Contents of China's Talent Evaluation Mechanism
Talent evaluation is an important component of the institutional mechanism for talent development and a prerequisite for the development, management, and use of talent resources. Establishing a scientific mechanism for classified talent evaluation is important for promoting correct employment orientation, encouraging talent career development, stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship among talent, and accelerating the building of a talent-strong country. To innovate the talent evaluation mechanism and leverage its guiding role, the CPC Central Committee has put forward opinions on advancing reform of the classified talent evaluation mechanism in areas such as evaluation standards and methods.
Definition
China implements classified evaluation of science and technology talents and establishes evaluation and incentive mechanisms oriented toward capability and contribution. For personnel engaged in basic and frontier research, applied research, achievement transformation, and other activities, classified evaluation standards and methods shall be improved, emphasizing capability and performance. For basic research talents, medium- and long-term objectives shall be emphasized, representative works review shall be promoted, and evaluation shall shift from quantity of outputs to research quality, original value, and actual contribution, allowing scientists to adopt flexible working arrangements. For applied research and technology development talents, market validation and user evaluation shall be emphasized. For achievement transformation talents, assessment shall focus on technology transfer capability and the economic and social impact of research outcomes.
1. Talent Evaluation Standards
1.1 Implement classified evaluation. Based on the characteristics and responsibilities of talents in different occupations, positions, and levels, combine commonality with specificity, performance with development potential, and qualitative with quantitative evaluation. Establish and improve scientific and reasonable talent evaluation standards with different emphases, covering integrity, knowledge, ability, performance, and contribution. Accelerate development of talent evaluation standards for emerging occupations. Establish a mechanism for dynamic updating and adjustment of evaluation standards.
1.2 Emphasize integrity evaluation. Uphold both virtue and ability, make integrity the primary element in talent evaluation, strengthen assessment of scientific spirit, professional ethics, and conduct, promote honesty and trustworthiness, strengthen social responsibility, resist frivolous and short-sighted tendencies, and strictly address falsification and academic misconduct. Improve the integrity system for talent evaluation, establish records of commitments and dishonest conduct and disciplinary mechanisms, and explore an evaluation exit mechanism based on moral conduct and integrity.
1.3 Set evaluation standards scientifically. Evaluate talents based on ability, actual performance, and contribution, overcome tendencies that overemphasize academic credentials, seniority, or publications, and focus on professionalism, innovation, performance of duties, innovative achievements, and actual contributions. Address the one-size-fits-all problem in evaluation standards, reasonably set and use indicators such as publications, monographs, and impact factors, implement differentiated evaluation, and encourage talents to contribute and pursue excellence in different fields and positions.
2. Talent Evaluation Methods
2.1 Leverage multiple evaluation entities such as government, market, professional organizations, and employers to accelerate establishment of scientific, socialized, and market-oriented talent evaluation systems. In line with requirements for societal and industry recognition, establish industry evaluation mechanisms based on peer review, emphasize market and social evaluation, and leverage multiple evaluation entities. Basic research talents shall be evaluated primarily through peer academic review, with strengthened international peer review. Applied research and technology development talents shall emphasize market evaluation by relevant third parties such as users, markets, and experts. Enrich evaluation methods and scientifically and flexibly adopt examinations, reviews, combined assessment and appraisal, assessment certification, personal work reports, interview defenses, practical operations, and performance displays to improve targeted and precise evaluation. Strengthen construction of expert review databases and establish evaluation responsibility and credibility systems. Appropriately extend evaluation cycles for basic research talents.
2.2 Set talent evaluation cycles scientifically. Follow growth and development patterns of different types of talents, set evaluation and assessment cycles scientifically and reasonably, combine process and outcome evaluation, short-term and long-term evaluation, and avoid overly frequent assessment. Explore appointment-period evaluation systems. Emphasize medium- and long-term objectives, appropriately extend evaluation cycles for basic research talents, young talents, etc., and encourage sustained research and long-term accumulation.
2.3 Improve talent evaluation channels. Further remove restrictions based on household registration, region, ownership, identity, personnel relations, etc., and rely on qualified industry associations, professional societies, and public talent service institutions to improve application and evaluation channels for talents in non-public economic organizations, social organizations, emerging occupations, and other fields. Establish green evaluation channels for introduced overseas high-level talents and urgently needed scarce talents. Improve application and evaluation methods for foreign talents and talents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
2.4 Promote organic linkage among talent evaluation, project review, and institutional assessment. In accordance with requirements to produce both outcomes and talents, strengthen talent evaluation in reviews and assessments of engineering projects, science and technology programs, institutional platforms, and other areas, and improve mechanisms for evaluating and identifying talents in major scientific research, engineering projects, and demanding tasks. Deepen reforms in project review, talent evaluation, and institutional assessment, establish correct evaluation orientations, further streamline and integrate review matters, cancel or delegate them, optimize layouts, simplify procedures, improve methods, and reduce burdens on talents. Avoid evaluating talents solely based on titles from talent programs. Strengthen sharing of evaluation results to avoid multiple, frequent, and duplicate evaluations.