吕佳龄,王颖.基础研究的问题形成机制：历史演化与现实转型[J].中国科学院院刊,2026,41(6):1266-1275.

基础研究的问题形成机制：历史演化与现实转型

Problem formation in basic research: Historical evolution and contemporary transformation

吕佳龄¹
中国科学院科技战略咨询研究院 北京 100190
LYU Jialing¹
Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
王颖^1,2*
中国科学院科技战略咨询研究院 北京 100190;中国科学院大学 公共政策与管理学院 北京 100049
WANG Ying^1,2*
Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

         基础研究;选题;问题形成机制;国家战略能力;知识生产;科技创新治理

        basic research;topic selection;problem formation;state strategic capacity;knowledge production;innovation governance

        基础研究“如何选题”是科技创新领域长期关注的核心问题，2020年后更成为我国政策研究与实践层面的重点聚焦方向。历史经验表明，重大科学问题并非总是预先存在于学科体系内部，而是在国家战略需求、技术体系演化和产业变革的持续互动中逐渐形成。中国在创新追赶阶段形成的基础研究组织机制，已难以适应当前创新范式调整与国家创新路径转型的要求。文章分析了美国联邦政府如何通过战略判断、科研组织和资源配置等制度设计，将重大问题持续嵌入科学研究体系的关键举措，提出了中国重建基础研究问题形成机制的关键路径，并指出通过形成支持重大问题发现、组织及稳定资助基础研究的制度安排，构筑面向未来的国家长期创新能力。

        “Topic selection” in basic research has long been a central issue in S&T and innovation policy. Traditionally, it has often been understood as the processes of designating promising projects from an existing topic list through peer review and procedural evaluation. Nevertheless, major scientific problems do not always preexist within disciplinary systems, nor are landmark scientific discoveries artificially pre-planned in advance. Rather, they gradually emerge through the continuous interaction among national strategic demands, technological evolution, industrial transformation, and major real-world challenges. This study argues that important directions in basic research are often shaped by the sustained pull of real-world problems on knowledge production. It further analyzes how the organizational mechanisms of basic research formed during China’s catch-up development stage have become increasingly unable to meet the demands of contemporary innovation paradigms and the transformation of national innovation trajectory. Taking the practices of the U.S. federal government as an example, this study reveals how major real-world problems are continuously incorporated into the scientific research system through strategic prioritization, research organization, and resource allocation. The study argues that the main challenge in contemporary basic research is not merely the selection of topics from predefined agendas, but the identification, organization, and long-term support of important yet still immature problems with strategic significance. In the context of a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, China needs to reconstruct the problem-formation mechanism of basic research, enabling major real-world problems to continuously enter the process of knowledge production.