Scientific research and technology have failed to spearhead socio-economic growth in HCM City, a seminar heard in the city yesterday.

"Scientific research may have contributed to social development, but it has offered limited results, especially with regard to practical application," Pham Van Xu, deputy head of the Department of Science and Technology's Science Management Division, told the seminar titled "Improving efficiency of scientific research and technology development to promote the city's socio-economic growth."

The application of research results in management and production was limited and value-addition created for industry and services from such research was low, he said.

Most research remains in the laboratory or is just used as reference to draft policies, he said.

"Connecting scientists, enterprises and society is very important.

"Authorities should commission research rather than scientists and industry should invest more in innovation."

In 2011-14 the city had spent VND387 billion (US$18 million) on 562 research and technology development projects, but 70 per cent of them were delayed.

Only 28 per cent of the projects had been commissioned by authorities to address the city's urgent problems while the rest were chosen by researchers themselves.

"We must reform science and technology starting with authorities' management to improve the efficiency of research," Dr Tran Du Lich, deputy head of the city Humanities and Social Sciences Programme, said.

He suggested that the city government should not fund research and should only part with its money once research bears fruit and becomes technology.

The city has a third of the country's top scientists and technicians and therefore it should propose its own policy to the Government about how it would spend on research and technological development, he said.

The seminar was organised by the department.