The new project fee – a boost or a hindrance?

On 26 August, SDU’s new project fee of 20% was published under the headline ‘Research receives additional boost with new project fee at SDU’. Considering how brilliant it is and how beneficial it will be for research, the Rectorate had nevertheless forgotten to include the news in their newsletter released just a few days later. We are surprised by this.

We believe there is a lack of transparency and calculations of what this will cost the departments and research groups. Has an actual impact assessment been made? Will most applications be directed to the few foundations that include overheads (OH) and project fees in their grants, so that we will all be competing for the same funds? Will the fee have an uneven impact because the new model only benefits research groups which are actually eligible for the foundations with which an agreement has been made? And will foundations that do not include OH in their grants not be applied to at all, as such applications will result in a deficit in the department’s finances?

The question is whether the increased project fee may in fact result in fewer grants and less research at SDU.

A few calculation examples

The Fabrikant Mads Clausen Foundation: Covers up to DKK 200,000 for equipment but not OH. SDU’s fee of DKK 40,000 may mean that the individual researcher cannot afford to acquire the equipment.

Marie Curie Fellowship: A grant of DKK 1,85 million yields only DKK 116,000 for OH, which is far less than 20%. Should SDU reject talented young researchers who receive these highly prestigious grants?

Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF): An OH of 44% can be added to a typical DFF Research Project1 grant of DKK 2,5 million. With the new model, such a project will receive DKK 140,000 less for research.

Novo Nordisk Fonden: The project fee depends on the composition of the project. If you need a lot of equipment, the total OH is small compared to projects with a focus on research training. In equipment-intensive projects, this may mean that it will be an expense for the departments to house them.

Private foundations with which no agreement has been entered into regarding OH: Private foundations support many projects at SDU. Some research groups – such as inter-faculty ones – are completely dependent on these foundations. The funds granted are not small; they may well amount to tens of millions. But should we say no to DKK 25 million because we cannot raise DKK 5 million for project fees?

Released Finance Act funds for the faculties

The article states that the new model will release funds from the Finance Act and that a larger share will be distributed to the faculties. But there is a great lack of information about how these funds will be distributed. All things being equal, a redistribution is to be expected, so that the money will not be returned directly to those who paid it, because if not, it wouldn’t matter at all.