processing systems being developed in connection with 

 the 200 basic S&T problems in the Tenth Plan are "pro- 

 grammed" to be put into production or use. Timetables 

 are fixed for intermediate work stages as well as for 

 final completion. The design and construction of pi- 

 lot plants, and the creation of industrial facilities 

 assigned primary responsibility for the manufacture 

 of new items, are also stipulated. The old coordina- 

 tion plans rarely specified these assignments. A pro- 

 gram, then, is a more comprehensive and systematic 

 grouping of assignments than a "coordination plan."H4 



In addition, the procedure for drawing up S&T pro- 

 grams has changed. In the past, coordination plans 

 were prepared mainly by the lead scientific organiza- 

 tions and the technical administrations of the minis- 

 tries; these were not always coordinated with the oth- 

 er functional divisions of the ministries. To inte- 

 grate more effectively science and economic planning, 

 the process of drafting S&T programs has been made 

 more of a collaborative effort involving the entire 

 ministerial staff. Comparing the old system of plans 

 with the new system of programs, Nolting concludes, 

 "Although both combined and coordinated all of the 

 projects relating to a given problem, the redesigna- 

 tion is more than a change in name."115 



At the branch level program-type planning, called 

 "continuous" planning, has been implemented experi- 

 mentally in a few ministries. Such planning is done 

 in concert with a special form of financing R&D, the 

 Unified Fund for the Development of Science and Tech- 

 nology, which consolidates the funding of all stages 

 of the innovation cycle. A lead research institute, 

 design bureau, association, or enterprise is designa- 

 ted, and all work stages are implemented by an intra- 

 ministerial contract called a work order. The struc- 

 tural similarity to interbranch programs at the all- 

 union level is apparent. Because such plans are 

 closely tied with implementation and incentive and 

 financial policy, discussion of them is postponed un- 

 til the next chapter. 



In summary, the importance of multiagency programs 

 is attested to first by the criticality of their 



148 



