Changing Governance and Authority Relations: The Funding of the Swedish Public Research System Presentation at the Tentative Governance Conference, University of Twente,October 28, 2010 Tina Hedmo, Uppsala University, Sweden

A Diversified System in 2010 Almost 2/3 of publicly financed research is conducted in universities and university colleges 10 Universities Two Old: Uppsala University (1477), Lund University (1668) Two Late 19th Century (Stockholm, Gothenburg) Two Mid-20th Century (Umeå and Linköping) Four New Universities (former university colleges) Specialised institutions (6) University colleges (14) Few research institutes

A System Closely Linked to HE Humboldt philosophy, i.e. education and research together Mass expansion and increased political interest in higher education and research in the post-war era An expansion of students and institutions as well as increased internationalization Considered as ”A condition for societal development and wealth”. A system under continuous changes in regulation: 1977: Regulation 1993: Deregulation Late 1990s: Reregulation 2010:Deregulation- “Academia for this day and age”

The Creation of Research Councils (> 1940s) for Different Disciplines The introduction of ”mobile research resources” Independent bodies Complementing state funding (funding on a competitive basis) Imitations of US and British models Ex, the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Reserach (established in 1916)

Changes in the 1950s and 1960s Sectorial research was introduced in the 1950s on a small scale The sectorial resarch was linked to the various Ministries 1965: The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond) A further expansion of sectorial research in the 1970s as a result of an introduction of a national policy on science and technology

1977: A re-organization of the research council organisation Mergers of the research councils for the Humanities and Social Sciences into the Council for research in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSFR ) The creation of the Council for Planning and Co- ordination of Research (Forskningsrådsnämnden, FRN) with the purpose of promoting interdisci- plinary research

The 1980s: An emphasis on socially relevant research The introduction of Research Bills reflecting the whole of the research system Research councils and sectoral agencies proposed programme areas and distributed research funds on the basis of quality criteria A strengthened role of research in humanities and social sciences

The 1990s – A Revolutionary Decade Research politics approaching economic policy Restructuring and expanding the Public Science SystemRestructuring and expanding the Public Science System 11 autonomous research foundations established on the basis of the Wage Earners Funds (18 Billion SEK)11 autonomous research foundations established on the basis of the Wage Earners Funds (18 Billion SEK) SSF (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research), the Knowledge Foundation, MISTRA (the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research), etcSSF (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research), the Knowledge Foundation, MISTRA (the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research), etc Cultural donation to the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (RJ)Cultural donation to the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (RJ) Supporting research in strategic important research areas (IT, environment, cooperation with industry) 1999 – a new principle for allocating state block grants – scientific areas (or disciplinary domains)

The early-2000s Government research policy: the value of competitive funding and increased efficiency More public funding channeled through ”external funding actors” More emphasis on multi-disciplinary research, the value of top-researchers, bridging R&D, the diffusion of research results. In 2001: Melting 11 research councils into four to increase efficiency and competition in public research: The Swedish Research Council (VR), FAS, FORMAS and VINNOVA

The late-2000s: New Directions An increased political interest in steering research Research argued as being central for economic welfare and the core of innovation politics A new state funding form - strategic efforts The value of competition, academic excellence, and utility

2009 – A New Model for Public Research Funding Government Bill: A Boost for Research and Innovation (prop. 2008/09:50) Parts of the state block grants allocated on a competitive basis. i.e. quality indicators such as external funding and the number of publications An increase in public funding (5 Billion SEK between ) State block grants increase with 1,55 Billion SEK A new funding form: Strategic efforts on a competitive basis (1,2 Billion SEK) An increase of resources allocated by the research councils and VINNOVA (1,2 Billion SEK) The role of scientific area as basis of resource allocation abolished

A Fragmented Funding System

Conclusions Regarding Block grants vs. Project grants Block grants to universities Earlier very specified Presently: Less specified but increasing Project grants Increasing (”Competitive funding”) Increasing concentration (”CoE”) Increasing large-scale projects Strong conflicts over overheads particularly with external and private foundations

General Conclusions The Swedish Public Science System is intimately interrelated with the HE-system and political reforms and ideologies More Complexity More Actors (private and public, national/international) More Competition More Concentration More External Evaluations (and internal) But still… A state-dominated system

Thanks for your attention!!