Abstract:

Optimizing the national innovation system in line with national strategic needs, as well as accelerating the construction of strategic scientific and technological forces under the leadership of national laboratories were emphasized in the 14th National Five-Year Plan. Furthermore, the Party's 20th National Congress also stressed reinforcement of national strategic scientific and technological forces, optimization of the positioning and layout of national research institutions, and establishment of a national laboratory system. Against the historical backdrop of the greatest changes the world has seen in a century, the international landscape is being reshaped at an accelerated pace, and global science and technology are undergoing a revolutionary transformation. The national strategic scientific and technological forces are being the foundation of national scientific and technological high -level self-reliance and self-improvement.

The construction of high-level laboratories (i.e. provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions laboratories), organized in a "bottom-up" way, which is an innovative initiative of the local government to create a source of innovation aiming to meet the major national strategic goals and local high-quality development needs, At present, the number of high-level laboratories has grown rapidly and reached a stage of scale development., a few of them had become the hosting units for national laboratories entering the top echelon of research and development of the national innovation system, while the others are confronting increasingly fierce disorderly competition since the lack of uniform deployment at national level. At the moment, a majority of high-level laboratories are in the critical transition phase from the construction phase to the growth phase. Here, we propose an important theoretical support for the high-quality construction of high-level laboratories, and then to provide constructive insights for redirecting their development orientation or shifting their strategic focus, avoiding duplication of construction and functional positioning generalization. To address these gaps, the central government's "top-down" exploration of the cultivation of pilot national laboratories, the local government's "bottom-up" attempt to nurture candidates for national laboratory, "up-and-down" integrated establishment of the first batch of national laboratories, is comprehensive reviewed by merging multiple methods, including field research, written survey, network analysis and bibliography. Notably, innovative practices and successful experiences of advanced typical high-level laboratories that started early and achieved favorable performance were discussed, common problems and outstanding issues were systematically analyzed through cases repeated comparison and further analysis. It is noted that some high-level laboratories have made significant progress through innovative measures. First, to promote the reform of the system and mechanism, as well as the governance mode of science and technology. Second, to build large-scale research infrastructure, and to explore the frontiers of science and technology. Third, to attract innovative resources by combining toughness with softness, declaring its openness to cooperation with research institutions and universities. Fourth, to promote the combination of research and industry to accelerate the incubation of scientific research achievement. However, our studies show that factors that hinder the development of high-level laboratories include both internal operation and external environment factors. (1) the local governments have rushed into the construction of high-level laboratories without detailed consideration, resulting in repetition of layout and blind construction that costs a huge amount of investment, and (2) there is a shortage of innovative talent, especially among full-time researchers, and need for adaptation of workforce structure, (3) there's a mismatch between the innovation policies of the high-level laboratories and the current S&T system and procedures, and a lack of clarity or certainty about the rights and responsibilities between the provincial and local governments, (4) lack of independent innovative achievements, owing to insufficient organizational independence and autonomy. Finally, high-quality development ideas and implementation pathways for high level laboratories are proposed. (1) the local government should further clarify the strategic positioning of the laboratory itself by forming a "pyramid structure" trapezoidal structure, namely strategic → tactical → industrial-oriented laboratory system. (2) It is necessary to clarify the rights and responsibilities of the provincial government and local government in the construction and operation, and the allocation of S&T budget reasonably. (3) It proposed to strengthen the unit construction to form an independent research force and strive to cultivate a strong and independent R&D prowess. (4) Through the optimization of the innovation system, including stable system and mechanism, solid infrastructure, in-depth integration of science and education, promotion of the transformation of scientific research achievements, participation in open innovation, to strengthen scientific and technological core competence and competitive advantage.

Key words: provincial laboratory, high-level laboratory；national laboratory, path conversion, strategy suggestion