People's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, ministries and commissions of the State Council, and institutions directly under the Central Government:

　　Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have issued a series of policy documents and reform measures to optimize the management of scientific research funding, such as Several Opinions on Further Improving the Management of Scientific Research Projects and Funds of the Central Government and Circular on Several Measures to Optimize the Management of Scientific Research and Enhance Scientific Research Performance, which have powerfully stimulated the creativity and innovative vitality of scientific researchers, and promoted the development of the scientific and technological undertakings. However, there are still problems in the management of scientific research funding, such as the lack of implementation of policies, the rigidity of project funding management, the imperfection of the funding disbursement mechanism, the low proportion of indirect costs, and the difficulty of reimbursement of funds. In order to effectively solve these problems, better implement the CPC Central Committee, the State Council decision-making and deployment, and further incentives for scientific researchers to produce more high-quality scientific and technological achievements, in order to achieve a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance to make a greater contribution to the State Council agreed to the reform and improvement of scientific research funding management of the central government to put forward the following views:

　　First, expand the autonomy of scientific research project funding management

　　(i) Simplify budgeting. Further streamline the consolidation of budgeting subjects, according to the equipment costs, operational costs, labor costs of three major categories of direct cost budgeting. Except for equipment costs above 500,000 yuan in direct costs, other costs will only provide basic measurement descriptions and do not need to provide breakdowns. Computational instruments and software tools can be charged to the equipment expense account. Merging project review and budget review, the project management department will synchronize the budget review at the time of project review. The budget review focuses on the target relevance, policy compliance and economic reasonableness of the project budget, and the degree of meticulousness of the budget preparation shall not be taken as a factor in the review of the budget. (Project management departments are responsible for implementation)

　　(ii) Decentralization of budget transfer authority. The right to transfer the budget for equipment costs is fully decentralized to the project undertaking unit, and its budget transfer is no longer approved by the project management department. The project undertaking unit shall take into account the existing equipment configuration, the actual needs of the scientific research project, etc., and handle the transfer procedures in a timely manner. In addition to equipment costs, other costs transfer rights are fully decentralized from the project unit to the project leader, the project leader according to the actual needs of scientific research activities independent arrangements. (Project management departments and project undertaking units are responsible for implementation)

　　(III) Expanding the scope of implementation of the lump-sum funding system. The lump-sum funding system will be implemented in human resources and basic research projects, and project budgets will no longer be prepared. Project leaders shall decide on the use of project funds independently on the basis of their commitment to abide by the requirements of scientific research ethics and morality, style and academic integrity, and to use all funds for expenses related to the research work of the project. Relevant departments and localities are encouraged to carry out the pilot funding system in independent legal person scientific research institutions engaged in basic, cutting-edge and public welfare research. (Project management departments, project undertakings, the Ministry of Finance, the unit in charge of implementation)

　　Second, improve the funding allocation mechanism for scientific research projects

　　(D) rationally determine the funding allocation plan. The project management department shall, according to the characteristics of different types of scientific research projects, research progress, funding needs, etc., reasonably formulate the funding disbursement plan and timely disbursement of funds. The proportion of the first fund disbursement shall fully respect the opinion of the project leader and effectively guarantee the needs of scientific research activities. (Project management departments are responsible for implementation)

　　(e) Accelerating the progress of fund disbursement. The Ministry of Finance and the project management department may advance the scientific research funds before the departmental budget is approved. The project management department shall strengthen the connection between the appropriation of funds and the establishment of the project, and within 30 days after the signing of the project mission statement, the funds shall be appropriated to the project undertaking unit. The lead unit of the project shall disburse the funds to the participating units of the project in a timely manner according to the opinions of the project leader. (The Ministry of Finance, project management departments and project undertaking units are responsible for implementation)

　　(vi) Improve the management of surplus funds. After a project completes its mission objectives and passes comprehensive performance evaluation, the balance of funds will be retained for the use of the project undertaking unit. The project undertaking unit shall arrange the surplus funds to be used for direct expenditure on scientific research activities, give priority to the scientific research needs of the original project team, and strengthen the management of surplus funds, improve the mechanism for revitalization of surplus funds, and accelerate the progress of using the funds. (Project management departments, project undertaking units are responsible for implementation)

　　III. Increase incentives for scientific researchers

　　(vii) Increase the proportion of indirect costs. Indirect costs are approved in accordance with a certain percentage of the direct costs after deducting the cost of equipment purchase, and the project undertaking unit will make overall arrangements for the use of the funds. Among them, the proportion of indirect costs is no more than 30% for the part of less than 5 million yuan, no more than 25% for the part of 5 million yuan to 10 million yuan, and no more than 20% for the part of more than 10 million yuan; for purely theoretical basic research projects such as those on mathematics, the proportion of indirect costs is further increased to no more than 60%. The project undertaking unit may use all the indirect costs for performance support.

(This is a public release)

Source:China Government Network