Cuts to research funding in 2022 to be cancelled, situation in 2023 remains unresolved

The Finnish Government has decided to cancel the budget cuts planned to the research funding of the Academy of Finland in 2022.

On the other hand, the government budget session did not bring a solution to the research funding cuts planned for 2023 and beyond. They will be outlined in the government spending limits discussion in spring 2022.

In its draft budget put forward in August, the Ministry of Finance proposed that the research funding allocated by the Academy of Finland be cut by 40 million euros in 2022. Cuts of up to 115 million euros have been discussed for 2023.

The Academy of Finland considers the decision now made concerning the year 2022 to be very important in order to safeguard the future of Finnish research and education.

Heikki Mannila, President of the Academy of Finland, said: “We’re very relieved by the Government’s decision to cancel the research funding cuts planned for next year. On the other hand, the fate of the larger cuts planned for 2023 is still open, and we have no precise information on the funding situation in the coming years. The ongoing work of the parliamentary RDI working group is therefore very important.”

Johanna Myllyharju, Chair of the Academy Board, said: “We’re very pleased that research funding for 2022 has been secured. In science, however, long-term research is a key prerequisite for success, and therefore research funding, too, must be long-term and predictable.”

If implemented, the cuts in research funding in the coming years would cripple long-term and high-quality research in Finland and jeopardise the broadening of the knowledge and education base. The cuts would be detrimental to Finnish science and its impact and internationalisation. They would also reduce the opportunities of young talented scientists to carry out high-quality science in Finland.

Mannila added: “An uncertain future diminishes the attractiveness of pursuing a career in research among young Finnish researchers and reduces the possibilities for Finnish research organisations to recruit top foreign researchers to Finland.”

The budget authority of the Academy of Finland in 2021 amounts to 406 million euros, including 45 million euros in EU Recovery and Resilience Plan funding decided in the supplementary budget. At the government budget session, it was decided that the budget authority for 2022 would be 390.5 million euros, including 40.5 million euros in Recovery and Resilience Plan funding.