Project planning in Soviet R&D

Science in the USSR has not escaped the general commitment of the authorities to centralized planning. But they have long been dissatisfied with the degree of de facto decentralization and isolation from production of the traditional science planning process, as well as the lack of flexibility of an institution-based system. This article examines the recent response to these problems — comprehensive goal-oriented programme methods of science planning and management, apparently derived from both Soviet and US defence R&D management. The problems of the approach are revelaed, primarily in terms of the excessive bureaucratization of science involved and the continuing isolation of R&D from production. The article concludes by speculating on the significance of the ‘entrepreneurial revolution’ in Western R&D for the Soviet system.