Forskningsfinansiering - kvalitet och relevans, SOU ... - Regeringen

Summary
The Inquiry makes the assessment that the agency structure
launched in 2001 has not been fully able to realise the intentions
and ambitions that formed the basis for the reform. This does not
mean that the inquiry is denying the many merits and successful
work of the new agencies. The organisation for preparing proposals
has become more efficient, innovation support has been given a
more professional setting and concerted action has been taken in
certain strategic areas. All in all, however, the new agency
organisation has not fully achieved the desired effects, either in its
individual parts or concerning the full range of measures taken.
This view applies to the support for basic research, which is far too
fragmented and small-scale at present. Even though the preparation
of applications received has become more efficient, this work
appears to completely dominate activities with the result that larger
and more extensive analyses and work have been overshadowed.
This also applies to support for the application of research, which,
while full of initiative, is far too unstructured. However the
criticism delivered by the Inquiry applies first and foremost to the
lack of links between these two action areas, and the limited
interfaces between the National Research Council, the Swedish
Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS) and the
Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences
and Spatial Planning (Formas), on the one hand, and the Swedish
Agency for Innovation Systems, on the other. Nor are the few
initiatives that do exist designed so that different funders play
complementary roles on the basis of their mandates to achieve
common objectives.
In accordance with its terms of reference, the Inquiry has
assessed developments in various areas so as to judge whether the
present division of tasks can be modified. In doing so, the Inquiry
has considered the question of whether the division of
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