“The reorganisation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is reinforcing the freedom and independence of research”, the Minister for Innovation and Technology said in an interview for Hungarian daily Magyar Hírlap.

In the interview published on Thursday, László Palkovics declared that the Government’s goal with the reorganisation is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the research institute network. “The state funding provided for research must achieve a tangible return for the Hungarian economy and for Hungarian society; taxpayers’ money must be utilised in the interests of the community”, he stressed.

According to the Minister, the old research institute system is inefficient, and as a result the system and its financing must be improved. “An additional 32 billion forints (EUR 99.2 million) will be available for research and development and innovation in the 2020 budget, and the conditions will be created for the uniform, performance-based distribution of resources”, he added.

The Minister said than in his opinion the creation of the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) that is replacing the existing model will also assist the realisation of this goal. “The organisation will be receiving its own, separate budget, and its activities will not be decided by the Government, but by a body that is made up in the most part of scientists”, he said. Mr. Palkovics explained that half of the network’s 12-person board will be nominated by the Government and half by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), and they will be looking for a leader who is acceptable to both parties. “The required resources are available, and their application will be decided by the supervisory body”, he added.

The ELKH’s organisation will come into being on 1 August, meaning it will have a month until then to take over the research institutes from the Academy. The institutes will first be screened, following which decisions on the conditions for their practical operation, the principles of financing and the evaluation of the institution system will made by the end of this year. In addition, the Hungarian Science Policy Council will also be established with representatives of universities and enterprises, which will be tasked with developing Hungary’s research & development and innovation strategy, and in addition to other issues relating to science, a decision will also be made with relation to Hungary’s research & development and innovation strategy.

In the interview, the Minister said that the ELKH will also have the power to decide on the closure of research institutes, but all research institutes will be transferred to the new organisation in unchanged form. He also refuted opinions according to which the Government does not regard social sciences as important. “Fields of science relating to the Hungarian people, music, literature, language and history will all have a place in the new institutional network, but there may be a need for optimisation”, he said. The Minister also stressed that the reorganisation does not mean the nationalisation of the Academy’s assets, but the MTA originally received them to help operate the research institute network, meaning they too must be transferred to the new institutional system.

“The Academy’s duties and spheres of competence will not change; the body will continue to give advice and provide guidelines with relation to social issues, and this is a role that it has always performed through its members, not via the research institute system”, Mr. Palkovics emphasised.

(MTI)