Business Group: “Reward Research Collaboration”
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise is proposing that allocation of government research funding should give extra weight to universities that successfully collaborate with business. The organisation points to KTH as a leading example.
“Research policy needs a to move in new directions,” says the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) in a press release. “The focus has to shift from resources to results.”
The Confederation suggests a new “innovation premium”, that would give consideration to the level of private-sector grants won by universities when decisions are made on government funding for higher education and research.
The proposal — which leaves details open for future clarification — was included in a memorandum sent to the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications and the Ministry of Education and Research in early November. The Confederation says it hopes to influence the government’s policy propositions on innovation and research slated for presentation next year.
“Sweden invests a greater share of its GDP in research than any other European country,” said Tobias Krantz, Head of Education, Research and Innovation at the Confederation. “But the debate usually focusses on the money itself while actual results tend to be overlooked. Sweden is no better than mediocre in turning research into innovation. We have strengthen our ability to innovate.”
The Confederation points to KTH and Luleå University of Technology as noteworthy examples of success in attracting industry funding, noting that these universities draw 10 percent of their total research funding from the private sector as compared with an average of 4 percent among all Swedish higher education institutions.
Katarina Ahlfort