Tampere University plans appeal over rejected research funding

Tampere University is likely to appeal to the administrative court against the rejection of research funding by Social Affairs and Health Minister Wille Rydman, Yle reports. Rector Keijo Hämäläinen said the university is more likely to file an appeal than not to do so.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health rejected requests for reconsideration from Tampere, Helsinki, Turku, Eastern Finland, Lapland and Jyväskylä universities over research grant decisions. Some of the universities have since announced that they will appeal or are considering an appeal.

Hämäläinen said Tampere University is expected to make its final decision next week. The university’s lawyers and experts from its Faculty of Social Sciences have worked on the matter.

He described the case as legally challenging and important in principle. The central question, he said, is whether the ministry can use its discretionary powers in this way and whether the decision meets the requirements of good administration.

Research funding legislation requires decisions to be based on peer review by the academic community. Experts are responsible for assessing the scientific quality and independence of research, while political decision-makers determine the amount of funding and the priorities and objectives of research.

Hämäläinen said the legal issue was how far the minister can depart from peer review results and expert recommendations, what grounds can justify such a departure, and whether those grounds meet the requirements of good administration.

He added that cooperation between the universities had been close. Their legal network is well connected, and the decisions they received on their requests for reconsideration are very similar in content.