SciLifeLab deemed as an excellent strategic research environment
Both nodes of SciLifeLab received excellent grades in all three categories by the Swedish Research Council in their evaluation of the Strategic Research Areas (SRA).
SciLifeLab encompasses two Strategic Research Areas (SRAs), one at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (MolbioKth) and one at Uppsala University (MolbioUu). In the evaluation presented on May 1 both SRAs received the grade “excellent” in all three categories; performance, strategy and added value.
The agencies responsible for the evaluation did not recommend a redistribution of the funds to the SciLifeLab SRAs, but that they should stay the same.
Quotes from the evaluation report:
“The overall grading of research output for MolbioUu in an international perspective is on the frontline. During the period 2010–2013, scientists from MolbioUu have published 611 papers, with an estimated coverage in the World of Science of 96%. […] The proportion of publications in the top 10% and top 1% is 15.1 and 1.9%, respectively. Since each exceeds the 10% or 1% value, this indicates that a greater than expected number of the unit’s publications are amongst the best in the world for this field. 15 articles were published in Nature, Science, Nature Genetics and Nature Methods in 2013. The bibliometric analysis shows a mean citation rate of 1.62, indicating that the unit’s publications are cited above the world average by 62%.”
“The overall grading of utilization and benefits for MolBioKth in an international perspective has developed satisfactorily. […] MolBioKth has built up several special platforms for transferring research for utilization. A major effort is the establishment of a High Throughput Centre for Drug Discovery. The Innovation Offices of KTH, KI and SU are involved in technology transfer, capitalizing and the research performed at MolBioKth. Stockholm has a lively biotech scene and Mathias Uhlen is well known for his entrepreneurial activities. So MolBioKth is well positioned in this respect.”
About the Strategic Research Area initiative
The Strategic Research Area initiative for research funding was launched by the Swedish Government in the research and innovation bill of 2008. In September 2010, the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS now Forte), the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas), the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten), and the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) were given the mission to evaluate the higher education institutions responsible for the strategic research areas and to present recommendations to the Government by May 1, 2015.
The evaluation has been based on five key questions:
1) How has the research been planned and steered (‘strategic management’)?
2) What is the quality, results and effects of the research?
3) What has been the strategic significance of the initiative for society and for the business sector?
4) What is the state of collaboration between universities and with other stakeholders?
5) What is the state of the link between the strategic research and education?
Read more and download the recommendation and the evaluation report here.
Read what the SciLifeLab host universities have written about the result of the evaluation for their respective SRAs:
