SwedenBIO’s assessment: Sweden ‘s research infrastructure, both national and at individual higher education institutions, contributes to advancing the research front for academia, but does not currently take advantage of the same opportunity to contribute to business development, despite this being the government’s intention. Regulatory frameworks are unclear and incentive structures are lacking, leading to varying attitudes among principals. Accessibility thus differs between infrastructures and even within the same infrastructure. The infrastructure needs to be made available both for co-creative R&D processes, for example within the framework of the program for exploratory collaborative research, and for assignments with full cost coverage.
SwedenBIO’s Proposal:
- An extended exemption tailored to activities at research infrastructures needs to be introduced in Chapter 8, Section 4 of the Fees Regulation. In addition, advice and support to the principals is required in the development of pricing models and agreements, as well as clarification of data management and confidentiality, etc.
- Increase information to the business community about opportunities to use the infrastructure and what the infrastructure can contribute.
- For first-time users, lubricants for feasibility studies may be needed.
- Securing funding for the long-term operation and development of the infrastructure/platforms to ensure relevance and excellence
