The health care provided to citizens must be evidence-based. Evidence is obtained through research – and research costs Money.

Researchers face greater demands to obtain external research funding for their research Projects.

Furthermore, the EU and the Danish government increasingly want to stimulate research and development where public research institutions collaborate with private companies (PPP). PPP is thus a requirement when applying to, for example, the Innovation Fund and the EU’s H2020 funds.

While past strategies have successfully focused on strengthening research environments within the departments, we now need:

• to initiate concrete actions to better stimulate and motivate researchers to apply for more substantial external funding
• to strengthen the research infrastructure so that researchers are ensured the necessary support to participate in applications for national and international funds.

We need targeted action to ensure that OUH, KI, and SDU can become even stronger players in the competition for external research funds.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

External funding: OUH and KI will stimulate and motivate researchers to seek external research funding by providing more support in the application process.

External committees and advisory groups: OUH and KI will ensure that external committees and advisory groups are aware of our research.

Collaboration with private companies: OUH and KI are to be seen as attractive partners for collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship within PPP.

Donations, gifts and bequests: OUH and KI will make it easier for citizens and businesses to donate funds for research.

PERFORMANCE GOALS

• By 2017: An administrative support unit in the form of a committee for funding applications will be established to ensure support for researchers applying for external funding.
• By 2018: At least two to three large PPP grants (e.g. from the EU Innovation Fund) will be secured each year.
• By 2019: A noticeable increase in donations from private sources compared to 2015.
• By 2021: At least a doubling of OUH and KI staff in relevant external committees and advisory groups.
• By 2021: External funding of research to be at least double that of internal funding. Internal funding will continue to be at least three per cent of OUH’s budget.

Status

We have met the Region of Southern Denmark’s health policy objective that OUH uses three per cent of its internal operating funds on research in 2017.

The goal of greater external funding has not yet been met. Thus only about 50 per cent of the research at OUH in 2014 was financed through external funding, while the political objective for the region is an average of 60 per cent in 2017.

Efforts by the previous research strategy to establish formalized research centres (centres of excellence and cutting-edge programmes) have shown that such initiatives are helpful in securing external Funding.