Government budget allocations for R&D 2016:
Increased R&D funds for energy, defence and contingency measures
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2016-04-14 9.30
Statistics Sweden’s forecast for R&D funds in the government budget shows that appropriations for R&D will increase by SEK 747 million in 2016 compared to 2015, at the price level of 2016. In total, R&D funds amount to SEK 34.4 billion in 2016 or 3.7 percent of total appropriations in the budget. A noticeable increase of R&D funds occurs within the areas Education and university research and Energy.
The government budget is divided into 27 budget areas, each representing a part of the economy. Between 2015 and 2016 the area for energy shows large relative increase, by 16 percent or SEK 183 million. In 2015 R&D appropriations in this area decreased by 15 percent.
R&D funds to the budget area of defence and contingency measures are expected to increase by SEK 55 million compared to 2015. This follows the sharp decrease that occurred starting with the 2012 budget year. For 2016 the area is expected to comprise 4.1 percent of total R&D appropriations in the budget.
Half of all R&D funds are allocated to higher education
R&D appropriations are concentrated to a few large recipients. According to Statistics Sweden’s forecast, 50 percent or SEK 17.2 billion of all R&D appropriations in the government budget go to higher education institutes. Compared to 2015, this is an increase of SEK 346 million. R&D funds to the research funding government agencies (The Swedish Research Council, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, The Swedish Research Council Formas and Vinnova) are expected to increase by SEK 330 million in 2016. Along with the higher education institutes, the research funding government agencies receive R&D appropriations for a total of SEK 27.6 billion. For the first time since 2011 R&D appropriations allocated to defence are expected to increase. In 2016 these R&D funds will amount to SEK 1.2 billion or 4 percent of the total R&D appropriations in the budget.
Most funding for medicine and health within general advancement of knowledge
The R&D funding is divided up in terms of the objectives of the R&D. The objective for general advancement of knowledge receives the absolute largest part of the appropriations, about 71 percent of the R&D funds in the government budget. The objective is expected to increase by SEK 157 million in 2016. The objective for general advancement of knowledge is divided into 6 subcategories amongst which medicine and health science receive the largest share of R&D funding (34%).
Definitions and explanations
Research is a systematic work to find new knowledge or ideas with or without the aim of a particular purpose.
Development work is systematic work that uses research results, scientific knowledge or new ideas to bring about new material, goods, services, processes, systems, methods or significant improvements to those that already exist.
Publication
A more detailed report of this forecast is published in a Statistical Report.
Government Budget Allocations for Research and Development 2016 (summary in English)
Next publishing will be
The next statistical news in this series is scheduled for publishing in April 2017.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.