From now on, the performance-based component of the direct funding that Sahlgrenska Academy’s institutes receives from the national government will be used for strategic initiatives at the faculty level. The change was revealed in the faculty’s budget for the coming year, as set by the Academy Board.
The change will see two of the Academy’s institutes, Odontology and Health and Care Sciences, have their share of direct government funding increased, while the remaining four institutes will receive a reduced share. To alleviate the negative impact of this change, the transition to the new model will occur in two stages.
The question of how direct government funding should be divided between the institutes has long been a matter of debate. In total, SEK 185 million of the direct government funding received will be distributed in the form of direct grants to Sahlgrenska Academy’s six institutes, and so far, a small portion of this grant has been distributed based on bibliometrics and the contribution from external financiers. This performance-based component will now be discontinued, with the exception of the co-financing provided by the faculty for young researchers with external research grants.
In order for the change not to have an unduly sudden impact on the institutes, the new model will be phased in over a two-year period.
“It has proven difficult to find a good model for distributing funds based on performance. Our institutes differ widely in their abilities to both publish and secure grants from the Swedish Research Council and other financiers,” explains Academy Dean, Olle Larkö.
The Institute of Medicine will be hardest hit; after two years, its direct funding will have fallen by 15 percent. Head of the Institute of Medicine, Hans Carlsten, considers it strange that Sahlgrenska Academy has opted to adopt a wholly unique distribution model. Both the state and the university allocate 20 percent of direct government funding based on performance, and Carlsten believes that researchers who have helped secure faculty funding in the face of nationwide competition should likewise receive a share of the reward.
“It’s clear that our criticism of the decision has fallen on deaf ears. Performance-based direct government funding was previously used to pay the wages of those who comprise the engine that drives our successful research—those who attract external funding and build successful research environments. Now we have to consider how we’re going to manage on a reduced budget,” says Carlsten, who expects that saved capital will need to be used to pay these wages during the transition period.
By the time the new distribution model has taken full effect, the Institute of Odontology will have seen its basic grant rise by almost SEK 3 million a year—an increase of 15 percent. Head of the Institute of Odontology, Annika Ekestubbe, understands the criticism, but still feels that it is good that the performance-based component will now be used for strategic initiatives pending the introduction of a better distribution model.
“The performance-based component has always given rise to debate, and, even if we have used what we believe are the best criteria for achieving a fair reflection of the research work being done, the institutes’ research fields have nowhere near the same opportunities, especially when it comes to external funding. Our institute is currently undergoing a generation shift and needs to recruit at the postdoctoral level. The increase in funding received directly from the government means that we can now invest in young researchers and further strengthen our research environments,” Ekestubbe says.
At the same time as the Academy Board is redesigning the funding distribution model for the institutes, it is also increasing the faculty’s shared funding pool from SEK 20 million to SEK 30 million. This money will go towards financing more strategic initiatives, such as grants for returning postdocs (återvändarbidrag), co-financing for young researchers, and recruitment grants for external researchers. The Academy Board will also bolster the research environments within speech and language pathology and biomedical laboratory science.
“There is broad agreement among the Academy Board members about the strategic initiatives, including those pertaining to younger researchers. These are initiatives that will benefit the entire faculty in the long run,” explains Academy Dean, Olle Larkö.
The Academy Board intends to continue investigating how the basic grant can best be distributed. The final decision on the 2015 budget will not be made until next year.
ABOUT DIRECT GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR RESEARCH
In 2014 the state will increase the performance-based component of the direct funding it provides for research and postgraduate studies, as shared between Sweden’s universities, from 10 percent to 20 percent. In total, the University of Gothenburg will receive almost SEK 1.5 billion in national research grants, of which 20 percent of the funding to be distributed between faculties will be allocated based on research results. In 2014, Sahlgrenska Academy will receive SEK 381 million. The faculty will use these funds for the renting of facilities, special initiatives, Core Facilities, and basic grants for its institutes. In previous years, a portion of these funds has also been allocated to the institutes based on their performance.
