Nevertheless, certain aspects of what has served NSFC well from its inception must be modified to adapt to new scientific and societal expectations. In the full report that follows are many recommendations for possible changes that might strengthen the performance of the NSFC. We call out here just a few of the most pressing needs.
1. The NSFC funding mechanism should be adapted to reflect the changing landscape of research in China. We are concerned about the increasing number of proposals to be handled by NSFC. Last year there were more than 119,000 proposals to review and this year (2011) the number has risen to 147,780 proposals. This number is larger than that received by any other scientific funding body in the world. We recommend an increase in the NSFC staff size. It should be recognized that the NSFC staff has a dual role of maintaining a high level of scientific know-how and of administering a complex programme with high and unique responsibilities. Therefore, we also suggest a redesign of title designations, and a corresponding increase in salary to ensure the best handling of proposals and to strengthen the NSFC staff’s independence.
2. We also recommend an increase in the size and duration of grants, to permit a range of durations and funding sizes and to allow proposals to be received two times a year but with the restriction that the same or similar proposals can only be received once in 12 months.
3. A related issue concerns how proposals are reviewed and managed. We recommend broadening the panel participation by including more early-career scientists with strong research reputations and Chinese-speaking scientists from abroad. We also suggest that the structure of the panels be modified to support more strongly interdisciplinary projects, for example, by establishing special panels (ad hoc and/or long term) for such projects, by reducing the number of panels, by adding panel members from other disciplines, and by creating an internal coordination mechanism.
4. We note with pleasure that there has been an increasingly successful effort on the part of NSFC to ensure fairness and lack of undue influence in the proposal selection process. We believe that yet more attention is needed to protect the confidentiality of the review process and to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.
5. We also call for an expansion of international connections, such as the forming of an International Advisory Committee (IAC), more joint research projects with international partners, and more foreign visitors to Chinese institutions. A corollary is that the NSFC staff, including its highest-ranking officials, must have the means to travel abroad more to enable them to fulfil their key roles in advancing Chinese basic science. We also encourage NSFC to extend the current NSFC Programme for International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange to support young investigators including graduate students to go abroad and for their counterparts to work in China.
6. We recommend that the NSFC be allowed to provide a greater share of its support toward the personnel costs of active researchers at all levels, beginning with the support of graduate students. The concept that “one size fits all” is not an adequate formula for supporting the ever-increasing complexity of scientific research. At present, the support of personnel is limited to only 15 percent of the total cost of a grant whereas we believe strongly that this restriction should be removed. This change would be in keeping with the practices of research funding agencies in many other countries.
7. We also recommend that grant beneficiaries be given more flexibility to rebudget including the development and/or acquisition of small to moderate size capital equipment.
8. We recognize that new, high-risk research is where the frontier lies and more needs to be done to promote such projects, especially by those who are new in entering a field of research. For this reason we propose that a new award programme be created for promising young investigators whose eligibility should be limited to a period of a certain number of years after getting their PhD, rather than being based on biological age. We also suggest that funds be set aside for pioneering high-risk investigations, administered perhaps by a special panel for this purpose.
There are many other recommendations set out in the body of our report, but the above stand out in our minds as deserving special attention. Of course, we would be remiss if we did not also emphasize the need to continue to increase the funding of basic research, especially that for NSFC. This increase is necessary from an absolute point of view, but more importantly, the funding of basic, curiosity-driven research must be increased relative to other kinds of research to strengthen the scientific culture and the innovative capacity of China.
To build up a scientific funding system as China has done within only 25 years is a stunning achievement. We have been delighted to take part in this review, the first of its type, and hope that what follows might help to make an already vibrant and successful organisation yet more effective in carrying out its important mission. 在短短25年里中国就建立了一个科学的资助制度,这是一个惊人的的成就。我们很高兴参加这次评审,这是第一次这样类型的评审。我们希望它会有助于一个已经充满活力和成功的组织能够更有效地履行其重要使命。
The members of the IEC, their affiliations and disciplines are
IEC的成员,他们的背景和学科
• Prof Richard N ZARE (Chair), Stanford University, Chemistry Richard N ZARE教授(主席),斯坦福大学,化学
• Prof HAN Qide (Vice Chair), Vice Chairman, National People’s Congress, Medicine 韩启德教授(副主席), 全国人民代表大会副委员长,医学
• Prof Erik ARNOLD (Rapporteur), Technopolis Group; University of Twente, Research and Innovation Policy Erik ARNOLD 教授(报告员),科技城市集团;Twente大学,研究和创新政策
• Prof LU Yonglong (Rapporteur), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Environmental Science and Management 吕永龙教授(报告员), 中国科学院生态环境研究中心,环境科学与管理
• Prof XUE Lan (Rapporteur), Tsinghua University, Science and Technology Policy and Management 薛澜教授(报告员),清华大学,科学和科技政策与管理