Sweden sets out long-term plan for research infrastructures

The Swedish Research Council has published its Guide to Infrastructure, Sweden’s first long-term vision for research infrastructures, with a perspective of 10–20 years. The document is intended as a basis for discussions on the funding of future infrastructures, both at the council, and with other research financiers in Sweden and overseas.

“As I see it, the prime function of the guide is that it presents a broad survey of what initiatives are needed to give Swedish researchers access to the key tools for future frontline research,” said Madelene Sandström, chairman of the Swedish Research Council’s Committee for Research Infrastructures, which produced gthe uide.

One important trend is for joint research infrastructure, from advanced laboratories to computing resources and databases. Many tools are so sophisticated and expensive that buying and using them requires regional, national or international collaboration.

The need to find collaborators is at the heart of the Swedish Research Council’s decision to publish its roadmap. A similar document appeared a week earlier from the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, ESFRI.

“The two documents complement each other,” said Lars Börjesson, secretary general of the Committee for Research Infrastructures, who was involved in compiling both the Swedish and the European roadmaps. “Since the European proposals are on such a large scale, Sweden will only be able to participate in a few of the collaborative projects,”

The Swedish guide should be seen as an up-to-date overview of the research infrastructure required for basic research of the highest order, but it is not a strict list of priorities and represents no funding commitments. The report will be revised annually.