Swedish higher education institutions receive direct government funding – also referred to as block grants – from the Swedish Government to fund research and doctoral education. These block grants form the basis of the funding for the research conducted, and universities are free to use these means in various research fields to solve issues at hand and can freely publish the results. Freedom of research is protected both in the Swedish constitution and in the Swedish Higher Education Act, but also in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Katrine Riklund, Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
Photo: Mattias Pettersson
Beside block grants, researchers at a higher education institution also apply for grants from funding bodies, and there are a few funding bodies for external research and innovation to choose from, both government-owned and private ones. These funding bodies have different profiles and set varying requirements on researchers, and the purpose of the funding they offer is to promote excellence and contribute to solving societal needs.
Some of the biggest government-owned research funding bodies are Forte in areas of health, working life and welfare; Formas on sustainable development in areas of the environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning; Vinnova innovation agency; and the Swedish Research Council, which funds research and research infrastructure in all scientific disciplines. There are also public authorities funding research and innovation, for instance the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). Beside government funding bodies, researchers can also apply for international funding through the EU or the American National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example.
Government block grants for research are not completely free to use as a rather large proportion is used to co-fund allocation of resources from external funding bodies. Over the years, a shift has taken place with a relative reduction in block grants reaching universities directly. This leads to a relative increase in funds to government-owned research funding bodies. Block grants comprise about half of the funding for research that Umeå University receives. External funding is usually distributed by application. By directing and limiting funding calls in different ways, the Swedish state can control what research is conducted. Each year, hundreds of more or less directed calls for research funding are made. And I wonder: does this control really strengthen Swedish research?
At the moment, an enquiry into research funding under the name of Fofin is underway. The government investigator Ingrid Pettersson is tasked with leading an investigation into how Swedish external research and innovation funding is organised. The aim of this enquiry is to "ensure that the organisation efficiently supports research and innovation of highest quality; is suited to the changes in society; promotes national and international collaboration; and ensures access to research infrastructure". On 11 May, the enquiry presented an interim report (in Swedish) containing data in three areas: funding calls, experiences of the current system, and an international outlook. The interim report forms a good basis to understand how many possible ways there are to deal with these three areas. The results of the enquiry in its entirety will be presented on 30 September 2023, and at the Almedalen Week – an annual political event in Swedish Gotland.
The interim report highlights research infrastructure as an incredibly important, and also costly, part of research and innovation. The interim report emphasizes that stakeholders find the current system unclear and that coordination is flawed. Hence, strategy and vision for infrastructure is requested as well as long-term perspectives.
Research drives the need for research infrastructure and the funding landscape is currently multifaceted and those running our infrastructures are doing a great job solving the puzzle involved in acquiring funding. The national research infrastructures that we have are also co-funded through university-wide funding and by the faculties. An important part in the research infrastructure work is to make them visible and well-known so they can be used by researchers in need: researchers who may be positioned geographically far away from the infrastructure.
In a joint proposal drafted together with the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF) and the Swedish Research Council, we emphasise the need for coordination of the national research infrastructures. And, to process sensitive data, gathering all responsibility at one and the same public authority is proposed. This solution was also mentioned in a former investigation into research infrastructure and is supported by an overwhelming majority of the Swedish higher education institutions. So far, however, no steps have been taken in the proposed direction, and the processing of national research infrastructures are still multifaceted and unclear.
One challenge in organising research funding is that education, research, utilisation of research and innovation are interlinked, but still handled by different funding bodies. An important issue is how a future organisation can favour the entire chain – from conducting basic research to establishing businesses – in the best possible way to solve the biggest societal challenges we are faced with.
Basic research is driven by curiosity and seeking new knowledge without having any specific application in mind – in contrast to applied research where research output is supposed to be used practically to solve an identified problem. Beside expanding our knowledge and awareness, innovation is a part of the utilisation of research through making use of knowledge in the development of new products and services, or creating benefits for society through new methods or approaches. To reach quality in research, balance between the allocation of funding between basic research and applied research is a necessity. Basic research is needed in order for researchers to reach unexpected breakthroughs. It also forms the fundament that applied research often builds upon.
For society to cope with not only present-day but also future challenges, the entire chain of basic research, applied research and innovation must harmonize. Regardless of what field you are in, you are part of an important entirety with effects on the long term.
A hope and desire I nurture for the future is that universities' block grants for research will increase.