Centres of Excellence in Research Estonian case CoE Seminar, 14.12.2011 Academy of Finland, Helsinki Rein Kaarli Estonian Ministry of Education and Research Advisor of Research Policy Department Madis Saluveer Archimedes Foundation Head of Administration Unit of the Estonian Research Council
Some new data on R&D in Estonia in 2010 Centres of Excellence in Research, two periods 2
R&D in Estonia (2010) Source: Eurostat; Estonian Statistical Office R&D expenditure: ESTONIA (2010) EU27 (2009) GERD (% GDP): 1,63 2,01 BERD (% GERD): 50,0 % 62,2 % (2009) Financing: Government: 44,3 % 34,2 % (2005) Enterprise sector: 44,2 % 54,6 % (2005) Abroad: 11,5 % 9 % (2005) Number of researchers: FTE per 1000 employed 7,1 6,7 (2009) 2000-2008 the growth rate of BERD was 34,6 % per year 2000-2008 the growth rate of GERD was 24,1 % per year 3
R&D expenditure (GERD) Source: Estonian Statistical Office 4
GERD by sector of performance and as % of GDP Source: Estonian Statistical Office 5
Creation of the Centers of Excellence in Estonia Funding framework in Estonia in 2001: R&D funding was on the basis of research quality and performance, but no difference in funding per capita By far not all costs were covered Average funding level per researcher very low Need to provide extra funding for research groups who were well competitive internationally 6
Creation of the Centers of Excellence in Estonia Examples: Centres of Excellence in Research programme in Finland Two Estonian institutions (Estonian Biocentre and Institute of Physics, Unviersity of Tartu) were successful in FP5 call for creation of excellence in Central and Eastern Europe Many examples worldwide, Centre of Excellence Policies in Research; Aims And Practices In 17 Countries And Regions (Publications of the Academy of Finland 2/01) 7
In 2001, the Estonian Programme for Centres of Excellence in Research was initiated Aims: to create conditions for high level research compatible with the R&D strategy in Estonia to establish the conditions for Estonian CoE-s to join international networks to encourage cooperation between the research groups in close or complementary areas to create a mechanism for elaborating, developing and implementing innovative areas 8
Estonian Centres of Excellence in Research, 2002-2007 Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu Centre of Excellence in Chemistry and Materials Science Centre of Excellence for Gene and Environmental Technologies Centre of Molecular and Clinical Medicine Centre of Cultural History and Folkloristics in Estonia- Centre of Excellence of Analytical Spectrometry Estonian Centre of Behavioral and Health Sciences Centre for Dependable Computing Centre for Basic and Applied Ecology Centre for Nonlinear Studies 9
Estonian Centres of Excellence in Research, 2002-2007 Total Funding : 14,2 million Funding per Centre: 0,9 2,3 million Funding sources: 55% from state budget and 45% from EU structural funds 1/3 of all researchers of Estonia (ca 1000) 10
The second round for CoE-s in Research The first call 2008 2015 The second call 2011-2015 (1) The general aim of providing financial support is to assist and ensure the sustainability of internationally competitive high-quality research and development activities of Estonian R&D institutions, thus setting prerequisites for enhancing the competitive ability of Estonian R&D in the European Research Area. 11
The second round for CoE-s in Research (2) The provision of financial support also aims at assisting research teams that: 1) Create research environment necessary for conducting internationally competitive high-quality research and ensure the stability of high-quality research; 2) Facilitate the cooperation of similar or supplementary research teams, training of new top-quality specialists, and the mobility of top researchers; 3) Establish the basis for Estonian R&D institutions to participate in international cooperation according to Estonian interests and EU research policy, including the participation in networks of centres of excellence; 12
The second round for CoE-s in Research 4) Facilitate cooperation between the state, public law R&D institutions and enterprises, which results in the use of new ideas and knowledge and the implementation of innovative solutions; 5) Ensure the sustainability of their activities and are capable to continue their high-level research after the termination of support. 13
The second round for CoE-s in Research (2008) Centre of Excellence in Computer Science Centre for Integrated Electronic Systems and Biomedical Engineering Centre of Excellence in Genomics Frontiers in biodiversity research Translational research for improvement of diagnostics and treatment of neuroimmunological diseases Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory Center of Excellence in Chemical Biology 14
The second round for CoE-s in Research (2011) Centre of Excellence in Environmental Adaptation Mesosystems - Theory and Appplications High-technology Materials for Sustainable Development Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology Centre for Nonlinear Studies 15
Estonian Centres of Excellence in Research 2002-2007 2008-2015 Total Funding : 14,2 million Total Funding : 46,5 million Funding per Centre: 0,9 2,3 million Funding sources: Funding per Centre: 1,5 5,6 million Funding sources: 55% from state revenues 45% from EU structural funds 1/3 of all researchers of Estonia (ca 1000) Applications -- 30 Applications 41 10% from state revenues 85% from EU structural funds 5% from CoE own funds Number of centres -- 10 Number of centres -- 12 16
Future of Centres of Excellence in Research (2014-2020) Initial wish from Ministry is to continue with Centres of Excellence in Research programme In the current economic situation, our expectations are connected mostly with EU structural funds Preparations for the next programming period of EU structural funds have already started 17
Thank you! 18