In most Western countries, research is mostly funded by government agencies or private foundations that have dedicated funds to grant-funded projects. These are typically called granting agencies as they give out grants to project proposals.
Other sources of funding include pharmaceutical companies, who fund drug studies and are paid for the drugs being given to test participants, and individual donors that contribute money towards specific areas or researchers.
Research institutions can also use their own resources to conduct scientific experiments, this way requiring less outside support. The more resources an institution has, the higher quality research they can produce.
The Swedish system works differently than other developed nations’ when it comes to funding science. There are no large scale state run agencies that offer financial aid to projects, instead each field has its own small team that covers all of the expenses themselves or through collaborations with like-minded people and organizations.
This article will discuss some of the ways these teams are financed in the Swedish academic culture.
European funding
Recent developments have seen a shift towards more internationally oriented research, which is funded through international collaborations. This type of research benefits from open access to information and resources, as wellas opportunities for collaboration with researchers abroad.
Research that focuses on developing new treatments or technologies often enjoys higher levels of funding than basic science studies. Health-related research makes use of clinical trials, observational studies and technology development to progress knowledge.
In Europe, research funders increasingly emphasize transnationality over national focus. For instance, the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Programme (MSCA) rewards both domestic and foreign collaborative projects.
The MSCA “Horizon 2020” runs from July 2016 to June 2022 and was designed to contribute to innovation, growth and employment. It supports all areas of scientific activity, including fundamental research, experimental sciences, bioengineering, computational sciences, and applied research and industrial innovations.
World Health Organization funding
One of the most important ways that research is funded comes from The WHO. Every year, the organization allocates funds to various countries or organizations to conduct clinical studies on new treatments and strategies for diseases. These studies are conducted under an approved process known as international collaborative research agreements (ICRAs).
Under these ICRAs, medical teams in developing countries work with professional researchers at academic institutions or large hospitals in high-income nations to carry out investigations. Funding is typically given per patient enrolled in the study, not per day. This way, each country can find their own sources of funding to finance the project, which has become quite common due to this program.
The findings from these studies are then published in peer-reviewed journals and made available to doctors around the world. Recent examples include studies investigating drug therapies for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other conditions.
Private foundations
In addition to public funding, there is an extensive network of private charitable foundations that fund research projects. Some of these foundations focus exclusively on specific disease areas or field types (for example, cancer research). Others offer general grants for all fields and diseases.
Many well-known Swedish science institutions were built through private donations. For instance, Karolinska Institutet received large endowments which it uses to finance scientific studies and doctor training.
Private individuals also contribute to academic work by hiring professors or providing fellowships or scholarships to train researchers. These are often made available only to people with certain qualifications, so they very much promote diversity in academia.
Benefits of private funding | Greatly contributes to academic work | Can be more targeted (focus on conditions like diabetes) than government funded ones | Motivate recipients to produce quality work due to their passion for what they do
However, careful monitoring of grantees and evaluators is needed to make sure that no special interest groups influence results. Unfortunately, such vigilance can easily distract from actual research and publication.
Corporate sponsors
Funding for scientific research is not always straightforward, nor constant throughout your career. Some funding sources are only open to certain types of researchers or laboratories, which makes it difficult to get the resources needed to carry out important projects.
Many well-known studies have been sponsored by big corporations looking to spread their brand name. This often means that the findings are designed to portray the product being marketed in the best light possible.
It can be hard to determine whether these studies are completely objective, especially if there is a heavy corporate influence. Since companies want to keep up market share and make profits, they will usually choose what results to promote themselves according to how successful those products are.
Corporate sponsorship has become very common in academic settings. Even though independent reviewers must evaluate the study’s quality, individual professors may feel pressured to accept the sponsor’s money so that they will remain productive members of the team.
This situation can easily create bias towards having good relationships with the sponsors and publishing papers that do not question the efficacy of their products.
Government grants
Funding is typically given by government agencies or through philanthropic organizations. Governments are usually looking to advance their national interest, so your research topic may be used to strengthen the country’s position internationally or within its borders. Philanthropists often fund work that they believe in or want to see done.
Research universities and nonprofit institutions can also offer funding for studies. They’re able to do this because of their strong financial resources, like large endowments that help support students and faculty.
These funds come with conditions, though. For instance, academic staff members must report how the money was spent. This way, people interested in learning more about the grant can check those reports and determine if what was funded aligns with their beliefs.
University grants
Funding for scientific research is typically broken down into two main categories depending on what type of institution the researcher works at. Universities are frequently funded through either grant or contract funding, dependent on whether the work being done is considered academic (research) rather than more practical, such as studying how to improve plant growth for agriculture.
Grants come from both private and public sources and are awarded based on if the proposed project can be conducted within budget constraints and will produce significant results that make them worth it. Contract researchers usually get their funds directly deposited weekly, unless they choose to receive additional paid time off per completed task. This way, workers are never quite sure when they’ll be able to see their paychecks!
Agencies that offer funding most commonly fund projects related to health, environment, technology or social issues. These are referred to as “mission-based” programs because the goal of the agency sponsoring the research is to find solutions to these problems.
Demand for science
Funding agencies want to see how well you run your research laboratory, or how effective you are as a researcher, before they will give you money to do projects. They want to make sure that what you plan to do is really needed and can be done properly, so that it contributes to making scientific knowledge more complete.
Research funding is not free! It costs lots of money up-front, and then there are running expenses (for example, food while working) after you have received it. The higher these overhead costs, the less likely an investigator will get funding, even if his or her project is very valuable.
Researchers who apply for funds must also agree to use the resources given to them for a certain amount of time, which means that their work may need to be limited by this period. This could be a problem if you were planning to perform experimental studies only once per year, say, to test whether your new job entails greater health risks than your current one.
