Recognizing the pivotal role of R&D, the Party and State have recently set a goal to increase R&D investment to 2% of GDP by 2030. This policy is not only appropriate but also timely.

However, to ensure that increased investment translates into tangible results, the first and most urgent task is to remove the barriers that are holding Vietnam’s R&D sector back from accelerating and aligning with global standards.

Removing financial barriers to empower scientists

A bold reform is needed so that financial mechanisms cease to be a "nightmare" and instead become a "lifeline" for scientists, freeing them from administrative burdens and allowing them to focus on creating knowledge, thus helping Vietnam’s R&D sector break free from stagnation and surge ahead.

The current financial management system for science and technology tasks is outdated, complicated, and lacks flexibility.

Instead of supporting scientists, it burdens them with excessive administrative procedures, wasting time and effort, reducing research effectiveness, and preventing them from dedicating themselves fully to research activities.

In a 300-page project proposal, more than two-thirds focus on financial details, requiring a breakdown of every expense, down to items like chemical scales, with pre-approved fixed prices.

The complex and bureaucratic settlement process forces many project leaders to "adapt" to meet disbursement requirements. However, such adaptations can be misinterpreted or exploited, posing risks during inspections and audits.

In reality, preparing and completing financial settlement documents has become a nightmare for many science officers, discouraging them from leading research projects.

To resolve this bottleneck, it is crucial to redesign financial mechanisms for R&D, granting real financial autonomy to research entities.

Funding should shift from short-term disbursements to medium and long-term allocations, ensuring stability and allowing research projects to be carried out continuously and sustainably.

Disbursement procedures must be simplified and standardized, moving towards a "post-audit" model as used by many advanced countries, rather than the rigid "pre-audit" model currently in place.

Vietnam should learn from successful models like South Korea’s National Research Foundation and Europe’s ERC fund to build a financial system that is both transparent and supportive of innovation.

Empowering businesses as key players in the R&D ecosystem

The weak role of businesses in the national R&D system is a major barrier that must be urgently addressed. Only when enterprises, especially private ones, become the "main players" in R&D can Vietnam foster a dynamic and resilient innovation ecosystem capable of keeping pace with global trends.

Currently, Vietnamese enterprises invest very little in R&D, spending only about 1.6% of their annual revenue on R&D activities - significantly lower than neighboring countries like the Philippines (3.6%) and Malaysia (2.6%). Most R&D activities are negligible, except for a few large corporations or emerging IT companies.

Vietnamese enterprises also maintain weak links with research institutes and universities, and these partnerships remain ineffective.

Policies to encourage and promote R&D activities are often superficial, existing mostly on paper, and are bogged down by cumbersome procedures.

Financial mechanisms and investment procedures for R&D are complex, high-risk, and unattractive to businesses. The current legal framework fails to offer strong incentives or a flexible and transparent environment to encourage private sector investment in R&D.

As a result, even financially capable companies seeking technological innovation are hesitant to engage in domestic R&D activities, often opting to purchase technologies from abroad instead.

To position businesses at the heart of the R&D ecosystem, policies must be detailed, targeted, and address the specific barriers faced by different types of enterprises.

First, strategic support must be given to select "technology eagles" with the potential to lead globally, providing them with special incentives such as tax breaks, direct financial support for high-tech projects, relaxed regulations, and assistance in securing high-quality human resources.

Second, restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) towards streamlined, efficient operations focused on innovation is crucial. Merging SOEs operating in the same sectors into larger corporations will build the financial, human, and infrastructural strength necessary for substantial R&D investment.

SOEs must compete on a level playing field with private firms and be subject to the same innovation and efficiency pressures.

Third, strong tax incentives should be introduced for R&D investments, covering both basic and applied research. Preferential credit policies, loan guarantees, and state co-funding programs for R&D projects must be implemented.

Moreover, policies must be clear, consistent, and practically applicable. Complex regulations only confuse small and medium enterprises, discouraging them from participating.

Building strong research universities and connecting global intellectual resources

Currently, R&D activities at universities in Vietnam are mainly auxiliary to teaching, aimed at achieving international publications and improving rankings, rather than addressing real-world production and societal needs. With limited investment, expecting research outputs comparable to developed countries is unrealistic.

Inadequate policies for training and utilizing highly skilled personnel have also eroded Vietnam's university system’s ability to nurture research talent, once a key strength in developed nations.

In many countries, doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers not only enjoy free tuition but also earn salaries by participating in research projects.

This "learning by doing" model maximizes the potential of young, passionate researchers and creates an elite training environment under the guidance of top scientists.

In contrast, Vietnamese doctoral candidates often bear tuition costs themselves and have limited opportunities for meaningful research involvement. Consequently, doctoral training is fragmented, shallow, and of low quality.

Furthermore, Vietnam currently lacks a formal postdoctoral training system - a crucial stage in developing a high-quality scientific workforce, providing young doctors with real-world research experience before becoming independent researchers.

Vietnam must restructure its higher education system to tightly integrate teaching, research, and practical application. Universities should shift from chasing publication numbers to delivering practical knowledge and solutions for businesses and society.

Lecturers must not only teach and conduct research but also directly solve real-world economic and social problems, becoming living examples for students.

Universities should evolve into "schools of life," where students gain practical experience and develop critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity - skills that cannot be acquired through textbooks alone.

Vietnam should heavily invest in building strong research universities connected to global intellectual networks, creating hubs for groundbreaking technologies and national or international innovations.

Streamlining and improving public R&D institutions

Vietnam’s public research institutes have sizable research staffs but underperform, often engaging in fragmented, small-scale projects. Investment remains modest, and organizational and management skills are limited.

Meanwhile, the public R&D system remains overly fragmented, with nearly 500 institutions at the central level and around 170 under provincial administrations.

It is essential to restructure the public R&D system by drastically reducing the number of institutions, merging smaller ones into larger research centers with sufficient resources and capabilities to conduct large-scale, high-impact projects.

Ideally, Vietnam should consolidate its public research system to fewer than 100 institutions, merging the 170 provincial-level science and technology organizations into the two national academies.

In conclusion, alongside increasing R&D investment, Vietnam must implement strategic reforms to remove barriers, create strong momentum, and open up vast opportunities for R&D to accelerate and align with global standards. Whether Vietnam makes bold moves to boost R&D today will define its global standing for decades to come.

Dr. Pham Manh Hung

Lecturer, University of Economics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi