"The conversion rate of achievements is zero", how to view "131 million yuan of scientific research funding technology | conversion rate | achievements"
Recently, a news that the conversion rate of achievements is zero has attracted attention. The Guangxi Audit Office has announced the management and use of special funds for financial subsidies to 9 district managed universities from 2020 to 2022. Among them, one university received 131 million yuan in research funding, implemented 862 research projects, and achieved 0 achievement transformation. The problem of low conversion rate of scientific research achievements in universities has always existed, but it is rare to see it as low as 0. Does a zero achievement conversion rate indicate a waste of research funding? We need to approach this dialectically.
On the one hand, the conversion rate of achievements is an important criterion for measuring the social contribution of universities. A conversion rate of zero means that the ability of universities to transform scientific and technological achievements urgently needs to be improved.
Vertically, the transformation ability of scientific research achievements in Chinese universities is steadily improving. The 2022 Annual Report on the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements in China shows that in 2021, the contract amount for 1478 higher education institutions to transform scientific and technological achievements through transfer of licenses and priced investments was 12.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. The 2022 China Patent Survey Report shows that the implementation rate of invention patents in Chinese universities is 16.9%, with an industrialization rate of only 3.9%; However, both numbers have increased compared to the previous year, by 3.1 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points respectively.
Compared with developed countries horizontally, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the ability of Chinese universities to transform achievements. Due to differences in research systems and technology transfer methods, the United States has not conducted authoritative periodic surveys and statistics on the conversion rate of scientific and technological achievements. However, according to relevant studies, the conversion rate of achievements in American universities is currently about 50%. Looking back at history, American universities have also experienced a period of low achievement conversion. In the 1970s, the United States discovered that government funded research generated 28000 patents, of which only 5% were authorized to benefit the industry. For this reason, the United States passed the Bidu Act in 1980 and has since taken many other incentive measures to promote the transformation of scientific research achievements in universities.
On the other hand, the conversion rate of achievements is not the only criterion for measuring scientific research work in universities. A conversion rate of zero means that the classification and evaluation system for scientific research projects still needs to be improved.
University research projects subsidized by the government should be classified and evaluated according to different types. For example, free exploration projects and basic research projects are not suitable for evaluation based on the conversion rate of achievements. Universities are the main force of basic research. We must respect scientific laws and evaluate the originality and scientific value of representative achievements in basic, cutting-edge, and disruptive research projects. We need to establish a fault-tolerant mechanism and encourage researchers to explore boldly. We cannot comprehensively assess the number of patent applications and the conversion rate of achievements, which will also push basic researchers who are not suitable for the market into the market track.
Basic research is the source of applied technology. Improving the classification and evaluation system of scientific research projects not only helps scientists explore freely, but also helps to improve the conversion rate of achievements and create more social wealth. The transformation of achievements involves complex elements such as technology, law, market, finance, etc. It has become a highly organized and standardized industry that requires the establishment of specialized technology transfer institutions and the cultivation of professional technology managers. It is imperative to use methods such as classification evaluation and classification training to enable professionals to do professional work.
In short, to improve the conversion rate of scientific research achievements in Chinese universities, it is necessary to reform and optimize relevant management and patent systems, establish more specialized technology transfer demonstration institutions, and build a sufficiently standardized technology trading market. To make innovation the primary driving force for promoting high-quality development in our country, we cannot simply rely on the scientific research achievements of universities to remain in the laboratory or be written on paper. Instead, we must create enormous economic value and social benefits through technological transformation. This benefit can not only promote economic and social development, but also feed back technological innovation, bring more scientific research investment, and form a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between technology and economy.
