The role of external funding in Swedish higher education research

This report is an account of the role that external research funding in general and funding from the Swedish Research Council in particular, play for research in Sweden.

Conclusions are drawn from a case study of six research-oriented departments within five research areas at large Swedish universities. Its focus is on the department level as it is on this level that financing from the direct government appropriations for research and third cycle education interplays with external research funding from multiple sources. The case study comprises documentation of research activities at the departments, their economy and personnel and interviews with heads of departments and economy/administrative personnel.

A review that compares the third party funding from government sources in Sweden with that in Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland, complements the case study.