demands of each of the intermediate level plans. At 

 all levels, the economic, technical, and social ob- 

 jectives imposed upon the planning unit are alike, 

 accounting for the generally similar structure of the 

 plans at each level. In addition, the mechanisms for 

 plan expression and enforcement, such as indicators, 

 norms, standards, and incentives, are similar at all 

 levels. It is by these mechanisms that the state 

 committees and other functional agencies generally 

 impose requirements on planning authorities and there- 

 by relate to the vertical and administrative orienta- 

 tion shown in Figure 10-1. 



In addition to the hierarchical and functional seg- 

 regation of plans depicted in Figure 10-1, plans are 

 also segregated temporally. At each of the levels 

 and by each of the responsible planning units, plans 

 are formulated which correspond to three time frames: 

 perspective or long-term plans; five-year plans; and 

 annual plans. Long-term plans are largely forecasts 

 of alternate trends in science and technology and in 

 the development of specific new products and proces- 

 ses over a period of from 5 to more than 20 years. 

 Perspective plans and forecasts are not really bind- 

 ing or operational documents; they serve primarily as 

 guidelines to orient economic strategy and science 

 policy. In general, the five-year and annual plans 

 incorporate relevant targets specified, respectively, 

 in the long-term and five-year plans, and they are 

 also made more "concrete" or detailed. In recent 

 years, the five-year plan has become more important 

 than the annual plan, as authorities have placed in- 

 creased emphasis on careful and comprehensive formu- 

 lation of goals over longer periods in order to con- 

 centrate resources more effectively on priority pro- 

 jects and to provide greater direction and control 

 over the nation's R&D effort. The connection between 

 the various kinds of R&D plans, segregated by admin- 

 istrative hierarchy, by function or program, and by 

 duration of operation, is illustrated in Fugure 10-2. 



Despite the very formal and all-embracing charac- 

 ter of plans, the analytical base underpinning sci- 

 ence policy and planning is weakly developed. Advan- 

 ces in conceptualization of the R&D process have gen- 



86 



