The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Merle Jacob. Photo.

Merle Jacob

Professor

Merle Jacob. Photo.

Affording excellence : What does excellence funding do for researchers?

Author

  • Merle Jacob
  • Tomas Hellström

Summary, in English

The ambitions to fund excellent researchers and path-breaking research unite a whole family of funding instruments ranging from Centres of Excellence to individual grants. While instruments aimed at funding excellence share a number of commonalities, there are important subsidiary features which determine their overall efficacy. The paper uses a case study of the Swedish Distinguished Professor Grant (DPG) to investigate the role of subsidiary features in enabling conditions associated with path-breaking research. Interviews were conducted with DPG recipients, to develop an “affordance analysis” identifying how features of the instrument enabled certain researcher actions and opportunities. Results suggest that while long duration and large funds are central to research excellence, the way in which subsidiary features such as reporting, planning and content requirements are structured affect the level of risk-taking. In terms of policy, the paper offers specific and general suggestions for the design of excellence funding instruments.

Department/s

  • CIRCLE
  • Research Policy
  • Strategy

Publishing year

2023

Language

English

Publication/Series

Policy Studies

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified

Keywords

  • affordance
  • excellence
  • instrument design
  • policy instrument
  • Science funding

Status

Epub

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0144-2872