Qiryat Hamemshala East, Bldg. C
P.O. Box 18195, 91181 Jerusalem
Tel. (02) 5411111
(Source: Israel Government Year Book)
Website: http://www.most.gov.il/
Functions and Structure
The Ministry of Science and Technology works to consolidate, improve, and
expand basic, applied, and technological research. The Ministry advises the
Government and other ministries on matters of science and technology, and
works to exploit the country's scientific potential, both at home and in the
international sphere, and to apply this knowledge to regional development
and population dispersal. The Minister of Science and Technology chairs the
ministerial committee on science and technology, to which matters of general
governmental concern are referred.
A professional unit is charged with each field of science and coordinates
the Ministry's scientific activities in that field. These fields are: life
sciences, exact sciences, computer sciences, social sciences, R&D policy and
financing, and archaeology. In addition to the professional staff of these
units, the Ministry relies on 10 to 15 scientific advisors for matters that
require specific expertise. In research domains that have been identified as
having potential for the national economy, the Ministry runs steering
committees that include renowned scientists and developers, in order to
draft national programs for R&D in those fields. Such committees are active
in biotechnology, medicine, superconductors, and other fields.
National Council for Research and Development
This is a public body appointed by the Government on the recommendation of
the Minister of Science and Technology. Its plenum includes senior
representatives of government ministries (including all Ministry chief
scientists), the universities, scientific institutes, business and industry,
and renowned scientists selected on the basis of their academic and public
status.
Its main tasks include: (a) scientific advice to the government on
scientific issues of national importance, particularly those concerning the
national scientific infrastructure; (b) scientific guidance for the
activities of the Ministry of Science, particularly with
regard to the selection of priority research areas; (c) providing a forum
for information exchanges and coordinating the R&D policy of various
government and public bodies responsible for promoting R&D.
Israel Space Agency
The Israel Space Agency (ISA) was established by Government decision in 1983 to pursue the
following aims: (a) devising an Israeli space program; (b) coordinating
Israeli efforts in space matters; (c) initiating and promoting basic and
applied research in space sciences; (d) attracting high-tech Israeli
industry to developing and manufacturing components and systems for space
projects; (e) fostering ties with parallel agencies and institutions abroad;
(f) conducting educational and information activities regarding space. The
ISA is guided by a council composed of scientists, industry experts, and
government officials.
Research Foundations Division
The Division manages the foundations and programs to encourage research in
the various fields of Ministry activity. It publishes agency development
programs; accepts research proposals; manages research project selection
procedure and concludes contractual agreements related to research grants.
These foundations include: (a) the Research Encouragement Foundation, to
promote research in priority areas; (b) the Levi Eshkol Fellowships, granted
to doctoral candidates and postdoctoral fellows in Israeli universities and
research institutions, in disciplines where there is a need to foster
research personnel; (c) foundations to promote cooperation between
researchers in Israel and abroad, under scientific cooperation agreements
between Israel and other countries and international organizations.
International Scientific Relations Division
This Division implements Israel's scientific cooperation accords with other
countries and international organizations. The Ministry, in concert with the
Foreign Ministry, handles Israel's international scientific links at the
governmental level. Ties exist with 30 countries and international
organizations, and some 20 accords have been signed, concerning joint
research projects, exchange of researchers, and joint scientific
symposia.
Database of Government and Public-Sector Research Grants
This computerized database centralizes information on research projects
being carried out in Israel with government or public funding. The database,
which covers some 50 funds and programs for sponsoring research, has
accumulated information on 20,000 projects carried out since 1983. Data can
be retrieved according to various filters and criteria, in order to provide
information to permit assessment of government and public activities in
promoting and planning R&D, and in order to increase coordination between
the various government and public agencies involved in funding R&D so as to avoid duplication of effort.
Unit for Absorbing Scientific Manpower
The Unit was established in the summer of 1989 as part of the Ministry's
preparations for absorbing immigration. The Unit has devised a number of
plans for funding research by immigrant scientists and had already begun to
implement them when the mass wave of immigration began in early 1990.
Affiliated Institutions and Bodies
Weizmann Publications Institution: The Institution is a government
corporation that cooperates with the institutes of higher education. It
publishes scientific journals in mathematics, mathematical analysis,
chemistry, zoology, and botany. The articles published in the journals are
received from researchers in Israel and abroad. Each scientific journal has
a circulation of 300-800 copies, distributed to libraries throughout the
world. In addition to the scientific journals in English, two popular
science magazines are published in Hebrew, La-da'at and Meda, targeted
respectively at young people and the general public. These journals survey
the achievements of Israeli and world science; their circulation is
6,000-8,000 copies.
The Institute for Applied Social Research has the following tasks: (a)
planning and implementing research in psychology, social psychology,
sociology, economics, and related topics and providing policy-makers with
up-to-date information on topics of major importance to the country; (b)
advising and guiding government, public, and private agencies and helping to
improve their methodologies so as to permit optimum selection of current
actions as well as medium- and long-term goal-setting and planning; (c)
reinforcing, promoting, and improving the caliber of social research in
Israel; (d) conducting regular surveys on topical issues and determining
public opinion on such questions.