OREANDA-NEWS. March 4, 2008. President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a decree on pilot project to establish national research center “Kurchatov Institute,” reports the press service of the President.

The decree is aimed at forming a technological framework for innovative economy, ensuring a breakthrough in the field of development of science and technologies in Russia and drafting the legal and organizational principles of the work of new innovative structures.

The center is supposed to promote the practical use of scientific projects and to organize the full innovative cycle of research and development projects in the priority fields of the scientific and technological development of Russia: “Industry of Nano-Systems and Nano-Materials” and “Power Engineering and Power Saving.”

The Center will also coordinate research activities to be carried out in the framework of the President’s initiative “Strategy for Development of Nano-Industry” and work out principles of work of national research centers.

The Government of Russia has been instructed to outline the key directions of the fundamental and applied scientific research and to work out a program for support and development of the research, technological and engineering infrastructure of the center with all its parameters specified. Putin has instructed the Government to work out a remuneration system that will stimulate the center’s managers and employees to effectively fulfill their tasks and to determine the sources and the order of financing of the project.

The decree says that the charter of the Russian Scientific Center “Kurchatov Institute” should be amended. Particularly, it stipulates establishment of a supervisory council for controlling the project.

Besides, within six months the Government should draft a law concerning the establishment of national research centers in Russia. The law will specify the legal and organizational principles of their work, their property rights and mechanisms of their functioning, particularly, state-private partnership mechanism.

The Government should also work out order for drafting and implementing a program of fundamental and applied research and innovative activity of national research centers, sources and order of their financing.