Both investment and reprioritisation

The Government’s latest initiatives create a both exciting and challenging time for universities. We are looking at visionary long-term investments in research and innovation funds that will provide universities with unprecedented opportunities. But we also have to make reprioritisations and savings that may restrict administrative development and risk weakening support for research, education and innovation.

Investment and reprioritisation

On the one hand, we welcome the political prioritisation of research and innovation funding for universities. With the recent agreement on research and innovation 2026–2029 from 6 November 2025, the Government and a number of political parties have signed a truly visionary agreement which will strengthen research and innovation in Denmark. Universities will receive DKK 500 million in basic research funding annually between 2026 and 2029 and DKK 300 million in innovation funding in 2026, which will increase to DKK 500 million annually from 2027 to 2029. The agreement provides a significant financial boost to universities, which has not happened since the 2006 agreement on globalisation funds. One very important signal in the agreement is the recognition that universities play a central role as drivers of the development of society. The multiannual outlook of the funds is also incredibly positive and provides stability and the opportunity for long-term investments. Now we need to use the funds wisely so that they will benefit society.

On the other hand, the work plan for the public sector from June 2025 states the Government’s ambition to reprioritise DKK 5,500 million from administration to go to welfare in society. The work plan will affect universities in several ways. Firstly, universities must reprioritise DKK 500 million from research administration to go to research. On the bright side, the DKK 500 million will remain in the university sector. Secondly, the administration of universities and other self-governing institutions (but not research administration) must also be reviewed with a view to reprioritisations/savings. In this case, no target figure has been formulated – which means that the scale of the reprioritisation is more open. Thirdly, universities are required to make cost reductions in procurement from 2026 as a result of the work plan for the public sector – and at SDU, we must therefore also find savings in procurement from 2026.

Leading up to next spring, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Ministry of Finance and the Boston Consulting Group will be conducting analyses of universities’ research administration and other administration. Hopefully, around the summer of 2026, we will have a picture of the reprioritisations and savings that universities will have to implement from 2027.

Finding a reasonable path

The two opposing trends – investment and savings/reprioritisations – will be the conditions under which universities and SDU will have to manoeuvre in the coming years. We are facing a time in which we must balance visionary investments with necessary savings. One condition of this is that university administration will not develop at the same pace as research and innovation activities. As a result, we must employ creative thinking and develop sensible solutions to ensure SDU’s continued delivery of high-quality research and innovation in parallel with the streamlining of the University’s administrative processes.

So how do we do that? I want to start by highlighting that we at SDU are incredibly skilled at collaborating, finding good solutions and working together in a committed and targeted manner to implement the solutions. In addition, I hope and am working to ensure that we can also reduce or eliminate rules that are currently tying up significant resources. This includes rules from public authorities and funding bodies – for example, the extensive reporting on external projects – and some of SDU’s own rules. This requires us to work in more value-based and risk-oriented ways. Furthermore, shared processes and digitalisation will also help us become more efficient. We have already taken the first step with the transformation of SDU’s study administration. However, artificial intelligence also holds great potential – for example, routine tasks in administration can be automated, which will free up time and resources for core tasks such as research, education and innovation.

Let us be grateful for the visionary and long-term investments in research and innovation. When the time comes, we will find a reasonable path which will allow us to manage both the investments and the necessary reprioritisations and savings. This is a balancing act, but with SDU’s strong culture of collaboration, we will find the way forward.