The Nature Publishing Group released the Nature Index 2015 China late last year, revealing that China has cemented its role as the world’s second-largest producer of high-quality research papers.

According to the report, the growth of China’s output in the index last year dwarfed that of any other nation. The report also predicts that China’s scientific ascension is likely to continue.

The index demonstrates China’s great progress toward improving the quality and quantity of scientific research. However, there is still a gulf between basic research results and practical application.

Some research has not been effectively commercialized or otherwise acted upon. So now it is imperative to accelerate the transformation of scientific achievements so that science and technology can better contribute to social and economic development.

But first, it should be clarified that not all research can be directly converted to a practical application. Basic research mainly serves to advance systems of knowledge. It is not intended to be used for any one particular application, technology or product. Therefore, we cannot expect all scientific research to produce practical benefits.
 

Then what are the obstacles for the capitalization of scientific achievements? Judging from the real situation, several reasons can be identified.
 

First off, there is a lack of a practical problem-solving mentality among researchers. Most scientific research investment comes from government sources, but officials are only able to offer guiding principles, and they cannot propose practical topics.
 

Hence, researchers’ choice of topics is dependent on their own expertise and interests rather than industrial or social demands. Many research projects are only for the sake of research and lack a clear orientation toward addressing practical problems or serve production needs.
 

Also, enterprises are not motivated enough to invest in scientific research. Their needs are the biggest driving force for the transformation. But they focus more on short-term gains, lacking the passion for research input.

Moreover, the assessment system hinders transformation. Universities and research institutions all place a high premium on papers, awards and quantity of research, lacking in indicators of social and economic profits when evaluating the performances of researchers. Research personnel then do not pay enough attention to the transformation.

Lastly, there are not enough supporting mechanisms and policies. The transformation is a complicated process, requiring input of time as well as a large quantity of labor and money. Even so, there are still risks of failure. In China, there are not enough agencies for transforming scientific achievements, inadequate system for venture investment pertaining to technological innovation. There is also not a good environment for integrating technology and capital.
 

Therefore, in China, we should foster channels to enable scientific and technological innovation to better serve economic and social development and convert research results into productivity.

First, the direction and structure of official investment in scientific research should be adjusted to consider more social needs. In this way, research personnel can also be tailored to the needs of enterprises.
 

Then, policies should be improved to encourage enterprises to value scientific research. For example, investment in scientific research can be a criterion for evaluating performance.
 

In addition, we should also improve the evaluation system for scientific achievements. Right now, more emphasis is placed upon patents especially those for inventions. We should explore ways to include social and economic benefits into the system.

 

Li Zhimin is director of the Science and Technology Development Center at the Chinese Ministry of Education.