“SEI,” says Emdad Haque, Professor at the University of Manitoba and panel chairman, “is one of the few international institutes addressing sustainable development at global level. Large parts of the research it undertakes are on the cutting edge internationally, and at the same time its research is of high social relevance. But the Institute needs to devise a strategy for highlighting its strong points and to develop a closer relationship and closer co-operation with the government departments.”
The panel goes on to say that the Institute is perceived as dependable and impartial and that SEI has considerable competence for carrying out international evaluations and synthesising research findings. But its basic funding needs to be boosted from the present MSEK 12 to MSEK 25 or 30 if it is to be capable of taking long-term strategic initiatives.
SEI’s research is intended to underpin the Government’s environmental policy-making. The evaluation, encompassing the scientific quality of the research and its relevance to environmental policy, was carried out by a panel consisting of five international researchers.
In addition, the Government has tasked the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret) with evaluating the benefit and value, as well as organisational aspects, of SEI’s activities. The Agency’s evaluation can be downloaded from Statskontoret–SEI. (In Swedish)
http://www.formas.se/upload/dokument/SEI_utvardering.pdf
SEI, which was formed in 1988, addresses policy issues relating to local, regional and global sustainable development, focusing on strategic environmental issues and measures to combat poverty, its foremost purpose being to support decision-making and capacity-building. SEI has 180 associates stationed at 7 different offices throughout the world and is headquartered in Stockholm.
The Institute’s basic funding allocation of about MSEK 12 comes from the Ministry of the Environment. It also receives funding from clients, such as SIDA (the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Formas, as well as grants from EU and UN agencies. Formas finances individual projects. Altogether SEI turnover MSEK 167 in 2008.
Further information
Rolf Annerberg, rolf.annerberg@formas.se
Emilie von Essen, eve@formas.se
Press contact:
Elisabet Blomberg
Phone:
08 775 40 04
Mobile phone:
072-233 40 04
28 June, 2012 - Formas
The Swedish Research and Innovation funders invite you to a press briefing and breakfast at European Science Open Forum ESOF 2012 in Dublin:
We are facing a world without antibiotics – who takes responsibility?
– Did you know that resistant bacteria kill at least 25,000 people in the EU every year?
– Did you know that resistant bacteria can be transferred from animals to humans through food?
30 June, 2010 - Formas
Are people passive consumers of urbanity or creative re-shapers of cities? In order to answer this question we need to bring in a humanistic approach to sustainable urban planning. The EXPO 2010 workshop When People Matter is an attempt to discuss issues of public participation in the planning process as a driving force for sustainable urban development.
1 December, 2009 - Formas
According to the UN Climate Panel the earth is getting warmer, very probably because of human emissions of greenhouse gases, and this warming is related to rising sea levels, shrinking ice masses, and the risk of rapid and unpredictable changes. But when does man´s impact on the climate become dangerous, and what is at stake? Are EU policies for energy and the climate toothless? Is carbon capture and storage a solution or just a smokescreen? Formas’ new book Climate challenge – the safety´s off takes a broad look at the climate issue in a global perspective.
15 September, 2009 - Formas
As the six months of Swedish Presidency of the EU gets underway, the Swedish Research Council Formas is publishing an English edition of a book about the European cultural landscape, titled The Rural Landscapes of Europe – How Man has Shaped European Nature. The cultural landscapes and nature in Europe are the result of thousands of years of human impact and constitute our common heritage. Wars, revolutions, and diseases have affected nature. The landscape has been cultivated and become overgrown, back and forth. Forestry, agriculture, and animal husbandry have altered the flora and fauna. The book offers a holistic view of the cultural landscape from both a biological and a historical perspective.
Expertsvar, The Swedish Research Council, Hantverkargatan 11B, Stockholm SWEDENPhone +46(0)8 546 44 000
P.O. Box 1035, SE-101 38 Stockholm, expertsvar@vr.se
Information about cookies will open in a new window
