Country’s new ‘bounty system’ to boost tech innovations

Beijing: China has adopted a new “bounty system” to give young and capable scientists more opportunities, facilitate the commercialisation of their research results, and help them clear technological obstacles to meet the country’s socioeconomic needs, experts said.

According to the system called jie bang gua shuai (“accepting the bounty and taking charge”), the government will unveil a list of specific research obstacles submitted either by public institutions or private companies, and all capable research teams can apply to clear those obstacles irrespective of their age, educational qualifications, or the job positions of their leading scientists.

The selected research teams will receive government funding and policy support, but they must complete the project on time and pass the rigorous appraisal.

The new system was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2016.

Since then pilot programmes at local government levels have seen varying degrees of success in supporting scientists to quickly overcome technological hurdles, and promote innovation-driven socioeconomic growth.

The programme will now be rolled out across the country.

Zheng Jianjian, an official from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Resource Allocation and Management, told Science and Technology Daily that the government will also include in the system fields such as material sciences for core equipment, etiology of diseases, clean energy, agricultural sciences, clinical instruments and biomedical material, as well as other subjects crucial for the country’s strategic needs.

The new system is designed to explore new ways of organising and managing scientific projects, and allowing them to quickly produce practical applications that can benefit both users and the economy, he said.

“We want to focus our efforts to make breakthroughs in these fields, and hope to achieve major scientific achievements within two years.” —China Daily/ANN