Scientific policy of Azerbaijan

The successful reforms, creative works carried out in Azerbaijan lately, as well as progresses in the economy and the development of non-oil sector have yielded positive results, substantial measures being taken in respect of the socio-economic development of the regions and the improvement of the social standing of the population. One of the principal tendencies of the public policy was the adoption of a number of important decisions in regard to rendering a successive care to science, education and culture, keeping scientific and technical potential, training highly skilled personnel in the field of science and education and providing their care, and the rise of the scientists’ authority in the society.
Currently, certain measures are taken in the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to improve the efficiency of scientific activities, coordinate fundamental and applied research carried out in the higher schools and other scientific institutions of the country, provide the use of their outcomes in the socio-economic and other fields, and use scientific brainpower properly.
At present in accordance with the requirements of this period, ANAS Presidium has elaborated the strategy for the development of science in Azerbaijan to enhance the role of science and technology in the solution of important socio-economic problems, increase information resources of the state and accelerate innovation processes.
The main objectives of the strategy are as follows: 
- Determine the structure and composition of the Azerbaijan science in terms of current and  prospective requirements of the country;
- Ensure the science of the country to be organized in accordance with priority directions of world science, technics and technology;
- Enhance the role of science in the economic development of the country;
- Ensure the training of the available human resources, specialists to deal with research problems, as well as personnel to be able to implement professional management functions;
- Determine the priorities of fundamental and applied research in the Azerbaijan Republic to be favourable for the solutions of major socio-economic and sociocultural problems of the country;
- Expand research on fundamental sciences;
- Improve management system in science and technology;
- Improve mechanisms for financing research institutions and science as a whole;
- Upgrade scientific-technological infrastructure;
- Create normative legal base of science;
- Prepare highly skilled scientific brainpower;
- Strive to maintain scientific schools and ensure their legacy;
- Ensure integration of science, education and production;
- Substantially improve social standing of scientific workers;
- Enhance information support for science;
- Deepen international scientific relations;
- Intensify the integration of the Azerbaijan science into international scientific sector;
- Enhance the efficiency of research activities and innovation policy;
- Modernize the country in terms of technology;
- Ensure scientific potential to take an active part in national security;
- Reinvestigate in terms of Azerbaijani ideology many issues in the trends concerning national-moral standards inherent to our nation;  
- Concentrate scientific potential on social-economic and cultural-moral development of the country;
The development of science in the Azerbaijan Republic is one of the priority trends of the government policy covering economic, political, social, legal, moral, cultural spheres and national security. From this point of view the strategy provides for the following duties:
- The development of the science of nature, technical, social and humanitarian sciences, research related to interdisciplinary issues, safe protection and stable development of environment, as well as thorough research of the issues related to the fundamental problems of the medicine; 
- The creation of the necessary material and technical basis to expand research on fundamental sciences;
- The application of the scientific and technological achievements to ensure economic, political, social, etc. growth of the country;
- The investigation of national-moral standards, the culture and history of Azerbaijan in an objective, conceptual and complex manner;
- The substitution of the traditions of the former soviet methodology to the approaches relevant to the national interests, as well as new principles formed on the basis of the Azerbaijani philosophy;
- The prevention of the misuse of the scientific and technological achievements;
- The development of the technologies and mechanisms complying with ethic principles, in scientific research and experiments;
- Enhancing the role of the science in implementing national security policy of the country;
- The elaboration of the conceptual scientific basis of Azerbaijani ideology through collaboration of humanitarian and social sciences;
- The improvement of working conditions and social protection of the scientific workers; 
- The prognostication and elaboration of scientific basis for the prevention of natural and anthropogenic disasters, and destructive social processes;
- The wide application in Azerbaijan of the latest technological, economic, environmental, management, military, political, sociocultural, legal, etc. innovations aimed at enhancing the efficiency of human activities in one or other field;
- Carrying out broad-scale research for the effective use of natural resources;
- Carrying out broad-scale research aimed at the solution of environmental problems caused by the rapid growth in production and the climate change;
- The elaboration of scientific basis for the study and prevention of social, political, economic, environmental risks and moral hazard; 
- The elaboration of scientific basis for the prognostication and prevention of cultural and moral-ethic disintegrations;
- Determination of the scientific-methodological base of the optimal principles of social management and elaboration of practical-legal models;
- Creation of the scientific monitoring system to cover all the fields of activity of the society;
The execution of the above-mentioned duties is the major factors aimed at strengthening Azerbaijan statehood and the development of the intellectual potential of the society;