dicators and norms for NPOs is still largely experi- 

 mental. Not everyone realizes yet that the NPO is 

 not simply the sum of its parts but represents a 

 qualitatively new type of organization. 



Looking back on the first decade of its life, then, 

 we can say that this new institutional form has still 

 not found its proper place in the Soviet scheme. Very 

 few NPOs have approached — much less achieved — the 

 goal of creating an organizationally, technological- 

 ly, and economically integrated system for promoting 

 innovation. In most, "science" and "production" con- 

 tinue to lead separate lives. The administrative 

 barriers between them have not been effectively bro- 

 ken down. Organization-building has been marked by 

 much confusion and diversity, not to mention bureau- 

 cratic opposition and lethargy. In the absence of 

 clear guidelines from the center, branch ministries 

 created NPOs as they saw fit, often obliterating the 

 boundaries between different kinds of research and 

 production complexes. Sometimes NPOs were put to- 

 gether without any systematic research and analysis 

 of design and development problems. Little consid- 

 eration was given to their place in the context of 

 future directions and needs of the branch as a whole. 67 

 Initially, the lack of a formal statute permitted 

 needed flexibility and experimentation. It also re- 

 duced the danger of putting these new structures in- 

 to an organizational strait jacket and monolithic mold. 

 More and more, however, the absence of a document es- 

 tablishing the legal status of the NPO and defining 

 its basic functions and principles of organization 

 had prevented the solution of a number of complex 

 problems. The associations were recognized as being 

 frozen in their units, forms, and relations. A new 

 stage of development came in 1976. After confirma- 

 tion of the NPO statute, Kremlin authorities stepped 

 up efforts to impose greater clarity, order, and di- 

 rection in the affairs of the associations. The ef- 

 fect of these measures remains to be seen. Taken to- 

 gether they form part of a broader drive to make the 

 Tenth Plan a period of "development not only in 

 breadth but also in depth" for research and produc- 

 tion complexes of all kinds, and not just NPOs. As 

 for the latter specifically, they are expected to grow 

 to 200 to 250 by 1980. 68 



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