NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
TOKYO REGIONAL OFFICE
June 19, 2003
The National Science Foundation's Tokyo Regional Office periodically reports on developments in Japan that are related to the Foundation's mission. It also provides occasional reports on developments in other East Asian countries.
Tokyo Office Report Memoranda are intended to provide information for the use of NSF program officers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy.
Report Memorandum #03-06
Reform of the Japanese System for
Competitive Research Funding
Suggestions
This report follows up our office’s report TRM#02-06 (http://www.nsftokyo.org/rm02-06.html). CSTP (Council for Science and Technology Policy) compiled "Suggestions on Reforming Competitive Research Funding System" on April 21, 2003. These notes represent a compilation of the outcomes from ten meetings and hearings subsequent to the CSTP’s interim report. [The itemized recommendations for a new competitive funding scheme that are summarized in this report will not be unfamiliar, or seem new, to American researchers. The lack of disciplinary programs within funding agencies in Japan has often caused difficulties in initiating talks on cooperative projects between the Unites States and Japan. The following reform would enhance the cooperation between the two countries.]
MEASURES FOR REFORM
1. Institutional framework for competitive R&D environment:
1-1: Incentive for competitive funds
[Employment]
The regulations on personnel costs for researchers should be relaxed so that a
research leader can have more responsibility and authority in hiring
researchers. Decisions on employment of researchers should be left with research
institutions, which will have more flexible working conditions and salary
systems.
[Salaries]
Under the new system, reflecting the shift of national universities to
independent administrative organizations, the amount of competitive funds and
R&D results will be reflected on the researchers' salaries and personnel
matters.
[Indirect Costs]
The expansion of indirect costs is a prerequisite to improving the research
environment and management system at research institutions. The percentage of
“ideal” indirect costs is 30 percent as cited in the 2nd Basic
Plan.
1-2. Management systems
[Funds]
The institutions, not the researchers themselves, should be financially
accountable for the research funds.
[Management of Researchers' "Efforts"]
Research institutions should submit requests for research grants on behalf of
individual researchers to funding agencies, and receive and manage the funds
received from the funding organizations in support of the researchers.
[Management of Indirect Costs]
Research institutions should have appropriate management system to monitor the
indirect costs.
1-3. Promoting competition among researchers
In addition, to further promote competition among researchers, the system should
be expanded to meet the present environment, including the fact that an industry
researcher recently received a Nobel Prize, and the number of
industry-university-academia collaboration and university-oriented venture
companies has been increasing.
2. System for vitalizing young researchers
2-1. Shift to a review system which recognizes the research plan more than
past research results
The proposal should have more pages for research plan than the present
one-to-two pages.
2-2. Shift to a system where "researchers" are fostered
The present system should be revised to recognize young researchers not only
by their age, but also by their research experiences, and to include those who
moved from other disciplines. The amount of funds to be provided to young
researchers is also to be improved.
2-3. Career path for researchers
The career path system for young researchers will be improved by introducing
fixed-term employment system. Success in competitive research funding should be
one of the evaluation items. The present mechanism of associate professor,
assistant professor, and research assistant should be reviewed to give them
independence from the professors.
2-4. Fostering of postdocs and graduate students
Postdoctoral researchers’ position should be secured, and their mobility
to more senior positions should be promoted. They should be paid commensurate
with contributions to research supported by competitive research funds.
3. Uniform management/evaluation system by Program Officer (PO) and Program Director (PD)
3-1. Roles of PO and PD
The detailed roles of PO and PD should be defined by each funding system.
Each system should secure appropriate number of POs and PDs with appropriate
titles and conditions by the time the Second Basic S&T Plan terminates (end
of JFY2005).
3-2. Recruitment and Fostering of PO and PD
The positions of PO and PD should be in the career path. Industry, academia,
and government research institutions should make efforts to provide excellent
POs and PDs. Funding agencies should be prepared with training systems for
fostering POs and PDs.
3-3. PD Meeting
Under the initiative of the CSTP, meetings for each funding agency’s PDs
should be organized.
4. Effective and flexible use of competitive research funds
4-1. Carry-over to the next fiscal year and multiple applications per year
The procedure for carrying over competitive funds to the next fiscal year
should be simplified and have flexibility. On the other hand, POs should monitor
the appropriateness of the carry-over. Multiple applications should be permitted
to provide researchers with more opportunities.
4-2. Fair, transparent and qualified evaluation system
POs should select excellent reviewers for proposal evaluation, using the
databases maintained at funding agencies. Conflicts of interest should be
identified. POs should receive inquiries from applicants before submission
deadlines and also should be permitted to review and stop approved research as
needed.
4-3. Electronic system and database
By 2005 the application process should be made electronic. The electronic
system at each agency should be linked with the Cabinet Office's database.
5. Independent Funding Agency Scheme
The CSTP should coordinate the funding systems for different agencies.
Although most of the funding agencies will soon become independent
administrative organizations, the competitive funds should be provided from the
central government.
6. Relation with the university reform
6-1. Competitive salary/personnel system
Whereas it is difficult as of now to obtain researchers' salaries from the
direct costs of the competitive funds, it is desirable to do this in the future.
For the time being, each university should develop its own vision of ideal
salary/personnel system.
6-2. Distinction between research and education
The budgets at universities should be divided into "research" and
"education" categories.
III. Coordination between Competitive Research Funds and Follow-up of the
Reform
CSTP should work as a coordinator to monitor competitive research funding among
agencies. To perform this, CSTP should make suggestions regarding each agency's
competitive research funds based on their "Outline on the allocation of
R&T budgets and human resources." CSTP should also comment on the
progress made by agencies for reforming competitive research funds, and review
the evaluation made by each agency on its competitive research fund system.
Further, CSTP should make the allocation of competitive research funds public
every year.