Optimize the allocation of resources to promote scientific and technological innovation

Major scientific research infrastructure and large-scale scientific research instruments are important tools to promote scientific and technological innovation and expand cognitive territory, and are important cornerstones and guarantees for promoting high-level scientific and technological self-reliance. Since 2018, China has evaluated and assessed the opening and sharing of major scientific research infrastructure and large-scale scientific research instruments (hereinafter referred to as "scientific research facilities and instruments") in central-level colleges and universities every year. Not long ago, the Notice on the Evaluation Results of the Open Sharing of Major Scientific Research Infrastructure and Large Scientific Research Instruments in Central Universities and Scientific Research Institutes in 2022 was released. Compared with 2021, the participating units pay more attention to open sharing, and the level of management and sharing application has been further improved.

obvious effect
Increased awareness of open sharing
According to reports, in 2022, a total of 345 units from 24 departments participated in the evaluation and assessment, involving 86 major scientific research infrastructures such as synchrotron radiation light sources, accelerators, and wind tunnels, as well as electron microscopes, high-resolution mass spectrometers, gene sequencers, and terahertz Testers and other 47000 large-scale scientific research instruments (sets) with an original value of more than 500000 yuan. Among them, a single (set) 500 sets) with an original value of more than 10 million yuan.
The results show that the average annual effective working time of large-scale scientific research instruments is 1351 hours, an increase of 5.7 compared with the previous year; the average annual effective working time of large-scale scientific research instruments is 231 hours, an increase of 3.6 compared with the previous year. The overall utilization level is relatively high, but there are still uneven open sharing. Among them, 50 units including the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have excellent assessment results; 100 units including Southeast University have good assessment results; 189 units including the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have met the basic requirements for open sharing, and the assessment results are qualified; There are 6 units with poor open sharing.
Zheng Jian, deputy director of the Department of Basic Research of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that the evaluation and assessment work is organized and implemented through the "trinity" of unit self-evaluation, expert review, and on-site verification. On the whole, the awareness of openness and sharing of participating units has been significantly enhanced, and the use of scientific research facilities and instruments The efficiency and level have been significantly improved, and the effect of external services has been obvious. The main deficiencies found are as follows: some units do not have a strong sense of openness and sharing, the relevant systems are not perfect, individual units have not yet built scientific research facilities and instrument information management system, failed to achieve overall management, there are still idle waste of instruments and equipment, and so on.
In recent years, the level of scientific research in China has been continuously improved, and the investment in the field of large-scale scientific research instruments has gradually increased. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently about 130000 scientific research instruments in universities and scientific research institutes across the country with an original value of more than 500000 yuan.
In 2014, the State Council issued the opinions on the opening of national major scientific research infrastructure and large-scale scientific research instruments to the society, which put forward clear requirements and specific tasks for the work of opening and sharing. The Ministry of science and technology, together with the Ministry of Finance, has made great efforts to implement it, and has built a cross departmental, cross field and multi-level national network management platform, The proportion of scientific research instruments included in the unified management of the national network management platform is 100.
"Evaluation and assessment is only a means. The purpose is to strengthen incentives and guidance, improve the level of openness, sharing and utilization, and provide better support for the construction of a technological power." Zheng Jian said that driven by the evaluation and assessment, in recent years, the awareness of opening and sharing of scientific research instruments in colleges and universities has increased and their enthusiasm has increased. The opening rate of instruments in colleges and universities has increased from less than 50% in 2014 to more than 90%, the annual average machine time has increased from 500 hours to more than 1300 hours, and the external service machine time has increased from less than 50 hours to more than 200 hours.
Zheng Jian said that for units with poor results of open and shared evaluation, new instruments will be strictly restricted through re-evaluation. In the past 7 years, the repeated purchase of more than 4900 sets (sets) has been reduced, saving 13.9 billion yuan, and promoting high-end high-end expensive instruments such as high-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, ultra-high resolution liquid mass spectrometry systems, and extreme ultraviolet spectrometers. Optimized layout.

perfect mechanism
Improve platform service capability
According to the relevant regulations, we will give subsidies to units with excellent and good assessment results, support the development of new methods and technologies for the use of instruments, expand the functions of instruments, strengthen the construction of experimental technical personnel, and improve the quality and level of service. The poor units will be notified and criticized, requiring rectification within one year. If the rectification is not in place after one year, the corresponding equipment purchase funds will be reduced.
As early as 2003, on the basis of integrating existing equipment, the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences prepared a protein science research platform. After years of exploration, the institute is in the forefront of the country in terms of open and shared management of scientific research instruments. Talking about the reasons, Han Yugang, director of the protein science research platform, believes that the overall planning for the purchase of scientific instruments based on real needs, the establishment of an intensive and open sharing mechanism for scientific research instruments, and the improvement of the service capability of the platform's technical support team are indispensable.
"If scientific research instruments are used well, we must first buy equipment according to actual needs and avoid blindly purchasing in pursuit of high targets." Han Yugang explained that the index parameters, application scenarios and scope of application of scientific research instruments vary greatly. If high indicators are not blindly pursued according to actual needs, expensive instruments and equipment are only used for simple experiments, which is also a waste of financial funds.
In terms of open sharing mechanism, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has established a large-scale instrument open sharing information management system. Through this system, researchers can clearly check the use status of the instrument and make an effective appointment. According to the application situation, the management personnel of the protein science research platform will arrange the use time in a unified way, and the researchers inside and outside the institute will be treated equally.
"Some popular instruments, although the use of the institute is relatively tight, the platform will also provide a certain amount of time for special external services." Han Yugang said. In order to improve the enthusiasm of technical support personnel to serve the outside world, the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has linked the results of opening up to the outside world with the year-end assessment, performance awards, and professional title evaluation of personnel, realizing the transformation from "I want to serve" to "I want to serve.
The opening and sharing of scientific research instruments is not just to provide equipment to others, but actually to provide external technical services for high-level professional and technical personnel. After years of development, the protein science research platform has established a professional technical support team of 130 people, and the enthusiasm of technical service and technological innovation is high. Among them, the technical team of the Cryo-electron Microscope Center independently developed the application software, which greatly improved the use efficiency and output of the cryo-electron microscope, and provided a model for the construction of the cryo-electron microscope platform in colleges and universities in China.

cultivate talents
Improve instrument efficiency
Professional and technical support talents are the key to the efficient operation of high-end instruments. Industry experts appeal that it is necessary to further strengthen the construction of professional and technical personnel of instruments and equipment, especially R & D type technical personnel.
"Now we basically have no shortage of high-end instruments. The difference is high-level professional and technical engineers who can make good use of high-end instruments." Han Yugang said that if the instruments are used well or badly, the results of scientific research may be very different. Excellent scientists leave the technical support staff, it is difficult to do first-class work; no matter how high-end instruments are used and improved without first-class technicians, they can only do second-rate work.
According to experts, there are few laboratory technicians engaged in the operation and management of scientific research instruments in colleges and universities in my country. On the one hand, they do not have enough understanding of the role of technical support personnel. They are generally regarded as scientific research assistants, and most of them are concurrently held by ordinary scientific researchers or even graduate students. On the other hand, technical support personnel lack a complete training, growth, and evaluation system, which makes them more mobile and weaker technical service capabilities.
Attaching importance to the role of professional and technical personnel is an important experience of innovation in technologically developed countries. Experts said that having a stable professional and technical support team can not only improve the efficiency of scientific research instruments and the level of external sharing, but also help improve the independent innovation ability of scientific research instruments. They suggested that it is necessary to explore a professional title evaluation system suitable for the development of scientific research instruments and technical support personnel, so as to encourage and stabilize the team of technical personnel. In addition, in the long run, according to the actual needs of scientific research, through reasonable discipline planning and layout, the curriculum content related to the development of scientific research instruments will be increased at the university stage, and a professional talent training system will be constructed.
Zheng Jian believes that with the expansion of scientific research to the macro, to the micro-depth, to the comprehensive extreme conditions of cross-integration, the importance of scientific research facilities and instruments is becoming more and more prominent. It is necessary to closely follow the major deployment of strengthening the basic capacity building of science and technology, embed evaluation and assessment into the whole process of purchase, management and service innovation of scientific research instruments, optimize and improve the open sharing system of scientific and technological resources, further improve the level of open sharing, and improve the service and support role of scientific research instruments for scientific and technological innovation.

Source: People's Daily