FCP "Personnel" - "more numerically, at a cheaper price"

The TRV-hobby continues to monitor the progress of the competitions of the federal target program “Scientific and Scientific and Pedagogical Personnel of Innovation Russia”.

This year is the second out of three years of mass competitions of three-year projects of the FCP "personnel", a program designed for 2009-2013. The results of the first year of work of the program, as well as the results of the first round of the main competitions (projects of scientific and educational centers (NOC), groups under the leadership of doctors of sciences, candidates of sciences and young candidates of sciences) of the second year, to put it mildly, were not too encouraging: the best scientific groups were not able to carry out the selection of the best scientific groups (see the articles “FCP“ Persona ”-smoothly on paper” in No. 40 in No. 40 TRV-hunger dated October 27, 2009 and FCP “Personnel”-from bad to worse ” in No. 52 of the TRV-hunger dated April 27, 2010). This was hindered by the rules for evaluating applications defined by the Federal Law of July 21, 2005 No. 94-ФЗ “On the Placement of Orders for the Supply of Goods, the Performation of Work, the Provision of Services for State and Municipal Autures”. In particular, the fact that the only substantial criterion for evaluating applications is “the quality of work and qualification of the participant of the competition” gives only 45 % of the overall evaluation of the application, while the price of the contract (in 2010) is 55 %.

Naturally, this leads to dumping and falling among the winners of the weak groups who requested little money. The ranking of applications only by the criterion “Quality of the work and qualification of the participant”, and not by the total score, shows that in the first stage of the Nutz 2009 contests - if we focus only on scientific viability - more than a third of the winners should be replaced, and in the first stage of 2010 - almost half of the winners (47 %). Competition at a price leads to the fact that efficient scientific groups are also forced to reduce the requested price of the contract. As a result, compared with last year at the beginning of this year, the average amount of financing of research under contracts has sharply decreased: if last year, about 12.4 million rubles won as part of the main round of the NOC contest. (4.1 million rubles per year), then in the first half of 2010 - approximately 8.7 million rubles. (2.9 million rubles per year). Given the fact that the NOC team, including graduate students and students, often has several dozen people, financing by Nutz - contrary to the original plan - the financing of “maintenance of pants” turns into pure water. The maximum amount of financing under a three -year Nutz contract established several years ago during the development of FCP "personnel", I recall, is 15 million rubles.

But the 94-FZ law is not the only misfortune at all. Competitive documentation is a bulk and inconvenient for applicants or experts, and the quality of the examination causes great complaints. Thus, the assessment of the application submitted by one team consistently in two rounds of competitions may differ in two or more times, and completely unexpected organizations fall among the winners of the competitions. For example, among the winners on the lot “Conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of nanotechnology and nanomaterials” (VIII turn, Lot No. 2, Technical Sciences) was ... the State University of Management, in which there was nothing close to nanotechnology. And not just among the winners - this university received this university according to the criterion "quality of work and qualification of the participant." 43.88 points (out of 45 possible) and fell into the top three by this indicator, backward from the winner by only 0.3 points. It is possible to evaluate the relevance of the application and meaningfulness of work in this direction by the name-“Strategy for the creation and development of scientific and educational centers of the Russian Federation in the field of nanotechnology and nanomaterials”. Maybe about 5 years ago it made sense to finance it, but now.

"And you, friends, no matter how you sit down ..."

This year, the Ministry of Education and Science had a chance to try to normally organize the competitions of the FCP "Personnel". In the spring, the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation (Rosnauka) and the Federal Agency for Education (Wedding) were abolished by decree of the President of Russia, and their functions were transferred to the ministry. However, the “rebooting” did not occur - the tender documentation for competitions conducted by former Rosneuku and Wedemption was unified, and the number of refusals in admission to the competition on formal grounds was significantly reduced (this sinned by the dubbing of the dissolution).

This, perhaps, is the positive consequences of the reorganization and are exhausted, as the analysis of the results of the competitions announced in the summer shows. Consideration of the results of the second round of NOC contests (queues of the XII-XIX) and competitions for groups under the leadership of doctors of science is enough to draw just such a conclusion.

The expected result was a further decrease in the average price of the contract. For Nutz in the second round (unlike last year, it was a full -fledged second round: the number of contracts concluded by its results is only 15 % less than in the first round) it amounted to 7.3 million rubles. For three years. This was a compliance with the examination process: consideration of assessments for the quality of work and the qualification of the participant in the “protocols for evaluating and comparing applications” all the same as a frank bewilderment. Take, for example, the lot of the 4 XIV queues of the NEC contests “Conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of new and renewable energy sources”. Three of the four winners on this lot have maximum grades for the quality of work and the qualifications of the participant. It would seem that you need to rejoice - not only by reducing prices win, but one circumstance interferes with this. The lowest assessment of quality and qualifications among the winners is 21.31 points, and among almost five dozen losers of only one have a higher rating. That is, almost five dozen applications received an assessment below 20, and 25 applications - an estimate below 10!

Say, not the last Novosibirsk State Technical University received as much as 4.21 points for his application. Out of 45 possible ... if you follow the competitive documentation, this means that the project (almost) has zero relevance and scientific significance, the extremely low scientific level, the results that the applicants are talking about are unattainable, “indicators and indicators” do not correspond, doctors and candidates are not prepared in the team, there are almost no publications and experience in the relevant field, there is no material and technical base, and finally, members The team does not participate in the educational process. In general, “horror, horror, horror”: the application should not only be bad, but pathologically bad. One could believe that among incoming applications there are a couple of three, but, according to the protocol, such applications are about half. I emphasize that for such an assessment, according to the competition documentation, just a low scientific level or slight relevance is not enough; It is necessary that (almost) there are no levels of defense of the dissertation, publications in Vakov magazines, educational programs, etc. On the topics of work, it is also difficult to conclude where there is more relevance - in the application “Research and development of methods for improving the technological process of obtaining granular fuel from wood raw materials” or in the renewable source of energy ”or in the application of methods for increasing the efficiency of wind -energy agencies presented by the Northern (Arctic) University, the application“ Research and development of methods for improving the technological process installations ".

You can probably try to find some kind of “natural” explanation of the observed anomaly. It seems that it is in this area that things are especially dysfunctional. But then it is not clear where so many experts came from, who were well represented by the state of affairs in the world and in no way inclined to take into account the general low level of research in Russia. However, if you try to look from the other side - if the same Novosibirsk State Technical University, the assessment of the substantial criterion was higher, then there would be changes in the list of winners, then everything falls into place: it cannot be excluded that the assessments are such that it is precisely those who should win because they are involved in the organization of the examination.

No less interesting is a comparison of the results of similar groups of groups under the leadership of the doctors of science and NOC. Systems for evaluating applications for these two competitions are very similar, experts are selected from one pool, but the results of competitions ... For example, in the XIII queue of Nutz contests there was a lot “Conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of optics, laser physics and laser technologies”. Assessments for quality and qualifications on this lot are not at all the same as the aforementioned: among more than 50 applications received for consideration, no one has an assessment below 20. At the same time as an assessment of applications for this lot for Nutz, there was an assessment of the lots for groups under the leadership of doctors of sciences with a similar, but broader theme - “Conducting research by scientific groups under the guidance of the doctors of science according to the following areas: - physics of condensed media; physical material science; - optics; Laser physics and laser technologies. " Among the eight dozen applications, only two received an assessment for the quality and qualifications of less than 20 points.

And now let's see the protocols of the assessment of the lot for the NEC "Conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of physics of condensed media, physical material science." It turns out that more than a third of 70 applications received an assessment for quality and qualifications less than 20. despite the fact that the same institutions submit applications, and experts from one pool evaluate.

And there are many such entertaining cases. For example, lots of 4 and 5 XII queues of the Nutz contests-“conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of creating and processing compositional and ceramic materials” and “conducting scientific research by collectives of scientific and educational centers in the field of creating and processing crystalline materials”-examples of hard examination: only 5 and 6 assessments for quality and qualifications-above 20. But it is higher The lines of the second round of contests for groups under the leadership of doctors of science are “conducting scientific research by scientific groups under the guidance of doctors of science in the following fields: - creation and processing of compositional and ceramic materials; - creation and processing of crystalline materials; - creation and processing of polymers and elastomers; - creation of membranes and catalytic systems; - metallurgical technologies; - Construction technologies ” - a sample of the softness of the examination: only one assessment below 20 for quality and qualifications of more than seven dozen! If you do not know the real state of affairs, then it may seem that experts working in different lots, when evaluating, use various options for competitive documentation with completely excellent applications evaluating systems ...

The very lists of winners are also of interest: so, in the above Lot for groups under the leadership of doctors of science (condensed environment, optics, laser physics), the St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design, the North-West State University of Penza, Penza State University of Architecture and Construction, received quite decent assessments for quality and qualifications. The winnings of the competition in natural sciences by a group of a completely non-profile university in principle are possible-it cannot be excluded that in some university there is a really strong group working on the subject of the competition. But several representatives of such universities, among the winners, coupled with representatives of a number of weak regional universities, mandatory MEPhI, as well as Siberian and Southern Federal Universities, are suggested by pure dysfunction in the “Danish kingdom” in the framework of the framework of the “personnel”.

Apparently, not only unbearable rules for evaluating applications, not only blat and lobbying, but also, in addition, the inability of the competition organizers, normally organize the process of examination-submit an application for examination to qualified specialists and ensure the involvement of a sufficient number of such specialists to the results of the competition.

Summer, sea, examination ...

This is not surprising. The end of July - August - the height of the vacation season, many researchers on vacation. Others go to conferences and schools, representatives of some specialties go to the field. In general, the most unsuccessful time of the year in order to look for experts. But it was precisely at this time that the height of the examination of the second round of the competitions of the FCP “personnel” 2010 was sometimes required to be carried out in an extremely short time. Say, for the examination of the first of two queues of doctoral competitions, 8 days were allotted (on August 3 a meeting of the tender commission for consideration of applications was held, and already on August 12 - on evaluating and comparing applications). More than 500 applications were admitted to the competition. For the examination of the second stage of doctoral competitions (almost 600 applications were made for consideration), even less time was given - 7 days (days between August 5 and 13). Why it was required to organize an examination of a large number of applications at the very peak of the vacation season on a week - a riddle, the answer to which is known only to officials of the Ministry of Education and Science.

But these are only doctoral competitions, and in parallel all the contests for NOC and about half of the competitions for groups under the leadership of candidates of sciences went to them. In total a month - from July 27 to August 29 - an examination of approximately 4,200 applications was conducted. If we assume that at least two experts should evaluate each application, then approximately 8,400 examinations should have been carried out (and this is not the case that began on August 21 an examination of applications of young candidates of sciences).

In order to submit an application for an assessment of a profile specialist, there were probably also big problems. If in the RFFI there is a system of expert councils and their sections and the applicant defines the profile section, indicating the corresponding classifier code, and also indicates keywords, then in applications for contests of the FCP “personnel” only the Classifier of the GRNTI is indicated, to put it mildly, not very convenient. So, apparently, the examination of the lots was carried out by a relatively small number of experts who went to many applications far from the field of their scientific interests. These speculative conclusions are confirmed by what had to be heard. One colleague told me that his colleague-an organic chemist-was attracted to examination and issued a bunch of applications for assessing, including those close in specialty as metallurgy.

Meanwhile ...

However, a lot of interesting things also happen from the main competitions. Exactly on the same day when the minutes of the meeting of the competitive commissions on the assessment and comparison of applications for participation in the Nutz competitions in the XVIII and XIX queues were published, on September 1, 2010, an announcement of the competition for the event 4.2 appeared. FCP "Personnel" [1]. The theme of the lot is “Assessment of the effectiveness of the personnel reproduction mechanism and their consolidation in the field of science, education and high technologies in the context of the implementation of the federal target program“ Scientific and scientific and pedagogical personnel of innovative Russia ”for 2009-2013”. The purpose of the work is formulated as follows: “Improving the efficiency of the implementation of the program through the analysis and assessment of the degree of influence of software measures and trends in socio-economic development of the Russian Federation on the processes of personnel reproduction, the development of proposals for improving the implementation of the program, as well as the preparation of analytical materials for the program management in accordance with their competence”. Lot work should be carried out from 2010 to 2013, and their cost should be in a very modest amount equal to 125 million rubles. By year, the maximum price of the contract is divided as follows: for 2010 -3 million rubles, for 2011 -31 million rubles, for 2012 -58 million rubles, for 2013 -33 million rubles. Thus, the largest means to “increase the efficiency of managing the program” will be allocated after the main competitions are completed, the launch of which is provided in the first three years of the program (2009 - 2011) - contests for the NOC, groups under the leadership of doctors of science, candidates of sciences and young candidates of science. In the calendar plan of work on Lot, you can see stereotypical formulations like “A comprehensive assessment of the impact of socio-economic development trends and software measures on the dynamics of high-quality staff in 2009-2010 (2009-2011, 2009-2012).” In general, competitions come and go, but the right people always want to eat. There are just no questions here, only one thing is not clear yet-who is these right people this time: the highest school of the economy, OJSC Interdepartmental Analytical Center or someone else?

On September 3, three lots were announced to create television films of 5 million rubles. [2]. The first lot provides for the creation of a television film on the development of space (for the 50th anniversary of the Gagarin flight), and the other two-the popularization of “convergence of nano, bio-, information and cognitive technologies (NBIK) as the foundations of the new technological structure” and “conducting research by students, graduate students and young scientists under the guidance of leading scientists on the basis of unique mega-environment Research and technological complexes of the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Readers of the TRV-hunger, however, already know how successfully work is going on the mega-installations of the Kurchatov Institute, headed by the recently appointed scientist secretary of the Presidential Council for Science, Technology and Education of M.V. Kovalchuk.

In general, for someone, FCP contests are turned off by mockery, for someone-an attraction of unprecedented generosity, and the people will show a beautiful movie about Nano-Bio-Info-Cognitive Future.

Evgeny Onishchenko

1. Www.zakupki.gov.ru/tender/viewpurchase.aspx?purchaseid=865815

2. Www.zakupki.gov.ru/tender/viewpurchase.aspx?purchaseid=867687