Vietnam: What are the financial sources for scientific and technological activities of higher education institutions?

What are the financial sources for scientific and technological activities of higher education institutions in Vietnam?

According to Clause 1, Article 23 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP, the sources of financing for scientific and technological activities in higher education institutions include:

- State budget from science and technology sources, education and training sources, science and technology development investment sources and other non-business sources as prescribed;

- Lawful revenues outside state budget of higher education institutions include revenues from non-business activities, revenues from other services in support of training activities, business activities, community service, financial investment (if any) and other revenue sources as prescribed by law;

- Sponsorship, aids, donation of alumni or domestic and foreign organizations and individuals for scientific and technological activities.

What are the financial sources for scientific and technological activities of higher education institutions in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are the State budget expenditures for development of scientific and technological potentials in public higher education institutions in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 23 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP, State budget expenditures for development of scientific and technological potentials in public higher education institutions include:

- From science and technology sources:

+ Funding for scientific and technological research tasks, preferential policies for strong research groups in higher education institutions specified in Article 10 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP in accordance with regulations of the law on the state budget;

+ Financial support for publication of articles in prestigious international scientific journals;

+ Registration of inventions and utility solutions;

+ Support of the commercialization of scientific research and technology development results, technology incubation and innovation;

+ Supporting the development and improvement of the quality of scientific journals to join the regional and international citation system;

+ Spending on projects on strengthening research capacity, projects on maintenance, repair and repair of facilities and equipment;

+ Purchase of domestic and foreign scientific and technological information databases;

+ Paying bonuses equal to the lowest average salary for valuable scientific publications, equal to 03 times the average salary for 01 invention, equal to 02 times the average salary for 01 utility solution or 01 plant variety;

+ Spending on training and retraining of science and technology human resources and spending on other science and technology activities as prescribed;

- From science and technology development source: Spending on projects of centralized investment laboratories, specialized and interdisciplinary laboratories, projects on strengthening research capacity, projects on library digitization in higher education institutions and other scientific and technological development investment projects;

- From education and training source: grant of scholarships, covering tuition fees, expenses for postgraduate students who are lecturers or committed to be lecturers according to the State's doctoral training programs as prescribed;

- From other non-business sources: Investment in science and technology can be arranged in accordance with the law on state budget, the law on public investment and other relevant regulations.

The sponsorship and support items must not be duplicated with other grant and support items from the state budget.

What are the regulations on management, use and settlement of funds for performing science and technology tasks in higher education institutions in Vietnam?

According to Article 24 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP, the management, use and settlement of funds for performing science and technology tasks in higher education institutions are as follows:

- Funds for performing science and technology tasks in higher education institutions are provided from the state budget, partly from the state budget or not from the state budget.

- Scientific and technological tasks using the state budget

+ As for science and technology tasks funded with the state budget, the making of budget estimates, financial and asset management of science and technology tasks, and procedures for funding and payment of funds; management of science and technology contracts in accordance with the law on state budget, on science and technology, on management and use of public property and related regulations;

+ Scientific and technological tasks shall be performed according to the method of lump sum payment to the final product or the method of partial payment according to regulations;

+ As for scientific and technological tasks with a portion of funding outside the state budget, the higher education institution needs to clearly define the items that use funds from the state budget and outside the state budget to apply proper regulations.

The process of making cost estimates, making payment and settlement of expenditures using the state budget shall comply with Point a, Clause 2, Article 24 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP; the process of making cost estimates, making payments for non-state budget expenditures shall comply with Point b, Clause 3, Article 24 of Decree 109/2022/ND-CP.

- Scientific and technological tasks not using the state budget

+ A higher education institution may register to perform science and technology tasks at all levels from the science and technology development fund or from other lawful revenue sources of the institution when fully meeting the criteria of science and technology service tasks at the given registration level;

+ The process of making cost estimates, payment and settlement of funds for science and technology tasks that do not use the state budget shall comply with the financial regulations of the higher education institution.

The higher education institution is responsible for organizing the appraisal of the cost estimate of the task; if the required labor hours, equipment and materials to complete defined products or work activities have not been identified, the higher education institution shall decide and take responsibility for its decision.

- The final accounts of funding sources for performing scientific and technological tasks shall be prepared separately and fully reported to regulatory agencies as prescribed.