What is your opinion on the research institute and funding reform? Respond to the open consultation

An evaluation group is currently investigating how the government resolution on the state research institute and research funding reform (TULA 2013) has affected the field of research. The evaluation group is interested particularly in how the collaboration partners of the research institutes subject to the evaluation and users of research see the impacts of the reform. The open consultation is an essential part of material acquisition in the evaluation group. It provides important information on the wide-ranging effects of the reform and supports the group in drawing up the conclusions of the evaluation. The open consultation will be open until 15th August 2018.

The packages of measures in the reform include merging and corporatisation of research institutes, intensified collaboration between research institutes and higher education institutions, development of activities and the new funding forms for research that supports decision-making, which are strategic research (STN) and Government's analysis, assessment and research activities (VN TEAS).

An open consultation provides the opportunity for everyone who is interested in or has a view on the implementation of the TULA reform to express their personal views or the views of the organisation on the impacts of the reform. The evaluation group is also interested in the views of persons who were employees of a research institute at the beginning of the reform, but whose employment relationship has not continued.

Has there been a change in the operation of research institutes that has made collaboration easier or more difficult than before? Have there been changes in the utilisation of research information? What kind of changes have there been in the joint use of the research infrastructure and in the performance of official duties? Have the new funding forms changed collaboration methods?

Respond to the survey at: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/FF2BF53048A4E95B

Results from an earlier personnel survey

As part of material acquisition in the TULA evaluation, a personnel survey was also carried out in spring 2018. The results of the survey can be read at https://www.ulapland.fi/opendata. The personnel survey has brought up factors that have changed in connection with the reform, notably the prerequisites for research, management, social interaction and the transformation of work at research institutes. The respondents evaluated the reforms from different points of view, especially from that of an individual package of measures or the entire reform in general.

The results of the personnel survey are available as open data in which respondents cannot be identified. The open answers are not available as open data. The material was collected and processed according to the ethical principles of research. The Research Ethics Committee of the University of Lapland gave a favourable statement for the implementation methods of the personnel survey and the open consultation and for the publication of the material as open data. The open consultation follows the same principles. Open answers are not part of open data, but the presented views will be put together by the evaluation group.

More information:

• Timo Aarrevaara, Professor, University of Lapland, timo.aarrevaara(at)ulapland.fi and Kirsi Pulkkinen, Researcher, University of Lapland, tel. +358 40 484 4191, kirsi.pulkkinen(at)ulapland.fi