Research and Development in the government sector 2019
Intramural R&D expenditure in the government sector decreased in 2019
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2020-10-01 9.30
Expenditure on intramural R&D in the government sector amounted to SEK 7.7 billion in 2019, a decrease of 2 percent from 2017, in fixed prices.
Expenditure on intramural research and development (R&D) in the government sector, that is, research carried out in Sweden by the organisation’s staff or supporting staff, decreased compared to 2017. The largest drop in expenditure in 2019 was noted in the regions sector, which is the sector with the largest expenditure on R&D in the government sector. Intramural R&D expenditure also decreased in municipalities. The only sector to note an increase in intramural R&D expenditure was government agencies.
At the same time as intramural R&D expenditure decreased in municipalities and regions, the total number of intramural full-time equivalents (FTEs) increased. The main reason for this is improved quality in the reported data from the regions compared to 2017. In 2019, there were 5 344 intramural full-time equivalents in total in the government sector, which is 9 percent more than in 2017. The regions sector, which increased by 25 percent, accounted for the largest increase in intramural full-time equivalents. In the government agencies sector and the municipalities sector, intramural full-time equivalents decreased by 3 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Researchers performed the majority of the intramural full-time equivalents. In the government agencies sector, 83 percent of the total intramural FTEs were performed by researchers. In the regions sector and the municipalities sector, the corresponding share was 67 percent and 58 percent respectively.
| Year | Total | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4 895 | 2 411 | 2 316 |
| 2019 | 5 344 | 2 521 | 2 667 |
The local and regional R&D subsector is only included in the total.
| Full-time equivalents | 2017 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Researchers | Supporting staff | Researchers | Supporting staff | ||
| Total | 3 788 | 1 107 | 3 914 | 1 430 | |
| Government agencies | 1 725 | 461 | 1 755 | 364 | |
| Regions | 1 750 | 525 | 1 915 | 930 | |
| Municipalities | 155 | 87 | 131 | 94 | |
| Public non-profit organisations | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
The local and regional R&D subsector is not distributed by occupation.
Public non-profit organisations, a new sector that includes public research foundations, was included for the first time in 2019. The new sector was included as a result of changes in the National Accounts. A further amendment in 2019 is that the local and regional R&D unit sector was not sampled. Comparisons of local and regional R&D units should therefore be made with caution.
Intramural and extramural R&D in the government sector
In 2019, government sector expenditure on intramural R&D amounted to SEK 7.7 billion, a decrease of 2 percent compared to 2017. The government agencies sector’s expenditure on intramural R&D was SEK 2.9 billion in 2019, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2017. This was the only sector in which expenditures rose. In the municipalities sector, expenditures on intramural R&D decreased by 16 percent and in the regional sector, expenditures fell by 4 percent compared to 2017.
Government sector expenditure on extramural R&D, that is, government sector funding of activities performed by another party, increased by SEK 1.3 billion in 2019, which is 3 percent more than in 2017. Government agencies and public non-profit organisations contributed the most to extramural R&D spending in the government sector, together accounting for 96 percent of total funding. The recipients of large parts of extramural R&D expenditure provided by government agencies and public non-profit organisations have remained unchanged for some time.
| Intramural R&D | Extramural R&D | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2019 | 2017 | 2019 | ||
| Total | 7 843 | 7 719 | 19 561 | 20 884 | |
| Government agencies | 2 835 | 2 906 | 16 993 | 18 019 | |
| Regions | 4 582 | 4 384 | 802 | 679 | |
| Of which ALF funds | 1 821 | 1 886 | 147 | 123 | |
| Municipalities | 243 | 204 | 178 | 197 | |
| Public non-profit organisations | 176 | 225 | 1 588 | 1 989 | |
Public research foundations are included in the public non-profit organisations sector. The local and regional R&D unit sector was not sampled and is not reported in the table.
Definitions and explanations
Full-time equivalent – FTE
The full-time equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel is defined as the ratio of working hours actually spent on R&D during a specific reference period (usually a calendar year) divided by the total number of hours conventionally worked in the same period by an individual or by a group. For example, a full-time worker who spends 50 percent of their working hours on R&D is counted as 0.5 FTE. One person can never perform more than one FTE, even if they work overtime.
Researchers, product developers or equivalent
Researchers, product developers or equivalent refers to persons engaged in shaping or creating new knowledge and applications of products, processes, methods and systems. People involved in managing R&D projects are also included.
Supporting R&D staff
Supporting R&D staff refers to technical staff, administrative staff and other staff. Technical staff refers to persons with specialised knowledge, who perform scientific and technical tasks that include applying concepts and operational methods, that is, preparing and performing experiments, tests, and analyses. These tasks are normally performed under the supervision of researchers. Administrative staff and other staff refers to persons whose tasks can be regarded as directly supporting activities for R&D, such as accounting.
Intramural R&D
Activities carried out in Sweden by the organisation’s own personnel, or by consultants in an R&D project led by the organisation, in which the organisation’s personnel have worked together with consultants. Intramural R&D includes R&D assigned by others.
Extramural R&D
Activities performed by another party in Sweden or abroad, funded by the enterprise. Contributions that the enterprise made to R&D at, for example, universities or institutes of higher education are included.
Reporting ALF funds
ALF (Agreement for Medical training and Research) refers to an agreement on medical education and research between central government and seven regions that regulates how much funding the regions are to receive to participate in the education of doctors, conduct clinical research and develop health care. Although central government issues this compensation via the universities, the regions must prepare the financial report.
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.