Think tank eyes bigger advisory role

An organization with six decades of history and a diverse brain trust of experts charged with developing solutions to public policy challenges is reforming itself in an effort to meet China’s most pressing needs.

The Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have served as an advanced national think tank for the Chinese government on major science and technology issues. Now they are working to better integrate their resources and intelligence, build their brand and further influence public policy.

"Through six decades, the Academic Divisions have made considerable contributions to China’s science and technology development by providing counseling to the decision-makers," said Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "In the future, we will further develop the Academic Divisions to promote their role in scientific research and education."

The elite 724 CAS members, who have received the highest academic accolades in the fields of science and technology and a lifelong title conferred by the State, have laid the foundation for the development of modern science and technology in China.

They have been instrumental in the development of large government-funded projects such as satellites and the atomic bomb, the building of the country’s science and technology award system, the establishment of the National Natural Science Foundation of China — a foundation that granted some 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) to nearly 60,000 projects last year — and the development of the National High-Tech R&D Program of China, under which more than 120,000 academic papers and 8,000 patents have been produced.

However, unlike researchers working for major strategic consulting firms like the Rand Corporation, CAS members are not full-time employees of the CAS Academic Divisions. After being selected as CAS members, the scientists continue to carry out scientific research at their institutes or universities, while making proposals to government decision-makers.

"People usually ask me how to let the Academic Divisions play a bigger role in producing innovative scientific results and improve education quality. It is indeed a difficult issue because the more than 700 CAS members are actually scattered in different research institutes that are independent of the Academic Divisions, or even of the Chinese Academy of Sciences," Bai said.

The CAS is composed of three pillars: more than 100 research institutes nationwide that have more than 68,000 employees, three universities that have 52,000 students and the Academic Divisions. Among the CAS members, 298 work for institutes affiliated with the academy, while others are scattered nationwide.

"The three pillars have been established since the 1950s, but the fusion between each independent pillar was not enough. As a result, our current reform is aimed at promoting integration," Bai said.

The reform started in August 2013, when CAS established four committees with different functions: the Committee for Academic Affairs, the Committee for Education Coordination, the Committee for Coordination of Strategic Studies and the Committee for Strategy Development.

Before the reforms, the research work of more than 100 CAS institutes was divided into four fragmented sections, all with independent research resources and development plans, which hindered interdisciplinary cooperation among different sections.

Since the Committee for Academic Affairs was established, CAS members are participating more widely in the decision-making processes on major technology issues.

CAS members also are playing a more significant role in education, such as giving lectures to undergraduate students at the three CAS-affiliated universities.

"We are also planning to establish a strategic advisory academy to integrate the intelligence resources specialized in key subjects such as environment, ecology and information technology," Bai said.

Mu Rongping, director of the Center for Innovation and Development of CAS, told Beijing newspaper Guangming Daily that being a national strategic advisory body is not about unceremoniously hiring some experts to write reports.

We need to "develop our own networks, build our own brand and, most important, produce consultation papers of real importance," Mu said.

"These development directions are all clearly reflected in the current reform — to build a high-quality think tank, to develop our own academic brand, and to give constructive advice on major scientific issues so as to influence related policies," he said.