perception,” explains Professor Gustafsson. “The results of these centres are now perceived to be the work of the whole region rather than just the work of one or two countries.” Of course, research success is the result of


a multitude of factors but, as Professor Gustafson freely admits, success will often correlate positively to the amount of money invested in it - and Nordic countries spend a lot of money on research as a proportion of their GDP. “That, of course, forms the basis for everything in terms of research success,” she says. But she is also keen to point out that often the


reasons behind research success are not just down to money. Sometimes, she believes, it is a culture of learning; a thirst for knowledge that lies at the heart of discovery and here,


the Nordic region is leading the


way. “There is a strong knowledge culture in the region,” she emphasises. “Knowledge is seen as very important for policy makers to rely on and we take seriously the fact that we need to know a lot before we move forward, make decisions and do things to make improvements. I think research success is an aspect of this broader culture. “Of course, investment in research has


traditionally been our strong point and we have maintained that, but more and more countries, particularly those outside of Europe, are investing more and more themselves into research so we believe that in order to keep up with this and continue to deliver excellence, then the Nordic countries need to cooperate and make full use of our collective desire to know more.” While NordForsk continues to develop this


regional strategy, it also has a more global perspective. Over the past five years there has been a shift away from what some would see as more basic research with an emphasis on mobility, on innovation issues and, very importantly, cooperation between Nordic representatives and those from the rest of Europe and other countries. When Nordic researchers apply for funding now, it’s seen as a big plus to have cooperation with countries outside the region. Professor Gustafsson explains more: “We have


been encouraging this collaboration between countries in the Nordic region and other countries in the ERA in many different ways. Firstly, we have this concept of excellence, whereby we encourage funding applicants to apply in groups that include


28


experts from outside the region who may not be easy to find within the Nordic countries. “While we have, historically, had strong ties with


NordForsk implements a new strategy every


four years


the Baltic countries, and these relationships continue, we have also recently worked on initiatives in the UK and Holland. It is very much part of out strategy now to address funding agencies outside the Nordic countries to see if we can find some further gains through cooperation. “One of our notable successes in terms of this


international collaboration has been in climate research and we are part of JPI Climate,” she continues. “We have also had success in health research in a clinical trials initiative, while we have also been working successfully with Baltic countries in the health sphere, too.” Another area of NordForsk’s more international


outlook is cyber security and other new threats that don’t respect national borders. This is, of course, an area where international collaboration is essential and the organisation is currently talking to the UK Research Council about how to address some of these challenges together, using a joint, “common pot” programme. “What we will do now is alert those who are


looking at funding through Horizon 2020 or the ERC about the further opportunities that exist in this collaboration, either in finding the right people to work with or in accessing other funding options,” explains Professor Gustafsson. “This will help bring


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