Academy of Finland Newsletter, 2/2009
The Academy of Finland newsletter will keep you updated on basic research funded in Finland and on other news from the Finnish world of science and research. In case you wish us to send this to someone else in your organisation or if you do not want to receive these newsletters in the future, please let us know at viestinta@aka.fi.
Features:
Finnish government to fund R&D activity with EUR 1.9 billion in 2009
Roadmap on national-level research infrastructures published
Finland outlines new national space strategy
Working group proposes advance ethics review in the humanities and social sciences
New strategy for Academy of Finland research programmes
Finnish programmes for Centres of Excellence in Research have promoted development of research environment
Decisions on 110 graduate schools and 901 doctoral student positions for 2010–2013
Academy Professor Mart Saarma receives Nordic science prize
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FINNISH GOVERNMENT TO FUND R&D ACTIVITY WITH EUR 1.9 BILLION IN 2009
The total funding for research and development was raised to EUR 1.9 billion in the 2009 Government Budget. According to recent statics from Statistics Finland, R&D funding will increase by EUR 102 million on the previous year, which amounts to nearly 6 per cent growth in nominal terms and 2 per cent growth in real terms. The percentage of funds allocated to R&D activities of overall government spending exclusive of debt servicing stands unchanged from the previous year at 4.4 per cent. Public R&D funding as a percentage of GDP rises to 1.02 per cent.
The administrative branches of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy receive 82 per cent of government R&D funding. R&D funding under the Ministry of Education increases by some EUR 60 million to a total of nearly EUR 840 million in 2009. The Academy of Finland operates within the administrative sector of the Ministry of Education. R&D funding under the Ministry of Employment and the Economy increases by EUR 50 million. R&D funding of Tekes, the other major Finnish funding agency, will increase by almost as much as the funding of the whole administrative branch it represents. Among other administrative branches with significant R&D activity, R&D funding increases by just under EUR 6 million under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, but remains almost unchanged under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
R&D funding of Tekes rises to EUR 575 million. Tekes accounts for 30 per cent of public R&D funding. The share of the Academy of Finland, which awards funding on a competitive basis, is 16 per cent and its total funding amounts to EUR 309 million. A total of EUR 490 million in R&D funding, or EUR 38 million more than in the year before, is entered in statistics for universities in 2009. Budget funding for R&D activity by government research institutes also grows by over EUR 17 million. R&D funding of university central hospitals and of other R&D, i.e. research carried out at ministries and central agencies, decreases. More information: http://www.stat.fi/til/tkker/2009/tkker_2009_2009-02-19_tie_001_en.html
ROADMAP ON NATIONAL-LEVEL RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES PUBLISHED
On assignment from the Ministry of Education, the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies set up a project on research infrastructures of national and international importance and has prepared a plan, referred to as a roadmap, for future infrastructure needs in Finland. The project identified 24 national-level research infrastructures. The project proposes 20 initiatives, 13 of which are related to European research infrastructures proposed by ESFRI (the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures), to be included in a list of new infrastructures or major upgrades of existing infrastructures. It is recommended that financing for the initiatives of seven fields of research should be put on the fast track.
In addition, the report presents recommendations for the development of infrastructures in different fields of research and general recommendations for building up infrastructure entities and for making the utilisation of infrastructures more effective. One of the recommendations envisions the establishment of a special body in Finland, a council for research infrastructures, to prepare and implement national and international research infrastructure policy and financing related to it. The implementation of the new initiatives would incur additional costs of about 30 million euro annually in the next few years. The cost of the existing national-level and international-level research infrastructures comes to about EUR 160 million annually. Read more: National-Level Research Infrastructures: Present State and Roadmap (summary). More information: http://www.tsv.fi/tik/
FINLAND OUTLINES NEW NATIONAL SPACE STRATEGY
Space technology applications should be used more diversely in various industries. A more broad-based use of applications would also bring space activities closer to citizens. Particularly good opportunities for utilising such technology lie in research focusing on global changes associated with climate change, the sufficiency of natural resources, and the safety and wellbeing of people. This is the message conveyed by the National Space Strategy 2009–2011, submitted by the Finnish Space Committee to the Minister of Economic Affairs.
In addition to the implementation of space technology, the strategy aims to reinforce the societal impact of space activities and render them more international. The opportunities offered by space activities could be seized on to improve the competitiveness of Finnish trade and industry and create global business, with the objective of rendering Finland a pioneer in certain specific areas of space activities, particularly earth observation, satellite positioning and technology development.
The means to attaining the strategy’s objective include increasing financing for, and research into space activities, as well as continuing with technology development, influencing decision-making with respect to European policies, and participating proactively in international programmes.
WORKING GROUP PROPOSES ADVANCE ETHICS REVIEW IN THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The report by a working group appointed by the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics proposes that a system of ethics review be introduced in the humanities and social sciences. The new system would apply the same principles as the instructions published by the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics (Good scientific practice and procedures for handling misconduct and fraud in science). The scientific community (universities, polytechnics, research institutes and research funding organisations) have made a full commitment to the instructions in question. According to the proposed reform, this commitment would include the duty to perform an advance ethics review in accordance with the principles put forward by the working group.
According to the working group, the requirement for ethics review would only apply to certain clearly defined types of research (for instance, if the research impacts on the physical integrity of the subjects or an exception is made from the principle of informed consent). A majority of research could thus still be pursued without being subjected to ethics review. In addition, the working group proposes that universities and research organisations establish regional ethics review committees to perform ethics reviews of research plans.
The mandate of the working group was to examine the need for ethics review in the humanities and social sciences and the need for providing instructions for such review. The working group was appointed with a view to ensuring that its members would represent the broadest possible spectrum of disciplines within the humanities and social sciences from the point of view of research ethics.
NEW STRATEGY FOR ACADEMY OF FINLAND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
The Academy of Finland has adopted a new research programme strategy to direct its research programmes and research and to strive to achieve a high scientific standard and long-term scientific and societal impact. Research programmes regenerate scientific research and create new knowledge and competencies on designated thematic areas or problems.
Research programmes coordinate research of a high standard in response to various needs in society. A multidisciplinary approach provides a means to regenerating scientific research. Research programmes contribute new knowledge to public debate and promote awareness of the importance of science in society. Making research known and disseminating its results is an important means of enhancing the impact of research programmes. Research programmes are evaluated upon completion and information from programme evaluation is widely disseminated to decision-makers and other stakeholders.
The research programme strategy emphasises that broadly-based and long-term research programmes facilitate and promote the international networking of Finnish researchers. The development of the European Research Area (ERA) brings researchers new opportunities for international collaboration and intensifies cooperation between research funding organisations. This is expected to bring deeper, broader and more long-term cooperation in the planning of research programmes and in carrying out joint calls. International cooperation with non-European countries within the Academy’s research programmes has also strongly increased in the past few years.
The Academy has twelve ongoing research programmes at present. The number of completed research programmes is 49. The Academy’s research programme strategy is available in English at www.aka.fi/publications.
FINNISH PROGRAMMES FOR CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH HAVE PROMOTED DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH ENVIRONMENTS
The societal impact of the Finnish Programmes for Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Research has been evaluated. According to the evaluation commissioned by the Academy, the CoE programmes have been very successful in achieving their objectives. The impact of the programmes is most clearly seen in the development of the operating environments for cutting-edge research and in research training. Future CoE programmes should have fewer CoEs with more funding per unit.
The evaluation covered the 2000–2005 and 2002–2007 CoE programme terms. The goal was to define in what way the programmes have promoted the societal objectives and practical impacts set for them in the CoE strategy. The evaluation focused on assessing the societal impacts of the CoE programmes. Assessment of the scientific quality of the CoEs was not included in the scope of this evaluation, because high scientific quality was the primary criterion for the selection of CoEs in the first place.
The CoE programmes can be considered very successful. Their greatest added value was generated through the development of cutting-edge research environments and through the investments made in researcher training. Recommendations made in the evaluation report include that Finnish CoE programmes be continued, and that scientific quality should continue to constitute the primary selection criterion. According to the evaluation report, it is essential to promote research infrastructure policy and research careers in order to improve the potential for cutting-edge research in Finland. There have been Academy-appointed Centres of Excellence operating in Finland since the 1990s.
DECISIONS ON 110 GRADUATE SCHOOLS AND 901 DOCTORAL STUDENT POSITIONS FOR 2010–2013
The Academy of Finland has made decisions regarding 110 graduate schools, 901 graduate school positions and graduate school coordinators for 2010–2013. In 2010, a total of 147 new graduate school positions will be established and the total number of positions will reach 1,600. The graduate schools were awarded a total of EUR 19.8 million in operating grants. Universities are allocated funding by the Ministry of Education for the costs of graduate school positions and coordinators and by the Academy for their operating grants. In addition, the present graduate schools have 699 graduate school positions and 49 coordinator positions that will end at the end of 2011. Two graduate schools will continue operating with present funding until the end of 2011.
Key criteria used in decision-making included the scientific and operational quality, the need for PhDs, employment of PhDs, international cooperation of graduate schools and their performance and effectiveness. The aim was also to expand graduate schools and encourage a more multidisciplinary approach. Consideration was also given to the need for PhDs in the disciplines represented by the national Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTIs) and to the recommendations received from discipline assessments conducted by the Academy of Finland.
ACADEMY PROFESSOR MART SAARMA RECEIVES NORDIC SCIENCE PRIZE
Academy Professor Mart Saarma’s contribution to research into neurotrophic factors has been awarded a Nordic science prize, the Danish Lundbeck Foundation’s Nordic Research Prize 2009 of DKK 2 million, or EUR 268,500. Professor Saarma works at the Institute of Biotechnology of the University of Helsinki.
In its press release on the Research Prize, the Foundation said that Professor Saarma is awarded the prize for his outstanding contributions to our present knowledge and understanding of how neurotrophic factors and their receptors are regulated and expressed, and how they control development, functioning and pathology of neurons, but also other cells. The research findings may prove applicable in medical treatments in the future. Professor Saarma is one of the Academy of Finland’s 40 Academy Professors. The Academy’s highly esteemed research post holders, Academy Professors and Academy Research Fellows, receive their funding from the Academy but work at a university or a research institute.
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