OLLE’S COMMENTS. The performance-based part of the faculty appropriation for research and post-graduate education is a small trickle compared to the flood of research funds in the Region Västra Götaland (VGR), writes Olle Larkö, and he is pleased that the university and VGR have come to a good consensus on these funds.
I hope all of you have returned to work with renewed energy after the holiday, just like me. My summer included enjoying time on my boat and attending my grandchild’s baptism in Vienna. But now it’s great to be back at work again.
Even our board of directors has begun working after the holiday. One of the questions at our first meeting last week was about the principles for how to allocate a small part of our faculty appropriation for research and post-graduate education based on performance. The presented proposal was approved after a vote of the board. The adopted principles mean that SEK 38 million of the faculty appropriation for research and post-graduate education will be allocated based on three equally-important factors: doctoral degrees, citations and external funding obtained in national and international competition. These principles will be incorporated into the forthcoming decision on allocation of funds to be taken in October.
The issue of performance-based grants has attracted a lot of attention, both for and against. Our board has also discussed the various aspects of the issue, but in general, the board believes that there is good reason to reward success.
Personally I think this is a minor issue that is receiving entirely too much attention
Personally I think this is a minor issue that is receiving entirely too much attention. The SEK 38 million to be allocated based on performance is a small trickle compared to the flood of money dealt with in the ALF system. Gothenburg is almost alone in allowing, not just clinical researchers, but also pre-clinical and biomedical researchers to apply for ALF funds. This supports our translational approach.
In addition to ALF funds—here we are talking about almost SEK 400 million—there is another large source of money within the Västra Götaland Region that is about the same amount as ALF funding. Regional research funds, which we in academia formerly called ‘grey funds’ because sometimes it was not clear what all this money was used for. This is changing as several of SU’s areas are already tracking the money and additional areas will follow. In discussions about our local ALF cooperation, we have reached a good consensus on how these funds should be used. To ensure that research funding is not accidentally used for development of health care, we have now agreed on two criteria for research: first, the results should be published in a peer review journal, and, secondly, projects should focus on developing new knowledge. Using existing knowledge alone in a project is development, not research.
This does not mean that we suddenly have access to an additional SEK 400 million for research. By and large, these funds are already used for the categories they were intended—such as clinical graduate students, adjunct professors and focused clinical research.
By and large, these funds are already used for the categories they were intended
Personally, I expect a fairly quiet autumn, as I set the stage for my successor. The Academy Board has tasked the steering committee, led by Göran Stenman, to find suitable candidates for the position of dean. I have every confidence that the committee will succeed with their assignment.
