Abstract:New R&D institutions have become an important subject of national innovation system. Strengthening the resilience of new R&D institutions is the key to achieving stable development in the current VUCA environment. Through the modular analysis of new R&D institutions, this paper puts forward the toughness interpretation of the operation process of new R&D institutions, identifies the four-dimensional toughness characteristics of cyclic variability, interactivity, redundancy and robustness, and constructs the toughness evaluation system of new R&D institutions. Two types of new R&D institutions, namely, start-up and growth, are selected to carry out practical application, which verifies the rationality and feasibility of the evaluation system, and provides a new path for ensuring the new R&D institutions to resist external shocks and achieve sound development.