Abstract: In the context of technological competition among major countries, the mission-oriented innovation has become a crucial policy approach to addressing “major challenges”. As important players to implement mission-oriented innovation, national research institutions urgently need to promote the mission-oriented governance reforms. Based on the analytical framework of multiple institutional conflicts under the decentralization of authority among research organizations, the paper analyzes the conflicts among government, research institutions and researchers. It discusses the real dilemma of national research institutions as their missions lose focus and proposes the reform approach for these institutions by using international experience for reference. The study indicates that since the reform and opening-up, China’s research institutions have generally shifted from centralized management in the planned economy era to decentralized research management involving multiple players, leading to multiple institutional logic conflicts between formal and informal institutions and weakening the institutional foundation crucial for the operation of a “mission-oriented” logic. To reform the management system of national research institutions in the new era, it is necessary to coordinate the relationship among the government, research institutions and researchers, establish a multi- governance structure, strengthen the collaboration among multiple players, reinforce institutionalized research organizations, and implement performance target management. This will create a “closed-loop” management path where the government ensures resource support and performance constraints while national research institutions independently organize activities of scientific research.

摘要： 大国科技竞争背景下，使命导向型创新成为应对“大挑战”的重要政策路径，国家科研机构作为使命导向创新的重要实施载体，亟待推动使命导向的治理变革。基于科研组织分权下的多重制度冲突分析框架，从政府、科研机构、科研人员等三个层面，分析了现有科研分权条件下多重制度逻辑及其之间的冲突，借此探讨了国家科研机构使命弱化的现实困境，结合国外经验提出了国家科研机构改革路径。研究认为，改革开放后，我国科研机构总体上实现了从计划经济时代集权式管理向多主体科研分权的转变，导致正式制度、非正式制度之间发生多重制度逻辑冲突，削弱了确保“使命导向”逻辑得以运行的制度基础。新时期推动国家科研机构管理体制改革，需要协调好政府、科研机构、科研人员之间的关系，建立多方共治结构，加强多主体协同，强化建制化科研组织，实施绩效目标管理，形成政府强化资源保障和绩效约束，国家科研机构自主组织科研的“闭环”管理路径。