Measures to increase scholarly impact

In the University’s operational plan for 2025 adopted by the University Board in June 2024, the Vice-Chancellor was tasked with developing a plan for how the University can work on its scholarly publications to increase their impact. A prerequisite for strengthening the University’s publications and impact is, of course, the ability to recruit and retain successful researchers. In February 2025, the University Board therefore supplemented the above task with one to develop a strategic talent attraction plan.

These tasks have been assigned in light of the University’s downward trend in citations, which can be seen in Uppsala University’s annual report for 2024. In an article on 20 February 2025 on the strategic talent attraction plan, Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt commented on the need to increase scholarly impact:

“It is concerning that Uppsala University’s share of the Swedish scholarly articles that are among the 10 per cent most cited publications is decreasing compared with other universities in Sweden. We are in seventh place in the country. I am definitely not satisfied with that.”

To complete this task, the Vice-Chancellor approved the Plan för arbetet med vetenskapligt genomslag vid Uppsala universitetet (Scholarly impact plan for Uppsala University) in March 2025.

The plan consists of four parts with different activities and modes of implementation.

Scholarly publishing

An active and strategic approach to scholarly publishing is of course central to increasing the University’s impact. However, this plan does not assign any further tasks on this issue as the disciplinary domain and faculty boards are already actively working with it.

On the Vice-Chancellor’s initiative, an inventory was carried out in autumn 2024 of the disciplinary domains’ and faculty boards’ efforts to increase scholarly impact through scholarly publishing.

Many of the faculties currently use bibliometric indicators to allocate parts of the direct government funding for research, and several faculties are planning to review this design to maximise its effect. Several faculties have or plan to develop publishing strategies, and several have various types of strategic and quality assurance initiatives.

In addition to the inventory, the issue of scholarly publication was also highlighted in the Q&R24 research evaluation.

“This is important. We need to improve the impact of our publications, also so that we can continue attracting the brightest researchers. Anything that enhances our international position is important,” says Hagfeldt.

How our floor allocation is allocated

Currently, a model with indicators is used to allocate parts of the floor allocation (direct government funding) in the University’s operational plan. Indicators are also used for allocation at the disciplinary domain and faculty levels. The indicators and allocation models used in different parts of the University differ from the University’s general model and from each other.

To this end, a project will be carried out in 2025 to identify the models being used, how they relate to each other, and how they collectively benefit research of the highest international quality.

The project will also consider the Government’s future allocation model for quality assurance funding, including a higher weighting for EU funds and a new indicator for strategic recruitment.

University-wide strategic funding

Each year, the Vice-Chancellor allocates funding for University-wide strategic purposes. In 2025, a survey of how these funds are used will be carried out. This survey will provide a basis for analysing whether the process for allocating strategic funding should be adjusted to more clearly steer the University towards research of the highest international quality or other strategic objectives.

Strategic talent attraction

In autumn 2025 and early 2026, an external analyst will survey and analyse how the University’s career pathways are contributing to the goal of being a world-leading university.

The report will focus on recruitment and promotion to senior lecturer and professor and the use of associate senior lecturers, and the impact this had on strategic talent attraction.

The analyst will also investigate the significance of a senior lecturer having the right to be considered for promotion to professor compared to having only the possibility of being considered. Further, the analyst will also produce comparisons with other universities.

What happens now?

The plan is for the Vice-Chancellor to approve more detailed project terms of reference for the above tasks in June 2025.

Anders Berndt