The Management and Direction of Industrial Research in Iran: A Critical Assessment of the Existing Programs

Although tens of thousands of students are engaged in research activities and billions of Rials are spent on research projects, the country still imports basic technology and pays for ordinary technical know-how and research, which is the basic requirement for modernization, has not gained its rightful position. In most countries, politicians, for their political ends, have often manipulated research activities. Third world countries have their own problems. In this paper the shortcomings of research management and the waste of research money in developing countries, in mimicking the industrial world and duplicating their research work for propaganda purposes at the expense of ignoring the domestic needs are discussed. A line is drawn between pure and industrial research. Attention is drawn to the importance of the industrial research in national welfare. The significance of the “national share of technical innovations in global production of technology” is highlighted. The importance of setting a balance between pure and applied research is discussed. It is suggested that the country’s needs for technical know-how to be obtained through domestic research. Applied research projects should be conducted through legal research contracts.