Lin Zeyan & Liu Lihui

Standards for identifying sci-tech innovation teams are a significant integral part of management system of sci-tech innovation teams. Establishment of scientific standards system facilitates standardization of identification, selection, sponsoring, guidance and construction of sci-tech innovation teams. As the basic operational mechanism for ensuring efficient implementation of sci-tech innovation activities and a significant measure for managing sci-tech innovation, it is not only related to the evaluation of individual sci-tech innovation teams, but is also connected with the construction of sci-tech teams and overall enhancement of national sci-tech innovation level. In recent years, in line with the trend of sci-tech development, teams' work-based scientific innovation has become the mainstream of sci-tech research in China and large sci-tech teams have taken shape with notable achievements. Sci-tech oriented construction of sci-tech innovation teams of various types is going ahead. However, the evaluation, identification and cultivation of sci-tech innovation teams, is basically empirical. Therefore, exploration of features, management mechanism and identification criteria are of theoretical and practical significance. It is necessary to understand the trend of transition from individual innovation to teams' innovation, formulate criteria for identifying sci-tech innovation teams through positive study, and put forward policies and recommendations with respect to identification, establishment, management and training of sci-tech innovation teams.

I. Theoretical Definition and Typical Features of Sci-tech Innovation Teams

Sci-tech innovation teams can be defined as "a sci-tech research group consisting of teams' leaders and a certain number of sci-tech personnel, in which all members make creative achievements with independent intellectual rights through labor division and cooperation, under the guidance of common goals of sci-tech research and development." Taking the form of teams management, the typical features of sci-tech innovation teams can be summarized as (1) research orientation with distinctive features, definite research goals and good social reputation; (2) complementary advantages between members; (3) mutual respect and trust so that academic democracy and excellent academic ethics can be sufficiently upheld; (4) team leaders have excellent strategic vision and coordination capabilities, serving as the model for team members to facilitate harmonious and orderly operation of the whole teams; and (5) capable of producing innovation achievements on sustainable basis, particularly significant sci-tech achievements.

II. Analysis of Empirical Standard for Identifying Sci-tech Innovation Teams in China

In the process of establishing sci-tech innovation teams by some domestic authoritative agencies, identification standards primarily focus on academic status of team leaders, innovation of research direction and innovative achievements (Table 1). Meanwhile, several special requirements are put forward according to the features of individual teams on the basis of reinforcing the construction of independent innovation capabilities. For instance, the National Natural Science Foundation of China has outlined specific requirements for educational backgrounds and professional titles of team members, while the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have mapped out specific demands for research platforms of sci-tech innovation teams.

The experiences and practices of evaluation on sci-tech innovation teams by domestic scientific research management organs and agencies of various types can be summarized as two categories, firstly, achievement-based standards for identification, i.e. evaluation in terms of the achievements already obtained by sci-tech innovation teams, mainly including academic papers and works, patents of inventions, significant sci-tech projects participated in and awards of various types (including admission to talent support program); secondly, circumstantial standards for identification, i.e., research platforms and knowledge storage of sci-tech innovation teams, mainly including talent structure and knowledge structure of teams, scientific research infrastructure and experimental capabilities and research fees (fairly prevalent in some grass-roots sci-tech teams). The above two types of standards are both static objective standards.

However, from the perspective of process of sci-tech innovation activities, the above two static identification standards cannot meet the requirements of pre-selection of excellent sci-tech innovation teams. On the contrary, some institutions of higher learning and scientific research agencies often organize irrelevant research personnel lacking cooperation basis to form temporary sci-tech innovation teams to apply for funds necessary for static indicators, causing the absence of guarantee for follow-up scientific research activities. Therefore, in the process of pre-selection of excellent sci-tech innovation teams, dynamic factors shall also be considered in addition to inspection of such static indicators as existing innovative capabilities and basis of sci-tech teams, to make comprehensive judgments.

Table 1 Standards for Identifying Sci-tech Innovation Teams Outlined by Four Domestic Authoritative Agencies