The expert body on scientific and technological development will work under the patronage of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The government continues to strengthen the expert role of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in supporting government decisions in the field of scientific and technological development. The procedure for the work of the scientific and technical council of the relevant government commission, developed by the Ministry of Education and Science, assumes that it will be headed by the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The authorities expect that the new council, in cooperation with the academy, will be able to provide qualified examination of projects and, thus, in conditions of limited budgetary resources, will contribute to the achievement of technological sovereignty by the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a draft government decree regulating the work of the scientific and technical council of the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation. This commission, we recall, was created under the government in 2021 to coordinate the actions of the center and regions, state academies of sciences, funds for supporting scientific activities and other bodies in the implementation of state scientific and technical policy.

The stated task of the council, the leadership of which is entrusted to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (currently Gennady Krasnikov), is scientific and expert support for the activities of the commission. According to the document, the council will include leading scientists and experts on the priorities of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation – no more than 30 people, including the chairman and his deputy. It is expected that the composition will be rotated every two years by at least one third. Meetings – as necessary, but at least twice a year. Organizational and technical support for the activities of the council will be provided by the Russian Academy of Sciences.

As explained to Kommersant in the office of the relevant Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, “the council, in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences, will be able to provide a qualified examination of programs and projects in the development or consideration of which the commission participates, an expert assessment of all proposals received by the Presidential Council on Science and Education “

Let us note that Gennady Krasnikov previously highlighted the special role of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the implementation of the strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, updated in February of this year. “Based on the strategy, the RAS will continue to work on organizing fundamental and exploratory research in Russia, and will continue to participate in expert and scientific support of government decisions,” he said (quoted by TASS). De facto, the creation of the council strengthens the role of the Russian Academy of Sciences in conducting scientific expertise. One of its functions is the preparation of expert opinions on projects from the list of priority areas of scientific and technological development and the most important high technology.

The process of expanding the powers of the Academy in this regard will continue. To promote the development of key technologies for the sake of achieving technological sovereignty, the White House seeks to avoid ineffective budget spending on science (see Kommersant on January 25). At the beginning of 2023, the government introduced a bill to the State Duma (approved in the first reading, the second was postponed) establishing the concept of “scientific (scientific and technical) examination” and defining its content and procedure. This document assigns the functions of a methodologist and coordinator of the entire national corps of experts to the RAS. In addition, the Academy should optimize the structure of scientific expertise to eliminate duplication of functions of collegial bodies and overlap in the areas of their expertise, as well as situations where applicants repeatedly submit their work to different expert councils before funding is approved.

Venera Petrova