Kazakhstan science: two in one

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At the end of 2016, there were changes in the scientific sphere of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In accordance with the government decree of November 7, 2016 No. 675, two joint-stock companies were merged: the National Center for State Scientific and Technical Expertise (NCSTE) and the National Center for Scientific and Technical Information (NCSTI). The main reason for the merger was the need to eliminate duplicate functions and reduce budgetary expenditures.

The structure and capabilities of the newly formed NTsGNTE make it possible to increase the efficiency of quality control of scientific projects. The new structure will use all the experience of the NCSTI in organizing and conducting state scientific and technical expertise of scientific, scientific, technical and innovative projects and programs, as well as in the selection of experts. The funds of the NCSTI are protected by documents of title, and in 2015 all databases were transferred to the Unified Information Platform. In the near future, it is planned to develop an external portal with remote access for all users.

The coordination of work on ensuring access of domestic organizations to foreign resources, such as Thomson Reuters, Springer and others, will be improved. For the first time in Kazakhstan, experts from the NCSTI began to conduct bibliometric studies of publications in these foreign resources. Research results are in demand today in the formation of national scientific councils, the awarding of academic degrees and the award of academic titles, the allocation of funding for research projects, the preparation of the annual National Science Report, and so on.

To further improve the quality of scientific and technical expertise of programs, projects and reports, it is proposed to change the requirements for the content of the application itself for conducting research work. It is supposed to introduce a mandatory patent study of the claimed work (in the field of applied research), which will ensure the determination of the level and development trends of the issue under study. In addition, it was decided to provide a marketing assessment, which will allow to select the target consumer of the final results of research and development.

Selection of experts is an important issue in the examination process. When developing an expert’s questionnaire, it is necessary to supplement the list of criteria and involve accredited scientists and specialists in the examination.

The basis for the information and analytical activities of the new Center will remain the state registration of scientific and technical programs and reports on scientific and technical activities, dissertations defended in the country, as well as providing access to foreign information resources and information support of government bodies. Work will continue on the introduction of a rating assessment of the scientific and technical activities of organizations of the republic, which began in 2015. The main information resource for expert activities will be a databank on organizational and technical support for expertise and evaluative and analytical support for mechanisms of state scientific and technical expertise.

New resources, which will be formed on the basis of two directions, will be used to create a database of reports, dissertations, research projects and programs that have passed the examination for duplication. An obligatory requirement will be the verification of application materials, R&D reports in the Antiplagiat system. Currently “Antiplagiat” is based on all available funds of the NCSTI. This will significantly avoid unnecessary duplication of scientific and technical progress.

The science-intensive economy is based on the scientific and technical sphere, which is impossible without a developed forecasting, programming and monitoring system for the implementation of adopted programs and projects. In the implementation of these functions, the assessment of specialists plays a significant role, provided that these assessments are obtained using specially developed procedures that ensure their reliability, objectivity and comparability. It is this function of organizing the process of managing the scientific and technical sphere that the country’s leadership entrusted to the JSC National Center for State Scientific and Technical Expe

rtise. Source: https://forbes.kz