About actual implementation of the JINR budget in 2018

News, 24 April 2019

The JINR budget for 2018 was approved by the CP in November 2017 with the total income and expenses of 207.2 million USD. In March 2018, with regard to the JINR budget surplus in 2017 of 61.5 million USD, the budget expenditure for 2018 was increased up to 268.7 million USD.

The plan for pumping up the budget in 2018 was fulfilled by 100 %. The major income source is membership fees of the JINR Member States. The receipt of fees in 2018 was 97 % of the amount planned by the budget. The lack of the fee receipt was compensated by other income. In 2018, it exceeded the volume planned by the budget.

Budget expenditure in 2018 was fulfilled by 79 %. The main reason is the late receipt of a large (more than a quarter) number of fees from the JINR Member States. The budget expenditure consists of nineteen items characterizing various types of expenses. To make them clearer, expenditure items are grouped into six consolidated items: “Staff”, “International Scientific and Technological Cooperation” (ISTC), “Energy and water”, “Material expenses, R&D, building”, “Repairs”, “Operational expenses”. The bulk of expenses account for two consolidated items, namely “Staff” and “Material expenses, R&D, building” that account for 80 % of the planned budget expenditure.

The actual budget implementation of most of the consolidated items is close to 100 %. The exceptions are the following: the ISTC item, which includes expenses of business trips, recruiting, holding meetings and conferences (it was implemented by 88 %), and the “Material expenses, R&D, building” consolidated item 83 % of which was implemented. The “Material expenses, R&D, building” consolidated item is the biggest in the budget as far as these financial means are used for major expenses on creation, modernization, and development of the basic experimental facilities of the Institute. In 2018, 103.7 million USD was spent in the frames of this item while 125 million USD was allotted for it. The cost underrun of the budget is connected with delays in the construction of the accelerating complex NICA. In spite of the underrun, such volume of material expenses is record for the Institute: this rate exceeded 100 million USD for the first time.

Actual material expenses on scientific projects of the Institute in 2018 were the following: 46.5 million USD was spent for creation of the NICA accelerating complex; 12.4 million USD was used for the creation and development of the cyclotron complex DRIBs-III; 9.8 million USD was allotted for the neutrino programme (including the Baikal project); 10.2 million USD was spent for development of the research nuclear facility IBR-2 and spectrometers; 4.7 million USD was allotted to develop the Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex; 6.5 million USD was allotted for other scientific projects. In addition to this, material expenses were incurred for the operation of the basic facilities and meeting of the infrastructure expenses.

Labour costs are the second largest expenses in the expenditure part of the JINR budget. In 2018, 73.1 million USD was actually used for this consolidated item. The average monthly salary in 2018 in the Institute, taking into account all budget payments, was 78.6 thousand rubles and increased by 12% in comparison to the previous year. The average salary for the “Researchers” category of staff members, including all budget payments, was 108.6 thousand rubles and increased by 13 %. Such results are very close to the level of salaries planned by the Seven-Year Plan for the development of JINR in 2017-2023. It should be noted that the average salary in 2018 was also affected by the funds allocated for additional support of researchers engaged in the implementation of priority projects, as well as other budgetary payments to the staff of the Institute that are not included in the payroll.

The “Repairs” consolidated item can be singled out in the budget expenditure. The actual cost of major and current repairs of buildings, premises, and equipment was accounted for 10.9 million USD while the planned sum was 11.4 million USD. 5.6 million USD out of this sum was used for repairs in laboratories, and 5.3 million USD was spent to repair the joint Institute’s objects. The need in repair costs was created by the repurposing of laboratory buildings and premises for research projects implemented in the Institute and the necessity to maintain the Institute’s buildings and structures, many of which had not been repaired for a long time, in the operating condition.

In 2018, repairs in the laboratories were mainly connected with interior maintenance of engineering and administrative buildings, façade repairs, and the roof insulation of the FLNR accelerating building, repairs of the neutron guide gallery of the IREN facility, façade repairs of administrative buildings, repairs of roofs and heating systems, upgrade of adjacent areas.

It is necessary to highlight repairs of such Institute’s joint objects as the façade of the hotel-dormitory on Moscovskaya street 2 and repairs of rooms in the “Dubna” hotel on Veksler street 8.

The milestone of the actual JINR budget expenditure in 2018 is the budget surplus of 57.7 million USD. It was taken into account when the JINR budget for 2019 was drafted. The largest part of the surplus is allocated for additional financing of the implementation of JINR research projects.

Information by the JINR Finance & Economy Office