Incentives such as research allowances paid to researchers at government-funded research institutes in the science and technology field will now be paid differentially based on research outcomes rather than the size of commissioned projects.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) said on the 8th that at the 247th extraordinary board meeting of NST held at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Seoul, they deliberated and approved the "detailed implementation direction of the post project-based system (PBS) for government-funded research institutes to leap forward as national flagship research institutions."
This plan is a follow-up measure to the government's policy to abolish PBS. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the "policy direction for government-funded research institutes in the science and technology field" in Dec. last year and the "status check of PBS abolition and plan to further advance future implementation" in June this year, and has been shifting the research system of government-funded research institutes to a mission-centered approach.
First, each government-funded research institute will set core missions on which to focus its capabilities at the institutional level and make them public within the year. It will also prepare R&D road maps and portfolios tailored to the core missions. Each institute's project structure will be reorganized around basic research and strategic research, and government-commissioned projects will be operated as exceptions.
Joint research among government-funded research institutes will also be expanded. By major research field, they will set joint goals and establish industry-academia-research cooperation systems, while also increasing region-led strategic research projects that reflect the needs of local governments. The results of institutional R&D program operations will be reflected in institutional evaluations and linked to budgets and incentives.
They will push to move away from the current method of linking incentives such as research allowances to the size of commissioned projects, and instead pay differentially with a focus on outstanding research outcomes. The 2027 government budget plan tentatively reflects a 3.9% improvement in treatment for government-funded research institutes, and the Ministry of Science and ICT and NST will also conduct a full survey to review overall treatment and compensation systems for research personnel.
Common administrative functions that are divided by institute will be specialized under NST, while the research support units of individual government-funded research institutes will be reorganized to strengthen on-site support functions close to researchers. As NST's functions expand, external reviews such as operational evaluations and audits of the newly established organization will also be strengthened.
In the technology commercialization field, a lead technology licensing office (TLO) that supports large-scale technology transfer and deep-tech startups across multiple government-funded research institutes will be formalized as an official organization. Public relations and international cooperation that have been carried out by each institute will also be overhauled to expand joint responses among government-funded research institutes.
Starting on the 9th with the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), the Ministry of Science and ICT and NST will visit government-funded research institutes to hold policy briefings and provide guidance on detailed restructuring directions. At the management council of government-funded research institutes on the 11th, they also plan to explain the implementation direction to NST board members and the heads of 23 government-funded research institutes.
Kim Young-sik, chair of NST, said, "We will push follow-up measures without a hitch so that the system can take root in the field after the abolition of PBS." First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "We will supplement the system by reflecting on-site opinions so that government-funded research institutes can focus their capabilities on core missions."