A Survey of Science and Technology Status Quo in Iran and in its Development Plans

Work and capital are considered more pivotal than science and technology in knowledge-based economies. Hence, macro-strategies of science and technology in both national and international levels are thoroughly studied to be schematized, implemented and supervised in the framework of mid-run and long-run projects. The critical point is the realistic yet unbiased realization of the status quo and of the departure point, known as the scientific and technological base of the country. This paper tries to locate the coordinates of such a base and offer recommendations to be used in the science and technology part of the development plans in the framework of “core plans”. The prominent questions of this article would be, “What is our scientific-technological status in accordance to the four-element model proposed in the study?” and “Is it indicative of problems, harms and imbalances in the national science and technology system?” The article makes use of a statistical survey and analysis as well as a qualitative content analysis and a pathological study in the field of the science and technology. The findings of the research, in the form of organized data and a pathological report, demonstrate some imbalances such as isolation, lack of coordination and consistency among policy making institutions, weak relationship between science and technology and production, inability to attract the share of research in GDP, and so forth. In the end, a model is suggested along with a policy package in the annex.