3 minute read
Many uncertainties in new
Ambiguity in the new research bill
Boosting research funding by as much as SEK 13.6 billion over four years is a new feature of the Government’s new research and innovation bill.
The bill also announces a new distribution model commencing in 2023. – However, the proposal contains a lot of ambiguity. To get a national perspective, the University of Gothenburg is now discussing different interpretations together with other Swedish higher education institutions and with the research councils, explains Deputy Vice-Chancellor Göran Landberg.
FOR 2021, THE GRANTS will be increased by SEK 3.4 billion, which is a ninefold increase compared with the 2016 research bill. All in all, there is an additional SEK 13.6 billion for research in the period 2021–2024, of which two thirds will go to the research councils. The purpose is to safeguard free research but also to provide the right conditions for the government’s research and innovation strategies. – For the year 2021, there is a temporary increase of SEK 500 million, says Sigríður Beck, Head of Unit at the Grants and Innovation Office. It is about addressing the risk of reduced private funding due to the ongoing pandemic. The University of Gothenburg’s share is SEK 35 million.
However, the major news in the bill is the new distribution model. – Instead of the current system, where part of the basic grant is redistributed according to bibliometrics and external grants, a model has been proposed that is based on peer review and the proportion of full-time students, Sigríður Beck explains. The idea is that all higher education institutions should define their own key profile areas and then apply for grants for these areas from the research councils, which will make an expert assessment. This is a new take on the STRUT inquiry’s proposal for increased expert assessment and more dialogue with the government, which will certainly be thoroughly discussed at the higher education institutions.
However, it is unclear how many key profile areas each university will have.
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
– THE SMALLER universities are probably guaranteed at least one area, but a major university with a broad scope such as the University of Gothenburg should be able to count on many more, Göran Landberg points out. There is no doubt that we are talking about strong, high-quality research areas. The model means that the higher education institutions will be exposed to further assessments, but we hope to be able to handle this without disrupting our operations. External assessments are something we are used to and that we do all the time.
THE RESEARCH BILL also contains proposals for university-specific goals within skills supply, gender equality and good employment conditions, as well as partnerships.
Furthermore, five overall societal challenges are highlighted as particularly important. Six new ten-year research programmes have been proposed, as well as continued support for the programmes that started in 2016. – The University of Gothenburg is a university with a broad scope and prominent research in all the areas that the government has highlighted, Göran Landberg explains. We are also used to working with research centres, such as the UGOT Challenges, so this suit us very well.
The bill also contains investment in infrastructure, where it is proposed that the Swedish Research Council will receive an additional SEK 1.3 billion over 3 years for infrastructure investment. – This is something that the University of Gothenburg and several other higher education institutions have requested, so we are very pleased about it.
Changes in the Higher Education Act have also been proposed, for example international activities and lifelong learning should be emphasized more.
– IT HAS ALSO been proposed that the promotion of academic freedom should be included in the Higher Education Act, which aligns well with the University of Gothenburg’s new vision, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin explains. Collaboration with society as a whole for mutual exchange is also emphasized and, naturally, we think this is very important.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Göran Landberg is mainly positive about the new bill. – What I would have liked is a greater international focus, not least in terms of European networks. But the bill means a significant increase in research funding for universities, which helps us tackle major societal challenges. There will also be improved governance of our operations and more university-specific assignments, which may of course be a challenge. However, much is still unclear, which leads to some concern about what the proposals will mean in practice. That is why we are discussing this with other higher education institutions and with the research councils, the bill is a national issue that we must deal with together.
