On January 22, 2016, the Cabinet Office of Japan officially issued the Basic Plan for Science and Technology in Japan 2016-2020 (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The Plan is the fifth National Science and Technology Revitalization Comprehensive Plan initiated by the Cabinet Office of Japan since the issuance of the First Basic Plan for Science and Technology in 1996, and the first basic plan formulated by the Conference on Comprehensive Science and Technology Innovation (CSTI), Japan's highest advisory body on science and technology innovation policies, in May 2014. We analyze the framework content of the Plan, the concepts embodied in the plan, the methods and rules used in the planning preparation process, and the implementation mechanism of the plan, as follows.
1. Framework and content
In general, the "Plan" consists of seven chapters: First, the framework of basic ideas; The second is to create new value and new services with manufacturing as the core; The third is to actively respond to the challenges facing economic and social development; The fourth is to strengthen the basic strength of scientific and technological innovation; The fifth is to build a virtuous circle system of talents, knowledge and funds; Sixth, deepen the relationship between scientific and technological innovation and society; The seventh is to strengthen the construction of a mechanism for promoting scientific and technological innovation. The specific content can be summarized as the implementation of the "four major tasks"
Task 1: Create new value and new services with manufacturing as the core. Under the background of the implementation of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Program in the United States, the release of "Industry 4.0" in Germany, the introduction of "Made in China 2025" in China, and the era of great changes in the world ushering in the fourth industrial revolution, Japan will take the manufacturing industry as the core, flexibly use information and communication technologies based on the Internet or the Internet of Things, and build a world-leading "super-intelligent society (5.0 society)" to continuously create new value and new services. In order to realize the super-intelligent society as soon as possible, the Japanese government will give priority to promoting the construction of 11 systems such as the energy value chain optimization system and the global environment information platform, and continuously improve the intellectual property and international standardization strategies, promote the research and development of common technologies that are indispensable for the construction of service platforms such as network security, Internet of Things system construction, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence, and at the same time, focus on the core advantage technologies that create new value, such as robots, sensors, biotechnology, nanotechnology and materials, and optical quantum. We will set and work toward challenging medium- and long-term development goals to enhance Japan's international competitiveness.
Task two: To actively address the challenges facing economic and social development. In order to solve the economic and social development challenges facing Japan and the world as soon as possible, the Japanese government has pre-selected 13 key policy issues to be solved through scientific and technological innovation, and put forward key work and technical issues to be solved in each issue. The projects are divided into three areas, of which the project aims to "achieve sustainable growth and regional social self-discipline development goals", including seven sub-topics, including ensuring stable energy supply and improving energy efficiency, ensuring resource stability and achieving recycling; The project aims to "ensure the safety and security of the country and the people and achieve the goal of a prosperous and high-quality life", including four sub-topics, including responding to natural disasters and ensuring food safety; The project aims to "address global challenges and contribute to world development", including two sub-topics of addressing global climate change and addressing biodiversity challenges.
Task three: strengthen the basic strength of scientific and technological innovation. In order to respond flexibly and effectively to possible future changes, the Japanese government will fundamentally strengthen the basic strength of scientific and technological innovation, focusing on cultivating young talents and bringing them into full play, promoting university reform, and improving their functions. In terms of strengthening human resources, Japan has proposed to increase the number of young university faculty members (under 40 years old) by 10% (about 44,000 people) by 2020, and to achieve the goal of 30% female researchers in the field of natural sciences. In terms of consolidating the knowledge base, it is proposed to vigorously promote academic research and basic research and related reforms, promote the research and development of common technologies, establish an open science promotion system, and strive to reach 10% of the top 10% of the papers in the world by 2020. In terms of promoting the reform of research funds, the Japanese government will sort out all competitive research fund projects, unify the regulations on the use of competitive research funds in various departments, and promote the sharing of research instruments.
Task Four: Build a virtuous circle system of talent, knowledge and capital. The Japanese government will strengthen industry-university-research cooperation and mobilize the enthusiasm of venture capital enterprises. For example, strengthen the institutional framework for promoting open innovation, and increase the number of cross-sectoral researchers in enterprises, universities and public research institutions by 20% by 2020, and increase the number of joint research funds received by universities and national R&D legal entities from enterprises by 50%; Vigorously develop small and medium-sized enterprises and venture capital enterprises that dare to challenge new undertakings, cultivate entrepreneurs, provide appropriate support for all stages of entrepreneurship and enterprise growth, increase the issuance of new shares, and encourage mergers and acquisitions; Flexible use of international IP and standardization strategies; Revisiting and adapting systems related to innovation and creativity, for example, re-examining systems related to new products and services, and reforming the ICT-related IP system; Build an innovation system conducive to "local creation", invigorate local enterprises, and give full play to local characteristics and advantages; Grasp the opportunity of global demand, strategically promote international joint research and exchanges, expand innovation and create opportunities, and promote sustainable innovation that maintains inclusive society.
Second, the concept of embodiment
(1) Highlight the creation of a new social form
Different from the industrial planning goals of other countries, Japan proposes to create a new social form and apply the results of industry to all aspects of social development. From the perspective of purpose setting, the "Plan" proposes that through the integration of cyberspace and real space, new industries and services are created, and is committed to creating a new social form of "super-intelligent society", that is, to be able to provide the required goods and services to the people needed at the time of need, to be able to respond to the various needs of society in a refined way, so that everyone can enjoy high-quality services, across the age, gender, region, language and other differences, to build a vibrant, livable society.
In Japan, the specific manifestations of a superintelligent society are not limited to the manufacturing sector, but also include energy, food, medical care, regional, infrastructure, disaster prevention and mitigation, climate change and other social fields. In terms of task implementation, the four major tasks proposed in the plan are intended to emphasize the solution of social problems, turn disadvantages into opportunities, and achieve synchronous social and economic development, compared with the closedness of the national innovation system in the catch-up period, the "superintelligent society" emphasizes the openness of collaborative innovation, emphasizes the vertical connection between users and manufacturers, and emphasizes the construction of a social system of continuous learning.
(2) Highly focus on scientific and technological innovation
With the rise of a new round of scientific and technological revolution in the world, major powers have put forward new development ideas according to their own national conditions. For example, Germany's "Industry 4.0" focuses on the development of the world's leading manufacturing technology; The "Industrial Internet" in the United States focuses on extending Internet applications to people, data and machines, opening up the R&D end and service end, thereby enhancing the entire industrial ecology; "Made in China 2025" strives to achieve strategic breakthroughs and leaps in the top ten manufacturing fields.
Japan is different from the above three countries, on the one hand, Japan's manufacturing and industrial development is subject to labor decline and demographic changes, on the other hand, with the rise of emerging economies, the global ICT landscape is ushering in profound changes, Japan is facing unprecedented competition, shortcomings are prominent. Japan is not good at large-scale production and the application of fully intelligent technology, but Japan can give full play to the strengths of scientific and technological innovation and take into account the development of manufacturing industry while solving social problems. The plan proposes that in the next 10 years, through the joint efforts of the government, academia, industry and the people, Japan will vigorously promote and implement scientific and technological innovation policies and build Japan into "the most suitable country for innovation in the world". To this end, the Japanese government will ensure the scale of R&D investment in the next five years, and strive to achieve more than 4% of the total R&D expenditure of the government and the people in GDP, of which the proportion of government R&D investment in GDP reaches 1% (calculated according to the average annual growth rate of GDP of 3.3%, the total R&D investment of the Japanese government in 5 years is about 26 trillion yen, about 1.45 trillion yuan).
(3) Emphasize the forward-looking and strategic planning
Compared with the Fourth Basic Plan for Science and Technology (2011-2015), which focuses on post-disaster reconstruction and focusing on solving problems, the policy focus of the Plan has changed dramatically, emphasizing the importance of preparing for future development, and focusing on highly practical research and institutional reforms that are closely related to the development of new industries. Proceeding from the perspective of long-term development, the Japanese government proposes to continue to vigorously develop a series of science and technology that support the development, utilization and management of important frontier fields such as oceans and space, and constantly consolidate the scientific and technological foundation for Japan's development, enhance industrial competitiveness, and solve various social and economic problems.
Third, the method of application
(1) Conduct research and judgment on the development environment and trends with systematic thinking
The Plan reviews Japan's achievements and problems in science and technology over the past 20 years. The Japanese government's R&D investment, the number of researchers and the number of scientific and technological papers have increased, the research and development environment has improved significantly, and the international competitiveness has been greatly improved, especially in the field of breakthrough research in cutting-edge scientific and technological fields such as light-emitting diodes and induced pluripotent stem cells, and the number of scientists who have won the Nobel Prize in Science in Japan ranks second in the world, all of which highlight Japan's scientific and technological strength and international status.
But on the other hand, in recent years, Japan's basic strength to promote scientific and technological innovation has weakened sharply, which is reflected in the fact that the international ranking of the quality of Japan's scientific and technological papers has declined; Slow development of international research networks; It is difficult for young researchers to make full use of their talents; Industry-academia cooperation has not yet achieved the desired effect; Chronic low mobility of departmental talent; Slow progress in the operation of universities and PRIs and the reform of the personnel system; Government R&D investment has stagnated and is at a disadvantage compared to other countries.
At present, with the rapid development of information and communication technology, the social and economic structure is changing with each passing day, and the world is ushering in an "era of great change". The role of scientific and technological innovation in effectively responding to increasingly complex global challenges such as energy shortages, aging societies, natural disasters, and safety and security has become increasingly prominent. The day itself is in it, and the sense of crisis is getting stronger. In this context, the Plan proposes that Japan not only needs to be strategically proactive (forward-looking and strategic) and able to respond effectively to changes (diversity and flexibility), but also to compete and coordinate in an international and open innovation system, and to build an institutional framework that maximizes the capabilities of each innovation entity.
(ii) Define development goals in a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods
The Plan sets appropriate "targets" for policy areas as much as possible and grasps the progress of the project as quantitatively as possible. For areas where quantitative targets are particularly required, the Plan sets "target values".
The main indicators involved in Task 1 include: (1) R&D projects for the purpose of discontinuous innovation (number, amount, number of applicants, number of researchers supported), (2) number of listed enterprises of start-up enterprises, (3) market size and number of employees in industries related to information and communication technology (ICT), and (4) intellectual property rights, papers, and standardization in the ICT field.
The main indicators involved in task two include: (1) economic effectiveness, (2) public expenditure and burden of the state and local self-government organizations, (3) self-sufficiency rate (energy, food), (4) paper, intellectual property rights, standardization.
The main indicators involved in task three include: (1) the proportion of young researchers without tenure positions, (2) the proportion of female researchers appointed, and (3) mathematics for children under primary school and children under high school students. Degree of attainment of science studies, (4) number of papers. The number of papers cited in the top 1% and their proportions, and (5) international comparisons of universities. The main indicators involved in Task 4 include: (1) the number of interdepartmental researchers, (2) the amount of research funds received by universities and PRIs, (3) the number of patent applications for international cooperation, (4) the number of scientific papers cited in patents, (5) government procurement of cutting-edge technology products, (6) the number of entrepreneurial enterprises incubated by universities and PRIs, (7) the number of patent applications by SMEs, and (8) the technology trade balance.
Fourth, the implementation mechanism
(1) Take the "Comprehensive Science and Technology Innovation Conference" as the core, and take charge of the overall situation of manufacturing innovation
The development and implementation of the Plan is the specific responsibility of the Japan Conference on Integrated Science and Technology Innovation (CSTI). The CSTI is one of the five major policy advisory meetings of the Cabinet Office of Japan, and together with the Economic and Fiscal Advisory Council, it is regarded as the "Prime Minister's Think Tank". The CSTI is directly led by the Prime Minister and is composed of the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Ministers of Science and Technology, General Affairs, Economy, Industry and Industry, the President of the Japan Academic Council, and eight senior experts in different fields. By reviewing science and technology policies, science and technology budgets, allocating scientific and technological resources, and evaluating important national research and development projects, the CSTI aims to play the role of overall control and horizontal connection of various departments, and promote the integration of science and technology revitalization and innovation policies. For example, the flexible use of SIP (strategic innovation projects), ImPACT (innovative technology research and development promotion projects) and other national key project systems to guide provinces and departments to implement policies across departments and fields, has played a role in overseeing the overall situation.
(2) Establish a collaborative evaluation model of "led by scientific and technological evaluation institutions + consultation by experts and scholars + assistance by social investigation institutions"
The evaluation of the Science and Technology Basic Plan has been carried out in the middle of the implementation of the current plan. The primary purpose of the evaluation is not to be accountable or to demonstrate performance, but to grasp the actual implementation and provide a reference for the dynamic adjustment of scientific and technological tasks and the formulation of the next plan. The CSTI authorized the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to conduct the assessment, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology entrusted its Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (NISTEP) to organize and implement it. To this end, NISTEP has set up a "Basic Plan Evaluation and Investigation Project Team" and mobilized the vast majority of the forces within the institute to participate.
At the same time, the evaluation is also widely supported by other academic institutions in Japan, such as the Establishment of the Basic Plan Evaluation Committee by the Japan Academic Conference, the Japan Engineering Academic Planning Committee, and the Science and Technology Policy Branch Committee under the Research technology planning Society. In the special research, we also actively invited the participation of social professional forces, and entrusted the Mitsubishi Research Institute and the Japan Institute of General Research to assist in the implementation of grass-roots investigations. For the investigations that need to be carried out overseas, the relevant professional institutions in the host country, such as the RAND Corporation in the United States and the University of Manchester Press in the United Kingdom, are entrusted to cooperate to complete the investigation. The evaluation of the basic plan carried out by the Japanese government has been embedded in the formulation and implementation process of the previous basic plan, achieving the purpose of formulating one implementation - evaluating one formulation Machine connection and dynamic circulation, as shown in the figure below.
■