China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) is no longer the appraiser of scientific and technological achievements, and the role will be shifted to market forces amid the country's bid to streamline administration, media reported Tuesday.
The ministry has officially halted its appraisal method and the responsibility will be carried out by professional appraisal organizations, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The decision was made against the backdrop of transforming government responsibility and enhancing their service role. Management of the appraisal process will be shouldered by industrial groups or intermediary organizations, Xu Jing, head of the MST's Department of Innovation and Development, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Compared with the MST's appraisal method, which only gives a yes or no answer, appraisals done by professional agencies will offer an evaluation based on the candidate's scientific, technological, economic and social value, which helps the achievement to be better understood by investors, meaning there is more likelihood of attracting funding, the report said.
As for the future role of government bodies, they will regulate the non-official appraisers and offer guidance to the appraisal, said Li Meng, vice minister of the MST.
Li added that government bodies will leave sufficient room for the appraisal organizations while drawing the bottom line to aid the healthy development of the service.
