Government-commissioned research projects: the untapped potential

The aim of this study is the analysis and development of proposals for realizing the potential of the government-commissioned research projects as a tool for goal setting and budget financing of research and development. The authors analyze the structure of public funding for fundamental and applied research in the forms of government-commissioned projects and Federal programs. The article provides analytical review of these two instruments of budget financing of scientific research, including their comparability in terms of size. The article presents an analysis of the managerial capacity of the government-commissioned projects in science and technology, and the ways of their implementation. It is concluded that both in fundamental and in applied science it is possible to expand the use of the government-commissioned projects to improve the efficiency of research. The authors show that improvement of financing and management tools along with the enhancing of research efficiency are the ways to unleash the potential of the government-commissioned research. The authors discuss the concrete steps to unlock the potential of the government-commissioned research, including expanding the range of entities eligible to bid for government-commissioned research projects, implementation of coordinated interagency and interdisciplinary government-commissioned research projects, introduction of the new operation model for the research infrastructure facilities, improving coordination of ongoing research. Recommendations for amendments to legal acts regulating scientifictechnical sphere are presented. These recommendations will help to realize the potential of government-commissioned research.