ali mohammad soltani

Supporting the basic research or using the results of the ones have been carried out in other countries (especially developed ones), as well as the manner and the extent of support in such a way that it has the greatest socio-economic effects, has always been one of the concerns of science policymakers. Although many of the researches conducted in Iran universities are basic ones, there is no independent institution to direct and support this type of researches. Given that the most relevant institution for supporting basic research in Iran is the National Science Foundation of Iran, the study of the issues related to supporting basic research in this institution has been considered to answer the research question. In this research, with the aim of achieving a policy model for the development and support of basic research in Iran, a qualitative research method with an exploratory strategy was used, and a semi-structured interview method was used to collect data. In addition, data triangulation and researcher triangulation have been used to ensure the validity of the research. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 13 experts, scientific policy and a number of university faculty members. Based on the analysis, the policy model for the development of basic research in Iran includes components such as determining the topic, variety of programs, evaluation system, incentive system and applicability of the research results. It is also suggested to consider a competitive grant system to support basic research; both the priorities of the policy maker and the preferences of the researchers should be considered in choosing and supporting the projects; and while enhancing the peer review system, new methods and technologies should be employed to evaluate projects, proposals, and researchers.

The 5-year plans of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not evaluable. Despite varied reasons for the non-implementation of plans, the way they were formulated played a significant role. Evaluability in policy formulation requires regular structuring of policy levels, clear objectives, measurable indicators, evaluable tasks, clear responsibilities, and a chapter dedicated to evaluation rules. With the abovementioned features, it will be possible to analyze the reality of the plan before approval, monitor the progress of the plan clause-by-clause during execution, and conduct an evaluation of the plan’s implementation thoroughly. Based on the evaluation process, in addition to generating transparent data from the execution, the evaluation of the responsible institutions, as public demand, will also be possible, and it will create a set of data that will provide a good guide for the following 5-year plans. This article offers specific recommendations for the evaluable formulation of the plans based on the policy evaluation literature and the experiences of the previous plans.

The present study attempts to introduce the role and function of the government in innovative capability building under the influence of the technological convergence flow as a foresight study and introduce the predictable futures of convergent technologies (NBIC). The approach of this research is qualitative and descriptive and has been used in morphological and scenario-building strategies. Thus, the most common mechanisms of public support in the process of innovation capability enhancement are identified and modeled; in parallel, the most important achievements of convergent technologies are derived from one of the valid models. Then, the intensity of the impacts of technological convergence on each aspect of governmental support is estimated through expert panel & morphological analysis techniques. Finally, by implementing the scenario-building technique, three alternative scenarios of the future (including minimal, moderate, and maximum scenarios) are designed. The results show that by utilizing intelligently the revolutionary capacities of convergent technologies, the governments can establish the desirable future of the role of governance in development of innovative capabilities, and this position can be evolved strongly compared to the current situation.

The present study attempts to introduce the role and function of the government in innovative capability building under the influence of the technological convergence flow as a foresight study and introduce the predictable futures of convergent technologies (NBIC). The approach of this research is qualitative and descriptive and has been used in morphological and scenario-building strategies. Thus, the most common mechanisms of public support in the process of innovation capability enhancement are identified and modeled; in parallel, the most important achievements of convergent technologies are derived from one of the valid models. Then, the intensity of the impacts of technological convergence on each aspect of governmental support is estimated through expert panel & morphological analysis techniques. Finally, by implementing the scenario-building technique, three alternative scenarios of the future (including minimal, moderate, and maximum scenarios) are designed. The results show that by utilizing intelligently the revolutionary capacities of convergent technologies, the governments can establish the desirable future of the role of governance in development of innovative capabilities, and this position can be evolved strongly compared to the current situation.