SND is one of the 19 research infrastructures that the Swedish Research Council gives top priority in their decision on which infrastructures can apply for grants for continued funding. The decision also states that SND's current grant period is extended by two years until 2028. During the extended period, an investigation will be conducted to clarify SND's role and responsibilities.
“This is very good news and positive for SND. We look forward to the two extra years and the investigation. We hope that it will lead to us gaining long-term conditions for our future operations,” says Eva Stensköld, Director of SND.
Extended period from four to six years
The decision means that SND’s current grant period is extended from four to six years and that an application for continued funding is postponed from 2025 to 2027. Eva Stensköld emphasizes that the strategic work carried out during the spring in preparation for a new grant application has not been wasted.
“That work has given us an opportunity to engage in close dialogue with the universities in the SND consortium to discuss the sector’s needs in the field of research data and how SND’s role and responsibilities can be developed in relation to the universities to better meet these needs. The development work that we have initiated is in demand by the sector and will continue within the framework of our regular operations in the coming years,” says Eva Stensköld.
Increased national coordination
Eva Stensköld notes that we have recently seen a generally increased focus on infrastructure issues, which is likely related to the Government’s research and innovation bill that will be submitted to the Riksdag later this autumn. There is growing awareness that stronger national coordination within the Swedish e-infrastructure landscape is needed to achieve the goals regarding open science. SND, along with other digital infrastructures such as NAISS and Sunet, are parts of this landscape but with completely different conditions for their operations, which is a challenge.
“I hope that the Government has listened to the universities’ need for a more cohesive digital research infrastructure and that we will see a result of this in the research bill and in the assignments to various authorities that follow the bill at the turn of the year,” she says.
More details about the SND investigation after the summer
Apart from the announcement of two extra grant years, it is not yet clear how the Swedish Research Council’s investigation of SND will be conducted. After being in contact with the Swedish Research Council’s main secretary for research infrastructure, Lisbeth Olsson, we know that the Swedish Research Council will have more information regarding the timeline and format for the investigation after the summer.