On October 21, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the Notice on Carrying Out the Construction of Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative Empowerment Centers (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), requiring the establishment of a batch of such centers across the country during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
The Notice specifies that specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative empowerment centers are technological innovation service institutions that focus on segmented fields, prioritize full-process technological innovation services, and empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative development. They emphasize service professionalism, deliver high-level technological services, and aim to serve as "innovation partners" for SMEs.
The Notice requires that the construction of these centers follow a model of "province-led, ministry-province co-construction," with a pilot-first-then-promotion approach, adhering to five major principles: focusing on demand, professional empowerment, collaborative synergy, mechanism innovation, and sustainable operation. Closely aligning with enterprises' technological innovation needs, the centers will integrate various innovation elements such as laboratories, research platforms, talent, and finance. They will not only help enterprises tackle "bottleneck" technologies and promote the industrialization of technological achievements, but also support enterprises in participating in standard formulation and forming innovation consortia. Additionally, they will support digital-intelligent and green transformation, organize supply-demand matching across industrial chains, and help enterprises expand into domestic and international markets.
The Notice clarifies the application process: local authorities compile construction plans and submit them to the MIIT. After expert review, centers initially operate under a preparatory status, with a preparatory period generally lasting one year. Upon passing acceptance inspection, they are officially awarded their designation and may provide services nationwide. The MIIT will establish an annual performance evaluation system, annually assessing these centers based on aspects such as the matching degree of enterprise technological needs, enterprise service coverage rate, resource matching efficiency, enterprise cultivation results, and enterprise satisfaction. Centers failing to meet service standards must rectify within a specified period, and those failing for two consecutive years will be withdrawn.
In the next step, the MIIT will coordinate the construction of a nationwide empowerment network for specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative enterprises, promote the collaborative linkage of innovation resources, address shortcomings in technological innovation services for SMEs, continuously cultivate more specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "little giant" enterprises, and provide solid support for developing new quality productive forces and building a modern industrial system.
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