Political Work

Putting the Correct View of Performance into Practice in the Barracks | The "Expert-Elevating" Expert Has Earned a Merit Citation

正确政绩观践行在军营丨“托举专家”的专家立功了

PLA Daily (解放军报) 12 July 2026

Summary

Yuan Zhao, a computer-science expert at a research institute under the Academy of Military Sciences, received a merit citation after his team developed a 'Literature Synthesis and Analysis Assistance System' that automates literature review, data categorization, and framework generation for military theory researchers—work that earned no journal publications, no major grants, and initially no formal recognition. The article documents a concrete institutional friction inside AMS: standard research evaluation metrics (publications, project scale, awards) systematically disadvantaged researchers doing enabling infrastructure work, and the institute's Party committee had to convene a special symposium and rewrite its professional-title and commendation criteria to correct that misalignment. The framing around 正确政绩观 (the 'correct view of performance') points to a broader PLA effort to reshape incentive structures in research institutions, though how widely these specific AMS policy adjustments will propagate remains unspecified.

Translation

The "Expert-Elevating" Expert Has Earned a Merit Citation

■ Zhao Jie, Leng Bing, PLA Daily Reporter Jia Qilong

Illustration: Fang Han

Midsummer Beijing. The sun blazes.

In a laboratory at a certain research institute under the Academy of Military Sciences, Yuan Zhao—an expert in a particular field—and his team members fix their eyes on data constantly flickering across a screen, fingers flying across keyboards. On the test bench ahead, the indicator lights of a piece of specialized equipment blink without pause.

What Yuan Zhao and his team are testing is the latest upgraded version of the "Literature Synthesis and Analysis Assistance System" they developed. When the project was first proposed, many colleagues were puzzled by Yuan Zhao's choice: the system could only be used internally by experts within the unit, which meant "no top-tier journal publications" and "no eligibility for major research grants." What was the point? In Yuan Zhao's mind, however, "research that supports research" was equally valuable.

The story begins a year ago.

At that time, a leader from the institute conducted in-depth research visits across its various research departments. A remark by a senior expert caught his attention: "Every time we take on a new research topic, just reviewing the literature, organizing documents, and mapping out the intellectual lineage takes an enormous amount of time and energy—and errors and omissions are easy to make. If there were a system that could automatically analyze all kinds of literature, categorize data and viewpoints, we could free up far more time and energy for original research."

As this leader investigated further, he found that many senior experts, when conducting academic research or writing project reports, were spending the bulk of their time on foundational tasks such as literature review, material organization, synthesis of viewpoints, and framework construction. This not only wasted intellectual resources but also undermined the quality and efficiency of military theory research.

Research pain points are the direction for breakthroughs. After the investigation concluded, the institute's Party committee leadership studied the matter and decided to form a dedicated task team to develop a research assistance system using digital and intelligent technologies, thereby reducing the burden on military theory researchers. When selecting candidates, Yuan Zhao—with his background in computer science—stood out and was appointed team leader.

When word got out, colleagues offered warnings: "No matter how well you do on a project like this, you won't get published in a top journal." Friends expressed bewilderment: "A technically accomplished expert, playing 'secretary' to other experts?" Team members grew anxious: "This little project can't even qualify for the institute's youth fund. How are we supposed to get promoted?"

Yuan Zhao was well aware that in the prevailing research evaluation system, "small projects" were thankless. But what worried him more was this: if everyone chased "big projects," who would free the experts from tedious, low-efficiency desk work? If experienced senior experts remained bogged down in foundational administrative tasks, how could the quality and efficiency of theoretical research ever improve?

Even without recognition or reward, it had to be done.

After repeated demonstrations and multiple rounds of testing, Yuan Zhao and his team developed the "Literature Synthesis and Analysis Assistance System," capable of rapidly conducting literature review and information mining. The system features two operating modes—"rapid synthesis" (速成) and "deep research" (深研)—and can not only provide researchers with conceptual inspiration but also autonomously generate theoretically sound frameworks with standardized formatting and clear logic, dramatically reducing the time required for foundational work.

When the system was first introduced, a prominent expert was planning to write a report on a major research topic and was struggling with gathering materials and organizing content. Yuan Zhao's team used the system to rapidly generate a rigorous, scientifically sound report framework, leaving the expert overjoyed: "The report framework the system generated has already reached a professional standard!"

The senior expert's affirmation made Yuan Zhao's team and their system an overnight success, and a growing number of researchers began using the system to support their work. After some time, the consensus was clear: the system was powerful, practical, and easy to use.

The results were widely recognized, but Yuan Zhao was not at ease. "I have no regrets about doing this project. But I worry that team members may fall behind in their career development because they followed me into a 'small project,'" he said.

For researchers, the number of publications and the scale of projects are important benchmarks for evaluating work. Sure enough, at the end of last year, objections were raised regarding the performance evaluations, commendations, and promotion recommendations for Yuan Zhao and his team members.

Faced with the controversy, the institute's leadership organized a focused symposium with experts who had used the "Literature Synthesis and Analysis Assistance System," solicited opinions and suggestions broadly, and visited the laboratory in person to observe operational demonstrations, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the system's value and significance for research work.

"Yuan Zhao's team has no top-journal publications, no major projects, and no major awards—but their research results have helped other experts complete multiple major projects. They are the experts who elevate other experts (托举专家的专家), and they deserve recognition and reward." At the Party committee meeting, the institute's leadership stated: "Research evaluation must strengthen the orientation toward real-world effectiveness and contribution, reflect the differences among different categories of work, and must not apply a one-size-fits-all (一刀切) or lump-everything-together (一锅煮) approach."

On the day the merit citation order was announced, Yuan Zhao and his team members were, as usual, fully absorbed in a new task: analyzing and organizing years of accumulated literature for a key research project. That day, many senior experts sent Yuan Zhao messages expressing their admiration for him and his team.

What heartened Yuan Zhao and his team members even more was that the institute's Party committee, drawing on their research experience, introduced a series of incentive measures: adding a "contribution to research support and services" (服务保障科研贡献) category in professional title reviews, with explicit provisions that research results contributing to major research tasks be given equal consideration as important publications and major awards; establishing a dedicated fund to provide financial support for projects urgently needed for combat or research; and designating "solving real-world problems" as an important orientation for commendations and awards.

As the interview concluded, night had deepened, but the laboratory remained brightly lit. "Ensuring the efficient advancement of major research projects and providing solid technical support for winning tomorrow's wars—I feel an immense sense of honor!" With those words, Yuan Zhao plunged back into his work, busy alongside his colleagues at the test equipment.

---

Those Who Work Behind the Scenes Are Heroes Too

■ Liu Weijiao

On the research front, when it comes to accomplishments, people's eyes tend to turn toward the leaders of major projects. Yet there is a kind of accomplishment that manifests in "behind-the-scenes" form—not competing for fame or gain, but in quiet dedication and steadfast commitment, elevating others and advancing the cause.

Yuan Zhao, an expert at a certain research institute under the Academy of Military Sciences, and his team members faced the urgent needs of research head-on, and through line after line of code and round after round of debugging, developed the "Literature Synthesis and Analysis Assistance System"—concretely reducing the burden on experts and accelerating major projects. What appears to be an unremarkable "small achievement" is in fact a "major pillar" on the road of research; their willingness to work behind the scenes and toil diligently is precisely a vivid embodiment of the correct view of performance (正确政绩观).

Those who work behind the scenes are heroes too. As we sincerely commend the experts who elevate other experts, we should think seriously about how to enable more researchers who are willing to work behind the scenes to focus single-mindedly on their work and pursue deep inquiry without distraction. On this point, the approach of this institute's Party committee is worth promoting: giving full affirmation to "behind-the-scenes contributions," driving institutional reform, ensuring that those who work diligently do not lose out and that those who contribute quietly are held in esteem. This kind of institutional arrangement is itself a powerful enactment of the correct view of performance (正确政绩观).

Original Chinese

“托举专家”的专家立功了 ■赵杰冷冰解放军报记者贾启龙插图：方汉仲夏北京，烈日炎炎。军事科学院某研究院一个实验室里，某领域专家原钊与团队成员紧盯屏幕上不断跳动的数据，手指在键盘上飞速敲击。前方试验台上，一台专业设备的指示灯不断闪烁。原钊和团队成员正在测试的，是他们研发的“文献归纳分析辅助系统”最新升级版。这套系统立项之初，不少同事对原钊的选择颇感意外：这套系统只能供单位内部专家使用，意味着“发不了顶级期刊”“申请不了重点课题”，图啥？可在原钊心里，“助力科研的科研”同样价值不菲。事情，得从一年前说起—— 当时，该院一位领导深入各研究院调研，一位老专家的发言引起了他的重视：“每次研究新课题，光查阅资料、整理文献、梳理脉络就要花费大量的时间和精力，还容易出现错漏。要是有一套系统，能自动分析各类文献，归类整理数据和观点，就可以腾出更多时间和精力用于原创成果研究。” 这位领导进一步深入了解发现，不少老专家开展学术研究、撰写课题报告时，把大量时间用于文献查阅、资料整理、观点梳理、框架搭建等基础性事务，不仅造成智力资源的浪费，也影响了军事理论科研工作的质效。科研痛点就是攻关方向。调研结束后，该院党委一班人研究决定，组建一个专项攻关团队，利用数字化、智能化技术，打造一套科研辅助系统，为军事理论科研人员减负。物色人选时，计算机专业出身的原钊脱颖而出，成为团队负责人。消息传出，有同事提醒：“这种项目做得再好，也发不了顶级期刊。”有朋友表示不解：“一个技术过硬的专家，给别的专家当‘秘书’？”有团队成员着急：“这个小项目，连所里的青年基金都申请不上，以后职称怎么评？” 原钊何尝不知道，在以往的科研评价体系里，“小项目”不讨好。可他更忧心，如果大家都去搞“大项目”，谁来把专家们从繁琐低效的案头工作中解放出来？经验丰富的老专家们被基础性事务工作缠身，怎么提高理论研究的质量和效率？即使无名无利，也要干起来！经过反复论证和多次试验，原钊和团队成员研制出一套可快速进行文献梳理和信息挖掘的“文献归纳分析辅助系统”。该系统具备“速成”和“深研”两种工作模式，不仅能为科研人员提供思路启发，还能根据需求自主生成格式规范、逻辑清晰的理论框架，大幅减少基础性工作所需时间。这套系统推出之初，一位知名专家计划撰写某重大课题报告，正为搜集资料、整理素材而发愁。原钊团队使用该系统，快速生成严密科学的报告框架，让这位专家喜出望外：“系统生成的报告框架，已达到专业水准！” 老专家的肯定，让原钊团队和这套系统“一战成名”，越来越多的科研人员开始用这套系统辅助科研工作。一段时间后，大家普遍认为，这套系统功能强大、管用好用。成果备受认可，但原钊的心里并不踏实。“做这个项目我无怨无悔。但是，我担心团队成员因为跟着我做‘小项目’而耽误成长进步。”原钊说。作为科研人员，论文数量和项目大小是评价工作的重要依据。果不其然，去年底，有人对原钊和团队成员的评优评先与晋升提职提出异议。面对争议，该院领导组织使用过“文献归纳分析辅助系统”的专家集中座谈，广泛征求意见建议，并深入实验室现场观看操作演示，全面了解这套系统对科研工作的价值和意义。 “原钊团队没有顶刊论文，没有重大课题或重大奖项，但他们的科研成果帮助其他专家完成了多项重大课题，他们是‘托举专家’的专家，要肯定、要奖励。”党委会上，该院领导表示，“科研评价要强化实效、贡献导向，体现不同类别的差异性，不能搞‘一刀切’、‘一锅煮’。” 立功命令宣布那天，原钊和团队成员像往常一样，全身心投入一项新任务：为某重点课题分析梳理多年积累的文献资料。那天，不少老专家给原钊发来信息，为他和团队成员点赞。更让原钊和团队成员欣慰的是，该院党委结合他们的研究经历，出台一系列激励措施：在职称评审中增设“服务保障科研贡献”项目，明确规定助力大项科研任务的研究成果，与重要论文和重大奖项同等考量；设立专项基金，为打仗急需、科研急用的项目提供经费支持；将“解决实际问题”作为评先评优的重要导向。采访结束，夜色渐深，实验室里依旧灯火通明。“保障重大科研项目高效推进，为打赢明天的战争提供坚实技术支撑，我感到无比光荣！”说完这番话，原钊一头扎进工作中，和大伙在试验设备前紧张忙碌。身居幕后亦英雄 ■刘维姣在科研战线，谈及业绩，人们往往将目光投向那些重大项目的领军人物。然而，有一种业绩，却以“幕后”的形式彰显——不争功名利禄，在默默的奉献与坚守中，托举他人、成就事业。军事科学院某研究院专家原钊与团队成员，紧盯科研急需迎难而上，用一行行代码、一次次调试，开发出“文献归纳分析辅助系统”，实实在在为专家减负、为重大项目加速。他们看似不起眼的“小成果”，实为科研道路上的“大支撑”；他们甘居幕后、辛勤耕耘，恰恰是正确政绩观的生动体现。身居幕后亦英雄。当我们由衷为“托举专家”的专家点赞时，更应认真思考：如何让更多甘于幕后的科研人员心无旁骛、潜心钻研。在这一点上，该研究院党委的做法值得提倡——高度肯定“幕后贡献”，推动制度性变革，让躬身实干者不吃亏、默默奉献者受尊崇。这种制度安排，本身就是对正确政绩观的有力践行。