The updated funding model rewards for academic achievements

The model guides the allocation of government and endowment funding of the University from the President to the Schools.

The reviewed funding model supports Aalto University’s updated strategy by rewarding for academic results and achievements, and by supporting, for example, initiatives that support multidisciplinarity and entrepreneurship. The reviewed funding model is aimed at providing stable basic funding of long-term academic work in the best possible way.

‘Aalto University has now established its operation and the big initial investments have largely been made. The revised funding model rewards for achievements and academic results more than before,’ says Marianna Bom, Chief Financial Officer.

The share of block funding 80%

The funding model consists of four parts.

Excellence funding rewards exceptional achievements in research, education, artistic activities, innovation and entrepreneurship. The share of this funding is 5–10%.  The indicators include e.g. top publications, Centres of Excellence of the Academy of Finland and Academy Professors, ERC funding, high-quality artistic activities and significant strategic partnerships.

Joint strategic initiatives funding has a share of about 10% in the funding model. This funding includes activities related to multidisciplinarity, the innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurship, and the major shared transformation programmes, digitalisation and campus development.

About 80% of this funding is block funding, and it is divided into two sections of about 40%. Input-based block funding comprises funding for tenure track slots in the key research areas and funding of significant research infrastructures. Output-based block funding is granted on the same grounds as the funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture: degrees, points from publication forums (jufo), competitive research funding, artistic outputs, students with more than 55 annual credits, student feedback, international students, and employed graduates.

The model of the Ministry of Education and Culture changed in 2016

In April 2016, the Ministry of Education and Culture published a revised model for the allocation of the government’s basic funding to universities. Based on the ministry’s funding model, about EUR 1.6 billion will be allocated to universities annually. Aalto University’s share of this amount is about 12%.  The revised funding model looks into the future more than before, provides the universities with more opportunities to focus on their strengths, and supports the societal impact of higher education. In the ministry’s model, 39% of the funding is granted on the basis of education, 33% on the basis of research, and 28% on the basis of the other goals in education and science policies.

The revision of Aalto University’s funding model has been prepared under the leadership of Chief Financial Officer Marianna Bom by a multidisciplinary expert group consisting of Vice President Eero Eloranta, Professor Matti Kaivola, Professor Teemu Malmi, Finance Manager Sari Antila and Head of Finance Jukka Stenroos.

Read more:
Aalto University Funding Model (pdf)
Aalto University funding model handbook (pdf)