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Features:
Finnish Government R&D funding goes up by 60 million euros in 2007
Academy of Finland open to taking risks
Action programme to promote professional research careers
50–70 million euros investment in forest industry research
Report on university publication quality and productivity
Finland needs eScience programme
Government sectoral research to be reorganised
Need for better Russia expertise in Finland
Finland to chair Nordic Council of Ministers in 2007
New National Advisory Board on Research Ethics appointed
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FINNISH GOVERNMENT R&D FUNDING GOES UP BY 60 MILLION EUROS IN 2007
In Finland, the total funding of research and development in the 2007 Government Budget goes up to 1.73 billion euros. R&D funding increases in nominal terms by 3.6 per cent and in real terms by 1.2 per cent. Government budget appropriations or outlays on research and development as a proportion of overall government spending stands at 4.5 per cent, where it has stayed during the past few years. The share of public R&D funding of GDP totals just below one per cent.
According to Statistics Finland and its new publication "Government R&D Funding in the State Budget 2007", the increases go to the administrative branches that receive the most R&D funding. The 36 million-euro increase in funding under the Ministry of Education is divided rather evenly between the operative costs of universities and research funding distributed via the Academy of Finland. The 33 million-euro increase in funding under the Ministry of Trade and Industry results mainly from increases in appropriations and outlays of Tekes – Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.
Funding by Tekes, as the largest funding organisation, totals 504 million euros, accounting for a 29 per cent share. The share of the Academy of Finland, also awarding funding on a competitive basis, is 16 per cent, and the funding amounts in all to 276 million euros. The greatest change from 2006 by organisation is the further decrease of 13 million euros in other R&D funding, i.e. research carried out in ministries.
The publication includes the following tables: Budget funds for R&D and total R&D funds for some government research institutes in 2007; Government R&D appropriations as a percentage of GDP in the EU and some countries in 1997–2006; Government R&D appropriations by funding organisation in 2006 and 2007; Government RD appropriations by ministry in 2006 and 2007; Government R&D appropriations by socio-economic objective in 2006 and 2007; Government R&D appropriations for some government research institutes in 2006 and 2007; Government R&D appropriations in relation to total government expenditure in 2006 and 2007; and Government expenditure, debt and R&D appropriations in 1996–2007. For more on these, and other facts, see www.tilastokeskus.fi/til/tkker/2007/tkker_2007_2007-02-08_tie_001_en.html. Inquiries: tiede.teknologia@stat.fi.
ACADEMY OF FINLAND OPEN TO TAKING RISKS
The Academy of Finland has published a report on breakthrough, high-risk research. Based on a survey of applications submitted in 2005 and their evaluations, it is evident that the Academy does grant funding to high-risk research projects, provided that they are deemed exceptionally innovative and otherwise of a high scientific standard. Elements of breakthrough research were also identified in projects reviewed as average or better than average that did not receive funding. Of a total of 206 projects under review, a tenth were identified as possible breakthrough research, half of which were granted funding. These accounted for more than a fifth of all projects receiving funding.
The report also shows that new scientific initiatives require extra attention, but also more specifically defined concepts. In the future, the Academy will continue work to support breakthrough research by encouraging researchers to present exceptionally innovative, risky and high-quality research plans in their applications, and by improving its evaluation and reporting processes to better take into account novel research ideas.
In recent years, a number of international funding agencies have started to investigate the needs and models for the funding of high-risk research. Increasing competition in research funding has given rise to concerns about whether peer-review screens out breakthrough research from the set of projects that receive funding. On the other hand, competing research systems have increased pressures for the renewal of science and for research diversity. More information: Senior Adviser Maunu Häyrynen, maunu.hayrynen@aka.fi.
ACTION PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH CAREERS
The Finnish Ministry of Education has launched an action programme on the development of researcher training and research careers for 2007–2011. The programme will create a research career system that could enable access to and advancement in a career in research. Postdoctoral research careers would become more predictable and attractive through intensified cooperation between universities, research institutes and business companies. A four-stage research career would cover the time from doctoral student to postdoctoral researcher, to university researcher or Academy Research Fellow, and on to Professor.
The main path to doctoral training leading to a professional career in research is through graduate schools, whose status shall be reinforced. The number of graduate school positions will be increased so that ever more doctoral students could be included in the graduate school system. The aim is to step up research cooperation between universities, research institutes and business and industry, and to jointly fund researcher training.
The programme is also a means to improve the position of postdoctoral researchers who have recently earned their doctorate. To accomplish this, universities will have to establish more postdoctoral researcher posts and the Academy of Finland will have to increase funding for postdoctoral researchers. Researcher mobility between the public and the private sector as well as internationally will also be increased. The topmost ladder of the research career model, the professor stage, will be developed by establishing more part-time and co-funded professorships based on the needs of science, business and industry, and the public sector.
The costs of implementing the development measures for researcher training and research careers are estimated at in all 150 million euros by the year 2011.
50–70 MILLION EUROS INVESTMENT IN FOREST INDUSTRY RESEARCH
The new grouping directing research funding for Finnish forest industry will draw together more actors in the field than expected, as evidenced by the fact that also notable equipment manufacturers and the chemical industry are getting aboard the forest cluster project. The project will comprise 17 enterprises, research institutes and universities in all.
Estimates say the forest cluster will encompass research projects worth a total of 50–70 million euros, collaborating within the framework of preliminary research projects carrying out long-term studies over several years. Intellectual property rights in the projects will be settled on a case-by-case basis and each enterprise can benefit from the joint research projects to form a basis for their business development. The new limited company that will manage the cluster will start business before the summer.
The forest cluster aims to double its annual research investment of 350–400 million euros as well as its production value by 2030.
The Science and Technology Policy Council of Finland has accepted the proposal to establish five strategic centres for science, technology and innovation. The centres provide top research units and enterprises utilising research results a new avenue towards close cooperation. The centres, operating either at one site or in networks, will carry out research plans defined jointly by enterprises and research units. The Finnish Government has put aside 130 million euros for five centres. The forest cluster will receive more than 20 million of this sum; in addition, enterprises are expected to allocate a similar amount to joint research. Funding from the Academy of Finland and Tekes will also be channelled to the centres. More information on centres for STI: Tekes, Executive Director Jussi Kivikoski, jussi.kivikoski@tekes.fi; Academy of Finland, Director Ritva Dammert, ritva.dammert@aka.fi.
REPORT ON UNIVERSITY PUBLICATION QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY
The review of the quality and productivity of publications by Finnish universities has been the object of two project studies, one of which was carried out by the Academy of Finland. The completed bibliometrics project studied the development of publications by Finnish universities, their research resources and scientific productivity, carried out by university and by discipline during 1995–2004. The other project investigated the applicability of bibliometric data in the KOTA database as regards the assessment of university performance. KOTA is an online service maintained by the Ministry of Education offering statistical data on universities and fields of education.
The results are linked to recent discussion in Finland on the quality of scientific research at universities and on means how to measure and improve scientific performance. The study includes a summary report that presents projects, outlining measures to improve the science policy knowledge base. The report concludes that neither database that was studied can on its own or put together meet all the expectations that have been placed on the assessment of the performance of university research in Finland. The road taken must lead to that evaluation utilises all available sources of information that may provide added value to forming a fair and reliable picture of university-based research in Finland.
The observations and explanations relating to the development of Finnish university research productivity indicate that we still do not know enough about the national and international mechanisms affecting scientific production.
FINLANDS NEEDS eSCIENCE PROGRAMME
A working group exploring the use of information technology in the research and innovation system suggests that an eScience programme be launched in Finland. The programme and the working group's other proposals will promote skills of computational science and engineering in Finland as well as the application of IT in the research and innovation system. The group concludes that the significance of IT in terms of R&D will increase in the future.
Several countries have a wide range of eScience programmes in progress. These include investments in advancement and reorganisation of education in computational science and engineering, in multidisciplinary and -technological research programmes as well as in infrastructures. eScience programmes make use of IT that serves research on a broad spectrum and harness new, network-based methods for R&D.
Appointed by the Ministry of Education, the working group's assignment was to create a grid strategy for Finland. This involved investigating the current status and future prospects of this network technology and preparing a proposal for necessary actions and distribution of work. As work progressed, it became evident that exploring IT use in the research and innovation system should be broadened beyond grid technology. The memorandum contains proposals for actions that will significantly advance skills within computational science and engineering in Finland as well as the application of IT in the research and innovation system.
The working group proposes, for example, the following actions: increase the number of Master's and doctoral programmes in computational science in Finnish universities; initiate a broad multidisciplinary research programme in computational science and engineering; ensure that the Funet network remains competitive also in the future; establish multidisciplinary or discipline-specific grid infrastructures for computation and data storage, also moving beyond sectoral boundaries; initiate a "National Grid Initiative" to coordinate national and international grid infrastructures; ensure that Finnish researchers are able to efficiently utilise the high-performance computing and data management infrastructures emerging from the EU 7th Framework Programme; build a national, comprehensive and cost-effective environment and specialist cluster for massive data materials management; develop funding systems that will improve the quality of software for computational science; develop funding systems that will enable researchers to buy or develop services in support of networking collaboration; and assign an eScience programme steering group to coordinate the above actions.
GOVERNMENT SECTORAL RESEARCH TO BE REORGANISED
According to a working group assigned to consider the upgrading of government sectoral research any development measures should mainly be based on purchaser-provider activities. The premise is the government programme in which key policy definitions for sectoral research will be listed, while the strategic emphasis and operational models for the research will be defined more precisely in the government sectoral research decision to be issued at the beginning of the government term. The Finnish government changes this spring.
As sectoral research becomes more important, improvements must be made to both application of research knowledge and producing it. This will also require improvements in the direction and coordination of sectoral research. Key actors in sectoral research are government research institutes. Their aggregate funding amounts to close on 500 million euros, half of which is budget funding. In turn, the investments by different administrative branches in sectoral research performed at sectoral research institutes, universities and polytechnics totals some 450 million euros.
The working groups proposes that the sectoral research field be grouped into four thematic areas: regional and community infrastructure; know-how, work and well-being; sustainable development; and security. By government decision, each theme will be assigned a purchaser consortium consisting of ministries, other end-users of research and experts. The consortia will draft a research agenda of research programmes.
NEED FOR BETTER RUSSIA EXPERTISE IN FINLAND
Finnish investment in Russia expertise is modest considering the country's geographical location and Russia's growing role as a market, a partner and a cultural superpower. Rapporteur Arto Mustajoki who surveyed universities' cooperation with Russia and their Russia expertise calls for concrete actions to diversify and strengthen Russia know-how.
According to Professor Mustajoki, Russia know-how and interaction with Russians should be a natural extension of the knowledge base of people working at different levels of society, whereby there would no longer be a need for separate Russia programmes. He proposes that the current nine university subjects in the Russian language and literature/culture or translation and interpretation of Russian could be pieced together into five units. Cooperation between the units should then be promoted through a collaborative network. Grouping the units together would be part of the structural development of universities.
Mustajoki says the scarcity and instability of the resources of Russian studies presents a risk to Russia expertise in Finland. He goes on to suggest that cooperation between universities be expanded to fields with untapped resources and that the status of the Aleksanteri Institute as a national actor be clarified and enhanced. Raising the level of know-how by reinforcing university profiles requires a substantial resource increase by the government.
Mustajoki further encourages the intensifying of cooperation both between researchers and between information providers and users. One new means of doing so could be to hold a Russia expertise expo, for instance. Furthermore, cooperation should be increased with Russian players, in particular in the natural sciences. Russian researchers living in Finland should more effectively be used as bridge builders to Russia.
FINLAND TO CHAIR NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS IN 2007
Finland is the 2007 chair of the Nordic Council of Ministers. In research, Finland will continue intensifying Nordic collaboration in higher education and research. Special attention will be targeted at IT policy development, Nordplus mobility programmes and joint Nordic Master's programmes. NordForsk's work in linking Nordic strengths and improving Nordic exposure will be supported and the organisation's position asserted. Further aims include reinforcing the role of research and researcher training in Nordic cooperation and directing funds available to research to NordForsk. More information: www.norden2007.fi.
NEW NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD ON RESEARCH ETHICS APPOINTED
The Finnish Ministry of Education has appointed a new National Advisory Board on Research Ethics for the term 1 February 2007–31 January 2010. The Board's task is to address ethical questions relating to research and to work towards the advancement of research ethics in Finland. The new Board will be chaired by Chancellor Eero Vuorio and vice-chaired by Vice-Rector, Professor Riitta Keiski. The members are Professor Katie Eriksson, Deputy Director Matti Heikkilä, Councellor of Legislation Markku Helin, Director Merja Hiltunen, Research Officer, D.Soc.Sc. Arja Kuula, Director (Development and Evaluation) Paavo Löppönen, Vice President Sinimaaria Ranki and Professor Ari Salminen.
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Academy of Finland in brief: The Academy's objective is to promote high-level scientific research through long-term quality-based research funding, research and science policy expertise and efforts to strengthen the position of science and scientific research. The Academy makes decisions on research funding worth 276 million euros. Each year about 5,000 people benefit from Academy research funding. For more information, go to www.aka.fi or send a message to maj-lis.tanner(at)aka.fi.