Investigating the challenges of government research institutions in Iran with a historical perspective on the institutional conditions of their development: A phenomenological study

Despite the importance of the key role of research institutions in the formation of driving circles of innovation motors, the available evidence shows that the function of these institutions in developing countries, including Iran, has not been realized as expected in the national innovation system. Therefore, the main goal of the current research is to identify the challenges and obstacles facing government research institutions from the perspective of the relevant experts' lived experience. For this purpose, due to the rarity of literature review,, phenomenological methodology was used. The findings of the research indicate that 6 main challenges include "ambiguity in the missions of research institutions and their lack of detailed explanation", "organizational structure and disproportionate organizations", "inefficient and static financing system", "lack of Appropriate procedures for human resource management", "lack of systematic procedures for evaluating the performance of institutions" and "the existence of obstacles to cooperation at the national and international levels" are problems of government research institutions that should be considered by the policymakers and decision-makers at different legal, strategic and executive levels.