luongnam@gmail com MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION NGUYEN THI PHUONG RESEARCH ON THE CURRENT SITUATION AND PROPOSAL FOR SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE T[.]
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION NGUYEN THI PHUONG RESEARCH ON THE CURRENT SITUATION AND PROPOSAL FOR SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE BASIC RESEARCH FUNDING QUALITY IN THE FIELD OF NATURAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN VIETNAM SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS Specialty: Science and Technology Management Code: 9340412 HANOI - 2023 The thesis was completed at Vietnam Institute of Science Technology and Innovation Science supervisors: Assoc.Prof.Dr Mai Ha Dr Do Tien Dung Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The thesis is defended before the grassroots thesis grading committee Meeting at Vietnam Institute of Science Technology and Innovation At on _2023 The thesis can be found at the National Library and Library of Vietnam Institute of Science Technology and Innovation INTRODUCTION Rationale In research and development (R&D), basic research is ranked in the first subclass with the role of "creating new knowledge", as a premise for applied research Basic research plays an important role in raising awareness for people and spreading knowledge Most countries in the world, especially those with developed economies, have paid great attention and investment to basic research Basic researches are increasing in both quality and quantity, however, it can only be carried out when there is a stable financial investment Therefore, the introduction of research funding organizations, especially the science fund model, is necessary to ensure that funding for basic scientific research is carried out consistently Currently, the development of science and technology is considered a leading national policy and an important foundation for socio-economic development Basic researches are not purely researches of direct benefit, so it is difficult to attract attention and investment from private or corporate entities However, with the role of basic research as the foundation of human knowledge, the governments spend a large amount of budget to finance these activities In order for the amount of funding budget for science and technology to be used for the right purposes, without loss and waste, ensuring the quality of research and development funding is considered extremely important From a management aspect, the quality of basic research funding reflects the results of management of the Science and Technology Fund, whose main source of funding comes from the State budget or NGOs interested in basic research development Therefore, assessing the quality of basic research funding is an important requirement to determine the effectiveness of research funding as well as funding management goals The quality of basic research funding is influenced by multiple objective and subjective factors If these factors are not taken into account, the objectives may become unfeasible and the quality of basic research funding will remain low For successful basic research funding, managers also need to evaluate to make funding requirements appropriate to the context of socio-economic development, science and technology, and scientific human resource characteristics From a research aspect, most of the scientists are highly appreciated for their research experience, excellent research results, and they often have a deep understanding of their research, the fields, and they have important perspectives and can evaluate the quality of basic research funding More specifically, in the current context of strong international integration in science and technology, Vietnam has been creating conditions to attract funding from abroad, helping scientists to expand cooperation and training relationships in scientific research, and gradually access to modern research equipment, to learn and exchange with global scientists, to access to new research directions Basic research funding is a condition for scientists to develop creativity, but on the contrary, it also requires scientists to be serious, to meet international standards in scientific research and standards andin assessing scientific research Therefore, from the perspective of scientists, the evaluation of the quality of basic research funding is becoming more and more important as from the results of the assessment of the quality of basic research funding, scientists can evaluate the effectiveness of the research funding in their projects, compare the effectiveness of joint funding among many sources of funding for scientists, and have an objective view of the quality of their research and the quality of funding of the entities Therefore, based on the results of the basic research funding quality assessment, managers will have an orientation to adjust financial policies as well as adjustments to the funding management mechanism, which has a direct impact on scientists, the beneficiaries of funding Therefore, scientists are the main player to assess the quality of basic research funding in an objective, transparent and fair manner National Foundation for Science and Technology Development is a non-business unit under the Ministry of Science and Technology that performs the task of public funding for basic research in the most methodical and focused way in Vietnam With a funding budget of up to VND 500 billion per year, the Fund is currently the largest holder of funding for basic research in the country Established with the goal of creating a favorable research environment in Vietnam, meeting international standards in order to improve the national scientific and technological capacity, including improving the quality of research and human resource development science and technology at a high level After more than 10 years of operation, the results from activities funded by the Fund have been evaluated by the domestic and foreign scientific community as having a great role to contribute to promoting internal force in basic research in Vietnam, contributing to improving the quality of postgraduate training and improving the quality of human resources for scientific research in Vietnam However, in reality, the process of basic research funding has also revealed some weaknesses that require stricter management, specifically: Firstly, It is necessary to clarify the concept of quality of basic research funding from funding organization: basic research funds still operate under a semi-active mechanism, the budget allocation for basic research fund is still limited and passive In particular, the management of the basic research fund from the stage of estimating, detailing funding, using the fund, promoting the improvement of the quality of basic research or inspecting and monitoring the use of funds is still limited This leads to continuous funding delays for research, which slows down the progress of implementation and leads to a decrease in the quality of basic research, rendering allocation of funding inefficient, Le Van Duc (2018), Ha Hoang Anh Tuan and Dang Thi Thuy Nga (2020) Although there have been improvements in funding compared to other missions, funding for basic research is currently mainly used to pay salaries for scientific research, not for consumables and research equipment Therefore, the implementation of research ideas has fallen into a fragmentary state, as a result, important research projects with breakthrough outcomes are mainly carried out abroad and in the long run and groups of research that is “in line with progress” can continuously “win” funding, but it is difficult to build a strong research group and it is difficult to have good publications in the future, Tran Dinh Phong (2017) Moreover, the financial management mechanism for basic research by the Fund and financial management at the entity is not consistent with the regulations on budget management under the effective Law on State Budget since 2017, Nguyen Quang Thanh (2021) The problem is to clarify the concept of quality of basic research funding in order to have a general view of the quality of funding from the funding organizations (Science Fund)) Secondly, there is a gap on criteria to assess the quality of basic research funding: the competitive context in funding today takes place all over the world and in Vietnam in particular, this competition is fierce, too The competitive selection process for funding has severely impacted the division of research majors, if the criteria for international publication are considered to be representative of the output quality of postfunding basic research, the groups, sectors with strong international publication will dominate the competition for funding, while "special" industry faces difficult to publish or it takes a longer time 36 months of new funding with limited availability during funding competition Therefore, the development of criteria to assess the quality of funding to ensure its suitability with current conditions in Vietnam is still limited, Tran Dinh Phong (2017) Although, the funding organizations have aimed to improve the quality of funding by providing a list of prestigious international and national journals as a measure of input and output assessment of research However, the scientific community assess that the current criteria is leaning towards three characteristics (1) in favor of international publication, (2) in favor of the application of international standards (through the list of journals developed by the fund) and (3) in favor of modern and contemporary science This inadvertently causes unfairness for some industries, especially those that exploit research objects with a specific nature only in Vietnam, Tran Trong Duong (2017) On the other hand, international publication should still be a hard standard in assessing basic research projects, but recently in the process of assessment and acceptance of the topic, the phenomenon of "separating" works has appeared into acceptance test It shows that in a short period of time, Vietnam can achieve the target of growth in the number of publications, but the quality of publications will hardly be improved, Hoang Anh Tuan (2018) Thirdly, the interaction relationship in funding is still fragmentary, from the perspective of the recipients, many entities are still passive, not closely related to the research groups' basic research, Minh Trang (2018) From the perspective of the funding organizations, there is currently a lack of documents regulating quality standards in basic research funding, and funding methods are not diversified, funding is not reasonable for research personnel, and progress is slow, and fail to be active in allocating funding for basic research, Thanh Nhan (2018)) In the context of public funding for basic research in Vietnam, the funding organization faces difficulties in funding, as well as the need to build a suitable scientific research environment for scientists in Vietnam Therefore, how to ensure the best quality of basic research funding, as well as optimally use funding from the state budget to achieve the set goals is a matter of concern to Vietnam today Therefore, in order to increase the efficiency of research funding management and help scientists plan research explicitly in terms of both theory and practice on the quality of research funding, the introduction of evaluation criteria and identification of factors affecting the quality of basic research funding are necessary as a basis for assessing the quality of basic research funding For the above reasons, the author has chosen the topic of "Research on the current situation and proposal for solutions to improve the basic research funding quality in the fields of natural science and engineering in Vietnam" to research and find appropriate measures to improve the quality of basic research funding in the future Research objectives General objectives: The thesis proposes a method to measure and evaluate the quality of basic research funding, thereby evaluating the status and proposing some solutions to improve the quality of basic research funding in natural sciences and engineering in Vietnam Specific research objectives: On the basis of the general objective, the specific research objectives are detailed as follows: - Clarify the concept of basic research funding quality - Identify approaches and develop criteria for evaluating the quality of basic research funding - Determine the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding in accordance with the funding context in Vietnam - Analyze and evaluate the current status of the quality of basic research funding in the field of S&T as well as consider the impact of factors on the quality of basic research funding in the field of S&T in Vietnam - Propose recommendations to improve the quality of basic research funding in the field of S&T in Vietnam Research subject and scope 3.1 Research subject Quality of research and development funding in the field of Science and Technology in Vietnam 3.2 Research scope - In terms of content: The research approaches the content of the quality of basic research funding and the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding from the theoretical perspectives of public funding The PhD student chooses public funding in basic research as the specificity of basic research is that the type of research does not immediately generate profits like applied research, so it cannot attract investment from businesses as well as other funding sources, but basic research plays an important role in contributing new knowledge to humanity, deciding the step forward in social awareness in the process of human development, especially basic research participates in training high quality human resources for human resources society to accelerate the process of industrialization and modernization of the country Therefore, governments of other countries always give priority to spending funds from the state budget to finance the development of basic research - In terms of space: Quality of research funding for basic research program in the field of Science and Technology at the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development in Vietnam - In terms of time: Research data focused on exploiting and surveying to serve the thesis research was synthesized and statistic in 2009-2019 period Research questions From the established research objectives, the main research questions include: (1) What is the content of basic research funding quality?? (2) What are the appropriate criteria for evaluating the quality of basic research funding? (3) The quality of research and development funding in the S&T field is affected by which factors? (4) What is the current status of the quality of research and development funding in the field of Science and Technology in Vietnam?? (5) What solutions should be proposed to improve the quality of research and development funding in the field of Science and Technology in the future? New contributions of the thesis The research results of the topic have both theoretical and practical significance, including the following: In terms of theory: Firstly, the research has clarified the concept of basic research funding quality as the degree of satisfaction of basic research funding objectives within the range of publicly accepted standards This concept is consistent with the theoretical approach to quality defined by mission and objectives (Bogue, 1992) Previous studies either mentioned very little, or mentioned the quality of basic research funding, but did not mention the overall factors of the quality of basic research funding They only mentioned funding efficiency or effectiveness or funding results from a separate perspective The nature of the concept of funding quality has suggested that the further research can search and consider more on the need to develop criteria to evaluate the quality of basic research funding as well as the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding in the context of Vietnam Secondly, the author has identified basic criteria for evaluating the quality of research funding, including: relevancy, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, results, and impacts These criteria are measured by 24 scales of CFA test Thirdly, the author has identified factors (funding organization, host organization and scientist) and the degree of influence of each factor on the quality of research and development funding in the field of Science and Technology, in which funding organization factor has the strongest impact However, when the author added "type of research" as an observation variable, the author has specifically assessed the impact of each factor on the quality of research funding in the field of science and technology in particular: with the type of research In purely theoretical studies, the scientist factor has the largest impact, but with the type of research with experimental factors, funding organization factor has the largest impact In terms of practice: Firstly, research results have shown the current status of research funding quality in the field of Science and Technology in Vietnam in the period 2009-2019 Through the number of criteria used to evaluate the status of basic research funding quality in this field, the results show that the criterion of "sustainability" is the highest rated with an average score of 4.18/5 points The results confirm the role of basic research in the field of science and technology as a premise for other types of research and increase knowledge for mankind, as a basis for sustainable socio-economic development Secondly, based on the results of evaluating the current situation of basic research funding quality and through the results of testing the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding, the research has proposed a number of solutions to improve the quality of basic research funding in the context of basic research funding in Vietnam Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusion, list of references and appendices, the structure of the thesis consists of the following chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review Chapter 2: Rationale for the quality of basic research funding Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Findings and discussion Chapter 5: Recommendations for solutions to improve the quality of basic research funding in the field of Science and Technology in Vietnam CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Research context characteristics of basic research funding quality Through the characteristics of the research context on the quality of basic research funding of countries and scientists around the world, it shows that countries and scientists around the world are actively moving towards the content of the quality of basic research funding in one way or another from different angles From previous studies as well as practical implementation lessons in countries, it is shown that the quality of basic research funding can be expressed through many different approaches, expressed through many forms such as the quality of science and technology programs, the quality of post-funding research results, the quality of coordination among stakeholders in the implementation of research grants or through the values that this activity contributes to society festival Therefore, up to now, there has not been a concept that represents the generalization of the nature of the phrase "quality of basic research funding" Therefore, it is necessary to have studies on the nature of the quality of basic research funding in order to have a scientific basis to determine the appropriate evaluation criteria, or factors affecting the quality of basic research funding in context of basic research funding in Vietnam recently 1.2 Research related to measuring the quality of basic research funding - Measuring the quality of basic research funding through multiple criteria - Regarding effectiveness and efficiency criteria in basic research funding - Regarding funding impact, the permanence of funding - Regarding funding results 1.3 Research related to factors affecting the quality of basic research funding Funding organization: Otto Auranen (2007; Martin et al (1996) Host organization: Youngsoo Ryu et al (2016) Scientist: Fiona Wood (1990); Creswell (1985); Grayson et al (1998); Finkelstein MJ (1984) An Azad and Seyyed (2007); TH Davenport.TH and De Long DW (1998); Lee et al (2011); Cheng MY et al (2010); Lin CCL et al (2007); Creswell (1985); Fiona Wood (1990); Grayson (1998) and Dundar and Lewis (1998); Studies show that there is a difference in the organization of research between these types (theoretical and experimental) and therefore there are clear differences between the characteristics of research findings 1.4 Research gap Firstly, it is necessary to clarify the content of the concept of quality of basic research funding used in the thesis Secondly, it is necessary to develop criteria to evaluate the quality of basic research funding Thirdly, examine the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding funding in the field of science and technology in Vietnam Fourthly, approach theoretically and apply methodologies to evaluate the quality of basic research funding in the context of funding in Vietnam In short, previous researches have shown that there are many gaps that need to be mentioned in order to achieve the general and specific objectives such as research methodology, measuring the quality of basic research fundin, considering the impact of factors affecting the quality of basic research funding as well as using research methods suitable to the research objectives of the topic These contents are mentioned in Chapter 2, the research methodology with two contents is the methodology for developing criteria for evaluating the quality of funding and the research method applied to the topic CHAPTER THEORETICAL BASIS ON QUALITY OF BASIC RESEARCH FUNDING 2.1 The basic concepts 2.1.1 The concept of basic research According to the concept of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), basic research is defined as follows: “Basic research is experimental or theoretical work carried out mainly to acquire new knowledge of the fundamental basis of observable phenomena and events, and its applicability is not predictable” This concept was then applied to explain the wording in the Law on Science and Technology (2013), “Basic research is a research activity aimed at discovering the nature and laws of things, natural and social phenomena and thinking.” 2.1.2 The concept of quality of basic research + The quality of basic research is reflected in the quality of scientific publications + The quality of research is reflected in the quality of training Therefore, within the scope of the thesis, when it comes to the quality of outputs after basic research funding from the perspective of research training products, this can stop at the scope of reflecting research capacity, research level of scientists when participating in basic research 2.1.3 Public funding for basic research and funding methods - There are many methods of basic research funding In fact, there are currently many funding methods in scientific research and in different country the funding goals are different However, in today's basic research, most countries are using the fourth method with a vertically integrated model, where there is a "umbrella organization" that is elected as the representative of the state and the entire budget is allocated through this organization, the most popular model today is known as the Science Fund model and basic research funding is conducted competitively through the review of research topics/projects of individuals and scientific organizations 2.2 Quality of basic research funding 2.2.1 Concept of quality of basic research funding Zhiguang and Bingzheng (2006); Jos and Venniker (2001); Thomas Zacharewicz et al (2018); Bogue (1992) According to the authors, “quality is conformance to mission statements and the achievement of goals within generally accepted standards” In this view, quality presents many advantages, quality can be regulated during the operation of the funding organization Within the research scope of the thesis, the concept that “quality of basic research funding is the conformity with the mission statement and the achievement of the basic research funding objective within the scope of publicly accepted standards.” "used as a concept throughout the thesis research process 11 increasing the scientist's H-index Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) (Source: By the author) S/ N Expected scale and origin of the “efficiency” scale Scale Scale origin Funding Efficiency Indicator Funding contract signing rate Failed acceptance rate Postgraduate training rate Rate of international, national publications, conferences Funding rate of funding Through the number of funding/year Expressed through published productivity Funding Efficiency: The rationality of the method of determining funding from: calling for funding, assessing input, signing contracts, assessing and taking over and liquidating the final settlement of basic reasearch projects Applying with adjustment of indicators of John B Gilmour (2007) Glaser et al (2007) Hansen (2010) Mai Trong Nhuan et al (2019) Applying with adjustment of scale of Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) Applying with adjustment of Regulatory criteria for the quality of international scale of publication reduce the rate of research proposals Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) Nguyen Hong Thang (2010) Applying with adjustment of Funded basic reseach helps me maintain the frequency scale of of scientific publications in international journals Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) (Source: By the author) S/ N Expected scale and origin of the “sustainability” scale Scale The title of further research Increase human knowledge As a basis for socio-economic development S/ N TT Scale origin Developed from the scale of Pham Hong Thang (2010) Developed from the scale of Pham Hong Thang (2010) (Source: By the author) Expected scale and origin of the “post-funding outcomes”” scale Scale Scale origin Evaluation results of the acceptance board Time to complete the project according to the progress Products achieved versus subscription Products published internationally compared to registered Contributing to graduate training NAFOSTED, Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) Mai Trong Nhuan et al (2019) (Source: By the author) Expected scale and origin of the “impact” scale Scale Scale origin Recommended by the author Basic research results have positively changed based on the Impact of scale Vietnam's basic research funding policies Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) 12 Recommended by the author Increas the quality of international publication made in based on the Impact of scale Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) Vietnam Nguyen Hong Thang (2010) Create opportunities to connect domestic and foreign Recommended by the author research institutions, domestic and foreign scientific based on the Impact of scale research groups Create a convenient research Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) environment for customers in Vietnam Raise awareness about basic research and attract a large Recommended by the author number of scientists to participate in activities The proposed basic research Basic research funding helps to improve the quality of is based on the Impact of postgraduate training in Vietnam Attract customers to scale participate in domestic research projects Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh (2015) Positive impact on economic and social development Recommended by the author (especially Vietnam's ranking indexes) (Nguồn: Tổng hợp nghiên cứu NCS) 2.2.3 Factors affecting the quality of basic research funding Firstly: Stakeholder theory Secondly: RBM- Results Based Management: Funding organization; Host organization; Scientist - Control variable Factor Summary of scale to evaluate factors affecting quality basic research funding as proposed by the thesis Scale Funding Tools Funding method Funding organizatio n Policies, regulations, procedures, etc Program, Scientific Council, reviewer, funding, etc - Indicators Funding - Degree of coordination in Process: (Input, funding activities of related Output, Process) parties Funding costs Host organizatio n Observed variables Infrastructure - Indicators - Level and progress of the allocation and use of funds by stakeholders - The qualifications of scientist, Source Langfeldt (2001); Sapira Kuhlman (2003); Laudel (2006); Heinze (2008) Jacob (2013); Heinze (2008), Hick Diana (2012); Cheng et al (2009) Laudel (2006); Langfeldt (2001); Shapira.P S Kuhlmann (2003); Heinze (2008); Hicks Diana (2012) Jacob (2013); Chalmers et al (2014); Benedetto Lepori et al (2018) Lee et al (2011) and Sodergaard (2007) Lin et al (2007), Creswell (1985); Dundar and Lewis (1998); Cheng et al (2009); Sondergaard (2007), Niland (1998) 13 - Management process system, preferential policies of the entity - Possibility of scientific publication Research - Autonomy in research; capacity - Necessary skills for basic research According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education of Vietnam, after graduate, Level the qualifications include PhD, academic titles with Associate Professor, Professor - Theory - Practic Type of research - Both theoretical and (theoretical, practical or purely experimental, theoretical basic research etc and application-oriented basic research Management system Scientist Control variable 2.3 Research model and hypothesis 2.3.1 Research models Cheng et al (2009) Lin et al (2007); Sondergaard (2007) Azad and Seyyed (2007); Davenport and De Long (1998); Lee et al (2011); MY Cheng et al (2010); Lin et al (2007); Al Qudhi et al (2017) Creswell (1985); Grayson (1998) DR Lewis (1998) (Source: By the author) Relevancy FUNDING ORGANIZATION Effectiveness H1 HOST ORGANIZATION H2 Efficiency QUALITY OF BASIC RESEARCH FUNDING Impact H3 Sustainability SCIENTIST Post-funding results Type of research Proposed research model (Source: By the author) 2.3.2 Research hypothesis Figure 2.1 shows the influence of factors on the quality of basic research funding, the specific research hypotheses are as follows: * Hypothesis H1: The funding organization has a positive impact on the quality of Loại hình nghiên cứu 14 basic research funding * Hypothesis H2: Host organization has a positive impact on the quality of basic research funding * Hypothesis H3: Good scientist/research team will support to improve the quality of basic research funding Sub-conclusion of chapter The content of Chapter has provided the theoretical basis for the quality of basic research funding as well as the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding From the summary of the views of the previous authors, the research analyzes and clarifies the connotation of the quality of basic research funding Next, the research presents the construction of a scale to evaluate the quality of basic research funding as well as the factors affecting the quality of basic research funding, research models and hypotheses The content of Chapter serves as a basis for Chapter to develop a research process and apply appropriate research methods to carry out the next steps 3.1 Research process CHAPTER MEHODOLOGY Step Identify the research problem and review the literature: Related theories Results of previous research Step In-depth interviews and research model development Step Collect data: Test survey and edit the questionnaire Formal survey and summary of research data Step Analyze Research data Step Discuss research findings and prepare reports Research process 3.2 Research Methods 3.2.1 Data collection method 3.2.2 Data processing method + Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); (Source: NCS Proposal) 15 + Reliability analysis by Cronbach'Alpha coefficient + Exploratory factor analysis EFA + Confirmatory factor analysis CFA + Bibliometrics In addition, in the process of conducting research, the thesis also uses tools such as Excel, Word, IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 software to perform operations in the thesis such as calculations, comments and descriptive statistics Sub-conclusion of chapter Chapter also provided the research method that used by the thesis The first content in Chapter deals with the research process The next content of chapter presents the research methods used in the process of implementing the thesis The content presented in chapter shows that the research is completely guaranteed as the data collected is reliable and comprehensive CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Objectives of funding basic research in the field of natural sciences and engineering for the 2009 - 2019 period Phase (from 2009 to 2015), national level funding for basic research is carried out according to the Fund model according to Decree 122/2009/ND-CP Phase (from 2016 until now), At this phase, the NAFOSTED Foundation defines the objectives of funding basic research in the field of Science and Technology as follows: 4.2 Results of testing the basic research funding quality evaluation scale Summary of basic research funding quality in the field natural science and engineering in Vietnam Evaluation Criteria Relevancy of funding quality Post-funding results Funding effectiveness Funding impact Funding efficiency Sustainability Total Average score 3.34 3.66 3.98 4.03 4.08 4.18 3.88 Deviation 0.5901 0.5948 0.579 0.58594 0.55599 0.63925 0.5908 (Source: By the author) The evaluation results show that the total score for assessing the current status of research funding quality in the field of Science and Technology, funded by the National Fund for Science and Technology Development in Vietnam, is 3.88/5 points Thus, compared to a 5-point scale, this is a pretty good score for the current state of the quality of research funding in the field of science and technology funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development Thus, through criteria evaluated by 538 scientists, it shows that the average value 16 of the quality of the organization performing basic research funding in the field of Science and Technology in Vietnam is currently 3.88/5 points (considered as good) In which, the best is shown in the criterion of Sustainability of basic research funding with an average value of 4.18/5 points The rest of the values are accepted with quite good results with the average score of over 3.0 points 4.3 Results of evaluation of the status of basic research funding in the field of natural science and engineering in Vietnam from 2009 to 2019 Summary of the quality of basic research funding in the field natural science and engineering in Vietnam Evaluation Criteria Relevancy of funding quality Post-funding results Effectiveness Impact Efficiency Sustainability Total Average score 3.34 3.66 3.98 4.03 4.08 4.18 3.88 Deviation 0.5901 0.5948 0.579 0.58594 0.55599 0.63925 0.5908 (Source: By the author) The evaluation results show that the total score for evaluating the current status of research funding quality in the field of Science and Technology, funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development in Vietnam, is 3.88/5 points Thus, compared to a 5-point scale, this is a good score for the current state of the quality of research funding in the field of science and technology funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development 4.4 Discussion on research funding 4.4.1 Discussion on development of measuring scale The trend of improving the quality of basic research funding is increasingly becoming a concern of funding countries and organizations Therefore, it is necessary for each country to develop a set of criteria to evaluate the quality of basic research funding in accordance with the characteristics of each country's situation in order to serve the management and development of basic research funding In Vietnam, no standards have been promulgated and applied to measure the quality of research funding, so developing a set of evaluation criteria has practical and theoretical significance in scientific management in the context of international integration The scale set inherits many evaluation criteria that have been used in the world and Vietnam, criteria were summarized and applied by the author with proper adjustments to suit the conditions of Vietnam The set of criteria using the Likert scale is an objective, scientific, and quantifiable form of scale From the set of criteria, it is possible to build a funding process information system for management 4.4.2 Results of evaluation the status of the quality of basic research funding in the fields of natural science and engineering in Vietnam In the criterion of relevancy: with the evaluation of the scientist, the policy to improve the quality of research and development funding and the ability to meet the 17 requirements of improving the quality of basic research is appropriate, but to proceed with the implementation of the objectives of improving the quality of basic research funding it is necessary to consider the appropriateness of the fee model (not relevant) and the ability to meet the funding compared to the needs of conducting research is not really appropriate It is necessary to have specific roadmaps associated with each goal in each phase in order to improve the quality of basic research funding in the field of science and technology in Vietnam In the criterion of funding effectiveness: Survey results from scientist opinions on the effectiveness of basic research funding show that although there are many positive results about basic research funding, evaluation each stage shows that in the coming time, in order to increase the effectiveness of basic research funding in the field of Science and Technology, it is still necessary to pay attention to the following aspects: - In the input review process, it is necessary to pay more attention to the feedback on the results after receiving the application, the information should be publicly and transparently displayed on the website of the funding organization - In the process of funding management, there should be more specific guidance on information in the contract implementation process, and more specific instructions on procedures related to bidding for chemicals, materials Funding organization should issue a Handbook to implement the basic research project as soon as possible so that the scientists can actively grasp the process of implementing the project - In the process of evaluating the output, it is necessary to perform the procedure for liquidation and finalization for the project faster - In the overall evaluation of funding effectiveness, it is necessary to pay attention to the act of separation to separate research groups, there should be more incentives to promote strong research groups, and funding organizations need to pay more attention to topics with empirical research, coordinate with research organizations to consider the connection between investment technology and domestic and foreign research entities to have better quality research in Vietnam With the performance of funding for basic research not only reflecting the frequency of participation of research entities, the proportion of scientists included in the topics and research works, but it also reflecting the rate of applications, percentage of quality research groups annually However, in order to improve the efficiency of funding, the following aspects still need to be kept in mind: - There should be a balance between the funding ratio between regions, and policies to promote research institutions that are not in central areas such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City - There should be a policy to balance the funding ratio between Research institutes and universities, as research policies are associated with the facilities of the research entities The university has advantages in terms of postgraduate training, while research institutes have advantages in research environment Therefore, it is necessary to have policies to ensure the characteristics of these entities in developing criteria for evaluating output results in funding - The rate of funding in basics research in Vietnam is high compared to other countries in the world (the average funding rate in European Funds is 20%, the US is 18 less than 20% and Belgium is 18%) Therefore, in the future, in order to improve the quality of basic funding, it is necessary to have a policy to classify funding organization to ensure the funding rate for each type of subject towards each specific goal of the funding organization In order to improve the quality of post-funding results in the future, it is necessary to focus on the following aspects: - Further improve the toolkit of evaluation criteria for acceptance of basic research topics, promulgating regulations on conversion, reference, evaluation principles as well as notes in the process of evaluation and acceptance of the topic - Develop a more detailed study plan and financial year to control (when evaluating periodically); There should be more rigorous periodic evalutaion, in case the risk, stop funding in time - There should be specific regulations for post-graduate training product conditions in basic research topics, or there should be similar conversion products if the topic has been registered but cannot be implemented Therefore, in the future, in order to improve the impact of funding in basic research, it is necessary to pay attention to the following aspect: Firstly, the funding organization should develop specific goals for each subject (development of young research groups, development of strong research groups or annual basic research development).); Secondly, the funding organization should have recommendations on quality standards specified in the funding process such as research team quality standards, host organization quality standards, basic research quality standards and academic integrity or research ethics Thirdly, the funding organization should focus on propaganda, building an information database on research entities and research groups, and establishing information connection channels during the research process to help Vietnamese researchers have quick and convenient access to their research activities 4.4.3 Results of linear regression of factors affecting the quality of basic research funding Regression results of factors affecting the quality of basic research funding Factor Block factor Funding organization Host organization Scientist Unnormalized Beta coefficient B Deviation 2.028 112 236 039 100 021 155 028 4.4.4 Research hypothesis test results Normalized Beta coefficient B t Sig VIF 18.121 000 287 6.096 000 1.834 198 4.692 000 1.466 237 5.612 000 1.479 Research hypothesis test results S/N Hypothesis Level of impact Conclusion Hypothesis H1: The funding organization has a positive impact on the quality of the basic research 287 Accept