Government-Funded Research Institutes to Establish Dedicated Technology Transfer Organizations; Research Outcomes to Be Evaluated Based on Excellence

[Financial News] Following the abolition of the Project-Based System (PBS), government-funded research institutes are moving to reorganize their business structures into national, long-term research institutions. They will establish a central technology transfer office (central TLO) to support large-scale technology transfers and deep-tech startups, while restructuring research performance incentives around excellence.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) held an extraordinary board meeting at the Seoul Science and Technology Center on the 8th and deliberated and approved the “Detailed Implementation Directions (Draft) for Government-Funded Research Institutes’ Leap Forward as National Flagship Research Institutions.” The directions provide specific steps to resolve uncertainties during the transition following the abolition of PBS and ensure that the Post-PBS system takes root in the field. NST, the body responsible for implementation, took the lead in preparing them while considering demand and conditions on the ground.
First, the core missions of government-funded research institutes will be defined as national missions, and their business structures will be reorganized so that research programs can be operated stably in line with long-term strategies. The institutes plan to announce within this year the core missions on which they must concentrate their capabilities to focus on national missions. They will also establish, within the year, R&D project roadmaps and R&D portfolios for carrying out those missions, and reorganize each institution’s business structure accordingly into basic research, strategic research, and exceptional government-commissioned research.
The institutes will also set joint goals across government-funded research institutes in key fields and build an industry-academia-research cooperation system so they can serve as hubs for such cooperation and lead efforts to achieve national missions. In particular, strategy-driven regional research programs based on the demands of local governments will be expanded to promote balanced national growth. The appropriateness of each institution’s R&D program management will be reflected in institutional evaluations, with the results linked to budgets and incentives. A system for evaluating and managing strategic research programs will be established to ensure accountability for achieving their missions.
At the same time, incentives such as research allowances will be restructured from the existing system, which was linked to the volume of commissioned research, into differentiated compensation based on excellence. Based on the government’s budget proposal for next year, a provisional 3.9% improvement in working conditions has been reflected for government-funded research institutes. They will conduct a comprehensive survey to develop broader improvements in working conditions and compensation systems aimed at attracting and retaining outstanding research talent.
In addition, common administrative functions currently dispersed among institutions will be specialized under NST to provide professional administrative services. Research-support functions at each institution will be reorganized and strengthened around close support for researchers, creating an environment conducive to focused research. As NST expands its functions, external oversight will be reinforced through the introduction of operational evaluations for newly established organizations and expanded internal and external audits. A system will also be built to ensure that field perspectives feed back into policy through regular personnel exchanges between NST and the institutes and periodic panel surveys.
The institutes will also formally establish a central technology transfer office (central TLO) to support large-scale technology transfers and deep-tech startups that individual institutes find difficult to undertake on their own. They will continue pursuing business-friendly institutional reforms, including improvements to conflict-of-interest regulations. Public relations and international cooperation, which have so far been handled by individual institutions, will be systematized through joint action across government-funded research institutes so that all institutes can establish themselves as one powerful national research institution brand.
[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter