to the whole society and publicized. The development and completion of the projects should be evaluated, and all sectors of society should have channels to understand The use of scientific research funds and the benefits generated."