Ministry of Science, Technology and Space

The ministry's stated mission was to invest in scientific research in nationally prioritized fields and to act as a bridge between academic research and industrial development.[1] Its self-description characterized its niche as promoting "strategic research"—applied research occupying the gap between basic science and commercialization—and it sought to shorten the maturation time for technological ideas with long-term application potential.[3][1]

To this end, the ministry worked to improve the country's research and knowledge infrastructure, shape national R&D policy, set scientific priorities, and strengthen domestic scientific infrastructure and international research ties.[1] It also carried responsibilities for bringing science to the public, supporting civilian space activity, and promoting science in geographically and socially peripheral communities and among groups underrepresented in research.[1]

The minister chaired the Ministerial Committee on Science and Technology, where matters of cross-governmental concern were referred.[4] Professional units coordinated work across life sciences, exact sciences, computer sciences, social sciences, R&D policy and financing, and archaeology.[4] For research areas deemed to have significant national economic potential—including biotechnology, medicine, and superconductors—the ministry convened steering committees of scientists and developers to prepare national R&D programs.[4]

Israel's government science portfolio passed through numerous organizational forms after the state's founding. Before 1977, responsibility for science policy was held first by a Scientific Council and then by the National Council for Research and Development, both operating within the Prime Minister's Office.[1] From 1977 to 1982, the science brief was placed under the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.[1]

In 1982, Professor Yuval Ne'eman established a dedicated Ministry of Science and Development.[1] The portfolio then cycled through several names—including the Ministry of Science and Arts, Ministry of Science and Culture, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport—before culture and sport were separated from the science ministry in 2009.[1][5]

A government decision in 2013 introduced the name Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.[1] The ministry returned to the name Ministry of Science and Technology in 2017.[1] A subsequent renaming to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology had occurred by the time of the ministry's 2022 Freedom of Information report, although that report does not identify the decision date for the change.[2]

As described in the ministry's 2020 Freedom of Information report, the ministry comprised eight central units: the Chief Scientist's Center, planning and development of science infrastructure, the Israel Space Agency, science and community, scientific foreign relations, the National Council for Civilian Research and Development, the National Council for the Advancement of Women in Science, and an administrative headquarters.[1] The Science and Community division encompassed eight regional research and development centers.[1]

The Chief Scientist served as the ministry's highest scientific authority and chair of its research foundation, as well as scientific adviser to the minister and ministry management.[1] The role involved shaping short- and long-term scientific policy, developing the budgetary framework for scientific and technological infrastructure, coordinating the government ministries' Chief Scientists' Forum, and recommending fields of national priority for ministry support each year.[1]

The National Council for Civilian Research and Development was established by law and authorized to set national R&D policy and recommend an overall policy for developing and advancing scientific research to the government through the minister.[1] The council operated through national committees of external experts and consultants, including a committee that developed recommendations for improving the transfer and commercialization of academic knowledge to industry.[6]

A Research Foundations Division published development programs, accepted and assessed proposals, and managed grant agreements.[4] Its instruments included the Research Encouragement Foundation and Levi Eshkol Fellowships for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in fields needing additional personnel, along with foundations supporting cooperation between Israeli and overseas researchers under international scientific agreements.[4] The ministry also maintained a computerized database covering approximately 50 funding bodies and programs and some 20,000 projects funded since 1983, used to coordinate public R&D support and avoid duplication.[4]

The ministry's institutional significance lay in its position between academic science and industrial development. Its infrastructure program supported research with long-term application potential through grants, scholarships, laboratories, equipment, and knowledge centers, while seeking to cultivate skilled personnel and preserve Israel's comparative advantages in selected fields.[1]

An evaluation of projects funded through the infrastructural-research track found that 95% produced new foundational knowledge, 64% reported applied outcomes, and 4% led to new companies.[7] Its international programs also connected Israeli researchers with overseas partners, research facilities, and funding, while its regional centers and public-science programs extended research and scientific education beyond the country's principal academic hubs.[1]

The ministry's repeated reorganizations prompted periodic debate about whether its functions required a standalone government ministry. A 2013 Calcalist editorial proposed abolishing the ministry and transferring its research-support functions and the National Council for Research and Development to the Ministry of Education; this was a policy proposal rather than a government decision.[5]

The later transfer of the Israel Innovation Authority to the science ministry also drew concern from some industry and economic figures, who feared political intervention in a body that remained a separate statutory entity. The legislative arrangement retained the authority's separate legal status while replacing Ministry of Economy representatives with science-ministry representatives on its committees and plenary.[8]

International cooperation was a core pillar of the ministry's work. Its scientific foreign-relations division managed state-level science ties in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, implemented cooperation agreements, organized joint research calls and meetings, and represented Israel in international scientific organizations.[1]

In 2020, the ministry reported scientific cooperation agreements with 33 countries, including new agreements signed that year with the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Sweden.[1] It represented Israel in 17 international organizations and European infrastructure initiatives and contributed approximately NIS 130 million toward membership fees, including participation in the Horizon 2020 research program.[1]

During Yaakov Peri's tenure, he identified the promotion of international scientific relations as one of his priorities, alongside supporting the establishment of research centers across the country and advancing programs for women and minorities in science.[9]

The ministry initiated a program for developing scientific and technological infrastructure in 1995, targeting advanced strategic research in areas where Israel held a comparative advantage.[1] Its aims included connecting basic academic research with applied development, shortening the maturation time for useful technological ideas, and cultivating skilled personnel in selected priority areas.[1] The ministry promoted research through funding, scholarships, and knowledge centers, including support for applied and engineering research, laboratories and equipment, and students and postdoctoral researchers.[1]

A funding track for "infrastructural research"—positioned between basic research and application-directed research—supported approximately 208 projects during 2008–2010 for a total of NIS 201 million.[7] In 2012, the ministry committed a further NIS 120 million for priority fields including neuroscience, supercomputing and cyber, life sciences, and petroleum alternatives for transport, alongside a separate space allocation.[7] An evaluation by the Samuel Neaman Institute found that 95% of funded projects produced new foundational knowledge, 64% yielded applied outcomes, and 4% generated new companies.[7]

The ministry also supported specific knowledge-infrastructure initiatives. It funded the Ronnie Ellenblum Jerusalem History Knowledge Center, a collaboration among the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the National Library of Israel, and the Israel Antiquities Authority that aggregates research materials about Jerusalem—including archaeological finds, historical monuments, written sources, photographs, illustrations, and music—through a GIS-based digital system.[10] Ministry grants also extended to earthquake-preparedness research: a 2012–2015 project on preparing the civilian population for earthquakes received NIS 350,000, and a related 2012–2014 modeling project received NIS 183,125.[11]

To support the integration of immigrant scientists arriving in the large wave of immigration that began in early 1990, the ministry established a Unit for Absorbing Scientific Manpower in summer 1989 and began implementing plans to fund research by immigrant scientists before the wave started.[4]

The Israel Space Agency was established by government decision in 1983 and operated within the ministry.[1] The agency initiated, led, and coordinated Israel's civilian space activity under the national civilian space plan. Its work included scientific programs intended to benefit Israeli society and the economy, international cooperation, infrastructure research in academia and research institutes, support for space technologies and companies, and public and educational activity.[1]

By January 2021, the ministry and agency were supporting young space-technology companies and coordinating the government's contribution to astronaut Eytan Stibbe's then-planned International Space Station mission. Their work included selecting accompanying science projects and preparing educational programs, while the Ramon Foundation was to manage the mission.[12] The ministry was also involved in international satellite projects and preparations for the Beresheet 2 lunar mission.[12]

In May 2022, the state announced plans to invest NIS 600 million over five years in a space-technology program presented by the Israel Space Agency. Its goals included doubling the number of space-technology companies from 60 to 120, quadrupling employment in the sector from 2,500 to 10,000, increasing commercial-sector spending, and expanding academic space research and educational programs.[13] The program also proposed establishing a national space center, expanding the Tevel satellite-building program for high-school students, and developing the Shalom commercial-research satellite in cooperation with Italy.[13]

Yaakov Peri, who joined the Yesh Atid party and was elected to the Knesset in 2013, was appointed Minister of Science, Technology and Space that year.[9] He held the post until December 2014, when Yesh Atid left the governing coalition.[9] During his tenure, Peri emphasized international scientific relations, establishing research centers around the country, and advancing programs for women and minorities in science.[9]

A 2022 Calcalist retrospective also identifies Danny Danon as a minister during the 2013–2015 period in which the ministry used the Science, Technology and Space title.[14] Ofir Akunis subsequently served as Minister of Science, Technology and Space in the 34th government.[15] The ministry returned to the name Ministry of Science and Technology in 2017.[1]

In January 2021, then-minister Yizhar Shai reported that the ministry was funding several hundred scientific research projects, approximately 100 of them related to combating COVID-19 across fields including biology and virology.[12] The ministry had created an international platform for sharing Israeli COVID-19 research findings, involving science ministers or equivalent officials from 20 other countries.[12] Shai also reported that budget cuts had placed research funding on hold and forced reductions in educational programs reaching tens of thousands of students.[12]

A June 2021 government reorganization upgraded the ministry to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and placed the Israel Innovation Authority under the science minister as part of an effort to bring science and innovation under one minister.[16] A legislative memorandum reported in January 2022 was described as completing the legal transfer under the R&D Law. The authority remained a separate statutory entity, with Ministry of Science representatives replacing Ministry of Economy representatives on authority committees.[8]

The ministry's director-general at the time, Hila Hadad-Hamelnik, described its role as investing in applied research and building scientific and technological foundations for fields that could join Israel's high-tech sector several years later.[17]