新时代中国高校民族研究智库:功能定位、困境与出路

China s University Think Tanks for Ethnic Studies in the New Era:Functional Orientations,Dilemmas,and Pathways

高校民族研究智库对推进我国民族工作决策科学化、民主化和法治化具有重大意义。当前我国高校民族研究智库建设存在学术研究与智库研究结构性冲突的观念困境、高校管理行政化与智库管理社会化需求冲突的治理困境、高等教育与高校智库建设功能冲突的功能定位困境、智库成果认定与职称评定冲突的晋职晋级评价困境等问题。本文认为应从观念更新、保障机制和智库人才合作交流机制等角度去突破困境,牵引高校民族研究智库建设的高质量发展。具体应从三方面入手:第一,要破除对“决策咨询报告”的错误认识,鼓励高校教师形成“经世致用”“学以致用”的思想观念,积极参与国家和地方政策的研讨过程,发挥专家学者的智慧智识;第二,从建立健全承接党和政府研究任务的保障支持机制、强化智库人才评价和产品质量评价相结合的评价机制、提升研究人员获得感与幸福感强化激励机制等方面提高智库投入产出比率,完善高校民族研究智库建设的保障机制;第三,建立健全智库人才交流合作机制。

The functional targets of university think tanks for ethnic studies in China are to deepen research of consolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nation and promote high-quality development of ethnic work in the new era of China.The think tanks first function orientation is to encourage the construction of a disciplinary system,an academic system,and a discourse system of Chinese ethnology,pursuing a uniquely Chinese paradigm,plan,and pathway for addressing Chinese ethnic problems.Secondly,in response to strategic imperatives and practical policy requirements of the party and the state,these think tanks focus on the theory and practical implementation of ethnic development and security concerns and seek to conduct high-quality policy analysis in order to provide decision-making advisory services on ethnic issues.Thirdly,these university-based think tanks offer academic support for the Party's ethnic work,aiming to facilitate the modernization of the governance system,enhance the operational capacity of ethnic affairs,and promote the construction of community for the Chinese nation.This paper,furthermore,identifies four main dilemmas in the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies:Firstly,a structural conflict between academic research objectives and the practical outputs expected from think tank research is a conceptual dilemma in the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies.Secondly,a conflict between the administrative management of universities and the needs of socialized management of think-tank is the management dilemma in the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies.Thirdly,this challenge is about functional positioning;it revolves around defining and clarifying the distinct roles and functions of universities vis-à-vis their affiliated think tanks for ethnic studies.The fourth dilemma is a rank evaluation dilemma:It concerns balancing the recognition of think tanks achievements with the evaluation of professional titles in the construction of the university think tanks for ethnic studies.This paper proposes three strategic pathways for the construction of university think tanks for ethnic studies:The first one is to eliminate the cognitive bias towards the decision-making consultancy report,which requires popularizing the knowledge about think tanks and integrating members of academic groups into think tank memberships,enhancing the translation of academic research results into decision-making reports,balancing the management thinking to equally value academic research and think tank research,and the building of the specialized administrative teams to support think tank operations.The second solution is to improve institutional support mechanisms for the construction of university think tanks,which would require establishing and improving guarantee mechanisms for undertaking research tasks for party and governmental institutions,improving the assessment criteria for think tank achievements,and advancing incentive structures to foster research excellence.The third solution would be to establish and enhance the mechanism for talent exchange and cooperation among think tanks.This would require adopting a new approach for personnel management in think tanks,breaking down disciplinary barriers to cultivate interdisciplinary expertise,and improving the“revolving door”mechanism for Chinese think tanks.In addition,it is also deemed necessary to establish and enhance a standard mechanism for exchanges and cooperation among think tanks,seeking to enhance their engagement in global issues,potentially constructing effective discourse systems among Chinese think tanks as well as building policy communication channels for positive interaction between the government and the public.