21st Century Innovation Systems for Japan and the United States Lessons from a Decade of Change: Report of a Symposium (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Reform of University Research System in Japan: Where Do They Stand?--Ryuji Shimoda
Reform of University Research System in Japan: Where Do They Stand?--Ryuji Shimoda
Pages 40-56
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From page 40... ...
uniVeRSity ReSeaRcH in JaPan anD itS GoVeRnMent SuPPoRt Essential information about Japanese university research in Japan can be found in the Report on the Survey of Research and Development, Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which includes data on the natural sciences and engineering.1,2 1.1 Researchers in universities At the end of March 2005, Japanese universities had 291,000 researchers in all fields, including 190,000 in the natural sciences and engineering. Universities in Japan are classified into three categories: national universities founded by the central government, public universities founded by local governments, and private universities founded by private initiatives.
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From page 41... ...
In natural sciences and engineering, the ratios in private and public universities were comparatively high, while the ratio in national universities was low. It can thus be said that national universities have the strongest presence in Japan's university research in terms of research expenditure especially in natural sciences and engineering.
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From page 42... ...
In the Report on the Survey of Research and Development, sources of research funding are classified into three main categories: central and local governments, the private sector, and foreign countries.3 In addition, from the point of view of performers of research, funding sources may be classified into self-funding and external funding. In these statistics, the support that national universities receive from the national government and that public universities receive local governments is classified as self-funding.
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Table 4 shows how funding from the central government is distributed among national universities in natural sciences and engineering. The total sum has fluc tuated year by year, primarily as a result of supplementary budgets.
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increasing role of competitive research funding in government-supported university research. 2.1 Science and technology basic law and Science and technology basic Plan The Basic Law for Science and Technology of 1995 (S&T Basic Law)
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Compared with the CST, however, the CSTP seems to have much more influence on S&T policy formulation. For instance, the CST held plenary meetings where the prime minister was present only once or twice a year, whereas the newly established CSTP holds almost monthly plenary sessions attended by the prime minister where substantial discussion between the prime minister and the members is possible.
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2.3 S&t basic Plans and S&t-related budget 2.3.1 S&t basic Plans The first S&T Basic Plan covered five years from FY1996 to FY2000. The single most important point of the first plan was its commitment to increase the allocation of government resources; it aimed to allocate a total of 17 trillion yen of S&T-related budgets (Kagaku-gijutsu-kankei-keihi)
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Various policy measures have been taken to promote science and technology, throughout the periods of the first and second basic plans. Among those measures, particular emphasis has been placed on creating a more competitive research environment and competitive research funding (see section 2.3.4)
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Nonetheless, observing data over the past ten years, its total sum has gradually increased, and its ratio to the total S&T budget has been decreasing gradually.4 Some of budget items in the first and second categories may be provided as competitive research funding as discussed in the next section. 2.3.4 competitive Research Funding A major policy trend in recent years has been the increasing role of competi tive research funding in government support for university research.
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84, March 2005. table 7 Budget for Competitive Research Funding Fiscal Year 1991 -- 1995 1996 -- 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Basic Plan Period n.a.
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Freed from the accounting, personnel, and property rules of the central government, the national universities are better able to reform themselves to improve research effectiveness. It should be noted here that the original intention of corporatization of national universi PRePublication coPy
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Further, pressures are building up on national university corporations to secure funding sources other than an administration grant, for instance, competitive research funding of the government and research funding from companies. PRePublication coPy
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3.2 current issues 3.2.1 Diversity of university Research The first issue is how to maintain the diversity in university research while the increase of competitive research funding and the strategic prioritization of S&T research are policy priorities. The increasing role of competitive funding together with the cut in institutional funding in university research could make it difficult to maintain research diversity, because the limited amount of competitive funding makes it extremely difficult for various researchers to work continuously to secure competitive funding to continue their research.
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3.2.3 Management of competitive Funding by national university corporations The third issue arises from the increasing role of competitive funding and its impact on the management of universities. Competitive funding for university PRePublication coPy
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There is insufficient institutional connectivity of pension and other welfare schemes between employment at competitive funding and employment at institutional funding. When research is performed concurrently by the same researcher using multiple competitive research funds, university man agement faces several new challenges in personnel management issues to fulfill contractual obligations, and needs to improve its function compared to the time when competitive funding was limited.
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This is because companies are exposed to severe competition in the market, and in order to secure competitive advantage, they are eager to secure IPRs including know-how and trade secrets. On the other hand, the basic mission of universities is education and research, where an open atmosphere is generally considered essential.
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2005. Goern ment S&T Budget Analysis during the First and Second S&T Basic Plans.
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