Expert panel reviews impacts of research funding: Academy has been very successful in its mission

30 August 2006

The Academy of Finland has been very successful in its core mission. It has a well-defined and well-recognized role in the Finnish innovation system, providing key resources for basic research and promoting the quality of that research. The Academy is well-respected both within and beyond the science community, and it receives exceptionally scarce criticism. These are the conclusions of a panel of experts chaired by ProfessorJussi Huttunen. The panel's report was published today.
 
Academy research funding, the panel says, has been instrumental in promoting and supporting high level basic research as well as future oriented strategic research at universities, government research institutes and health care units. Academy funding and the procedures applied in the allocation of that funding have also promoted dynamic change within the university and research institute system.
 
According to the panel, Academy research funding has had a key role in facilitating independent research and in promoting its quality throughout Finland. The allocation of basic research funding through open competition helps to raise the standards of research both at universities and research institutes. The quality systems developed by the Academy, particulary its procedures for reviewing applications for research grants, raise the level of research and strengthen its impact. Academy coordination has helped to avoid unnecessary overlap and, on the other hand, to make sure that no gaps have remained in the coverage of national research policy.
 
The panel was commissioned by the Academy of Finland to assess the impacts of Academy research funding and to submit its recommendations on how to strengthen those impacts. Chaired by Professor Jussi Huttunen, Director-General Emeritus,the other panel members were Rector Jarl-Thure Eriksson (Tampere University of Technology), Professor Outi Hovatta, (Regea and Karolinska Institutet), Professor Kaisa Nyberg (Helsinki University of Technology), Rector Aino Sallinen (University of Jyväskylä), Director Hannu Uusitalo (Finnish Centre for Pensions), Professor Pentti Vartia (Research Institute of the Finnish Economy ETLA) and Rector Perttu Vartiainen (University of Joensuu). The panel consulted dozens of experts on science and science funding.
 
The panel emphasises that the Academy shall continue to focus on supporting basic research. There are other operators in the innovation system whose role is to finance applied research that is aimed at developing society and its services, assessing the impacts of societal measures and developing new products. It is important that the Academy's goals are defined and its funding mechanisms are developed with a view to the objectives and needs of the Finnish innovation system as a whole, bearing in mind the Academy's specific role as a funding agency for basic research.
 
Academy President Raimo Väyrynen shares the panel's view that, ultimately, the impact that the Academy can have depends not only on its own actions and policies: "The inadequate funding made available to universities and their infrastructure problems very much undermine the impacts of Academy research funding," he says.
 
The panel takes the view that, as they stand today, university and Academy funding mechanisms are inadequately synchronised. There are problems with cost allocation, infrastructure funding, researcher training and the planning of research careers. Indeed the panel puts forward the recommendation that the Academy allocate resources to infrastructure projects for university profiling and develop procedures that will promote the development of innovative research environments and support researchers' career development.
 
Research funding needs to be stepped up
The panel of experts recommends that Academy research funding be stepped up, particularly for general project funding, the postdoctoral reseacher's programme, Academy Research Fellow posts, infrastructure support and overheads. In the context of project funding, funds should be made available for high-risk research in promising new lines of inquiry.
 
The panel emphasises that scientific quality and innovativeness must remain the main criteria for individual funding decisions. The needs of society should be reflected in the Academy's decisions on the allocation of funding between its Research Councils as well as in the selection of research programmes.
 
The panel takes the view that Academy funding should be targeted more selectively to a fewer number of research groups and programmes. At the same time the overall volume and duration of funding for those programnmes should be increased. Different types of funding should accordingly be reduced and rationalised.
 
Funding for individual Centres of Excellence should be increased by reducing the overall number of these centres. Centres of Excellence should not be appointed for more than two successive terms. The number of research programmes should be reduced so that the volume and duration of funding for individual research programmes can be increased. Funding for the most successful and effective projects should be continued upon completion of the research programme. The panel proposes that programmes be selected on the basis of current needs in society as well as the forecasting of future needs.
 
The impact assessment is part of a larger Academy project concerned to explore the impacts of research and research funding, the standards and structure of science and research and the future challenges facing the research system. This is based upon the Government resolution on the strategic development of the public research system.
 
Further information: Professor Jussi Huttunen, tel. +358 50 505 2776 and President Raimo Väyrynen, tel. +358 9 7748 8 8210
 
Maj-Lis Tanner, Head of Communications
Academy of Finland Communications
maj-lis.tanner(at)aka.fi, tel. +358 9 7748 8347