4. FINANCING4.1 GeneralFinancing the <strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>University</strong> activities is in generalrather complex and relies on some 30 different applicationsyearly. Considerable efforts have thus been madeby the Secretariat to safeguard that the <strong>Programme</strong> willsurvive economically. Still, this has only been partly successfuland many activities have been underfinanced.Since 2003 the basic financing of the Secretariat issecured by the Swedish Ministry of Education and Uppsala<strong>University</strong> with respectively 2 MSEK and 1 MSEK(in total 320,000 Euro). This funding is insufficient forthe basic functions and salaries. An additional income ofsome 1 MSEK is thus added from project funding. Ofcourse, the Secretariat is mainly working with projects.Uppsala <strong>University</strong> has requested an increased fundingfrom the Ministry. The outcome of this requestshould be clear in the fall of 2006. The funding of theSecretariat corresponds to 60 % of the total budget ofthe <strong>Programme</strong>.4.2 Swedish funds for cooperation with Central andEastern EuropeCooperation with the so-called countries in transitionhas been supported by Swedish national funding sincethe systems change in 1991. The funds have been managedby Sida (Swedish International Development andCooperation Authority). In 1996 the Visby <strong>Programme</strong>,managed by the Swedish Institute, was created to serveas an important source for the support of university cooperationand individual researchers’ and student mobilitybetween Sweden and the Central and Eastern Europeancountries.Thus network activities – conferences for studentsand teachers, centres meetings, board meetings etc - havemostly been financed by the Visby <strong>Programme</strong> withabout 1 Mln SEK yearly. A large number of projects, includingthe development of all course material over theyears, have been funded by Sida. Also a number of eventsin the network, such as introductory teachers’ conferences,have therefore been paid by project funds from Sida.The Swedish policy for support for this cooperationchanged radically with the enlargement of the EuropeanUnion. Thus support for cooperation with the new EUcountries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, wasout-phased, and projects only with these countries arenot any longer possible to finance in this way. Russia willbe out-phased from 2008, since Russia is considered tobe able to finance projects from its own national sources.Thus only projects with Belarus and Ukraine in the <strong>Baltic</strong>Sea region will be legitimate receivers of Sida andVisby <strong>Programme</strong> funds thereafter.In 2005 Sida however established the so-called <strong>Baltic</strong>Sea Centre in Visby. This centre has the possibilitiesto partly support projects with the EU countries in theregion. The BUP has already received funding from thisCentre.The new unit will also manage the Visby <strong>Programme</strong>from 2007. In addition the new unit will establish a newprogramme for education and training in the region. Itis not yet clear in which way this programme will work.4.3 The EU Interreg programmeThe European Union regional development programmeInterreg was established in the 1990s in seven regions inEurope, funded by the European Regional DevelopmentFund (ERDF). In 2005 the last call for application wasmade within the third phase of this programme, InterregIII. Interreg has been considered a successful programmeand a continuation is now being planned; the first callfor application in the new phase is expected to be announcedfor 2007.Interreg supports rather large projects – in the orderof 1-2 Mln Euro – mostly with local and regionalauthorities as project partners. However, universities,being state institutions, are legitimate partners and allowedto apply for funding. Teaching and research is nota priority in Interreg but the development of regionalcoherence and cooperation are. The <strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>University</strong><strong>Programme</strong> has taken, and still takes part in three Interregprojects. In the BUUF (<strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>University</strong> UrbanForum) project, in which BUP is the lead partner, thefunding for BUP is 170,000 Euro, while the total projectbudget is 1,3 Mln Euro.The Interreg project requires that partners guaranteeco-financing on levels which vary between 50% and80%, the larger co-financing for western EU countriesand the smallest for Russia, which are legitimate partnersunder the Tacis funding mechanism. On the otherhand full costs for over-head (often close to 50 %) maybe included in the budget. The partners are required tocarry out the project according to the signed contractand report costs. Of these the ERDF funded amountsare reimbursed after the reports are accepted. Participationin Interreg projects thus requires that the partnershave the capacity to seek and receive co-financingor provide that themselves and are able to pre-pay allcosts.4.4 European Economic Area fundingIn 2004 The European Union announced the possibilityfor the 10 new members in the Union to fund projectsthrough the so-called EEA (European Economic Area)Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian FinancialMechanisms. Funding is considerable and will last upto 2009. Poland is by far the greatest beneficiary. Legitimateprojects include education and research with afocus on issues of environmental management and sustainabledevelopment. Universities may apply.The EEA funds seem to work in a similar way asthe Interreg funds. The projects are rather large, co-financingis required and prepayment is made followedby reimbursement. The <strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>University</strong> Secretariat hasprepared applications to all its member countries at theCentre Directors meetings. So far no application hasbeen delivered.4.5 Research funding - The EU 7th Frame Work <strong>Programme</strong>The European union funding mechanism for researchstarting in 2007, the 7th Framework <strong>Programme</strong>, offersexcellent possibilities to fund research cooperation inthe <strong>Baltic</strong> Sea region. Large projects with many partnersmay be considered. Additional funding sources may be10
needed, which then will require national support. Sustainabilityresearch is a prioritised area in the FP 7.National funding for research is available in all countriesin the region. The Swedish possibilities in the fieldof sustainability research are dominated by Formas andMistra. BUP administered projects or projects in whichBUP has been a partner has repeatedly been fundedfrom these sources.4.6 Contributions from participating universities – internalfundingFor <strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>Programme</strong> funding from participatinguniversities has been important. The special roleof Uppsala <strong>University</strong>, as well as the important supportfrom both Copenhagen <strong>University</strong> and Åbo Akademi<strong>University</strong> in the initial phase should be mentioned, butsupport has been provided over the entire history of the<strong>Programme</strong> from many universities.Different meetings, conferences and other eventswere funded locally by the hosts. The BUP national centreshave been supported, during periods importantly,such as at Åbo Akademi <strong>University</strong> in Åbo/Turku andin Lodz Technical <strong>University</strong>, as well as by St Petersburg<strong>University</strong>, and Umeå <strong>University</strong> in Sweden. Studentevents were more recently co-financed by Lodz Technical<strong>University</strong>.In the future it will most likely be required that participatinguniversities contribute to the <strong>Programme</strong> if itshould develop its character of networking. Althoughthere are numerous benefits, networking corresponds toan additional cost compared to conventional universityactivity. The external funding available will most likely beconnected to specific projects such as research, cooperationwith authorities or educational projects. Two kindsof funding are expected to rely on internal funding:• The basic organisation. Just as Uppsala <strong>University</strong>support the Secretariat it is essential that the BUPCentres receive local financial support to makethe network function properly.• Networking activities, such as summer schools,student meetings and teachers meetings.11
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