Table 3 Characteristics of Academies of Sciences
Country | Activities | Main funding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Austrian Academy of Sciences http://www.oeaw.ac.at/english/home.html | Performer | Federal Ministry for Science and Research | Undertakes research in natural and technical sciences in institutes, research units and departments (commissions) across Austria. The Vienna Institute of Demography is part of the Academy. |
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | Mixed | State budget from National Assembly. | Has 77 institutes across sciences and humanities, and budget of €42.7 m (2009). There are 9 research fields (including 'Biomedicine and Quality of Life', 6 institutes, and 'Man and Society', 4 institutes), and funding from 89 FP7 projects. Also supports training for researchers and professionals, both independently and jointly with higher educational establishments. [The government plans to cut funds, create autonomous institutes and link them to universities.] |
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic | Commissioner and Mixed | State budget | Has 54 public research institutions and 7000 staff. It conducts basic research across the natural, technical and social sciences and the humanities. There is a Section of Biological and Medical Sciences and another on Bio-Ecological Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences (that includes Social and Economic Sciences). It also forms the Grant Agency that distributes funds for open competitive grants, and manages the EU framework programmes. |
Estonian Academy of Sciences | Advisory | National government | An association for scientists in the formulation of science policy and foresight. There are 58 members and 19 foreign members, and an annual budget of €1.5 m from the national government. |
Hungarian Academy of Sciences | Mixed | National government | Has 47 separate research institutes - none are medical or public health. It has 11 programme Sections: one on Medical Sciences has five committees, with one of Preventive Medicine. HAS also supports joint research groups, including the Public health research group at the University of Debrecen. |
Latvian Academy of Sciences | Advisory/Commissioner | Parliament | An association of scientists functioning as an advisory body. From 2008, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia has delegated the functions of the national funding agency for several European science programs and projects, and Latvian Academy scientists are national delegates in the EU research program committees and working groups. |
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences | Advisory/ Mixed | Parliament | Has 5 advisory Divisions of Sciences, including Medical and Geosciences. It has four 'Associated Institutes', three within universities, including the Institute of Immunology in Vilnius. |
Polish Academy of Science http://www.english.pan.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1 | Mixed organizations | Ministry of Education and Science | A self-elected 'corporation of top scholars', with 76 research establishments managed from 6 Divisions (Medical Sciences division has 5 institutes, no public health), and 4000 researchers in 2005, including 'stations' in Brussels, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Moscow. It also distributes the EU Framework Research Programme funds. |
Romanian Academy | Mixed | Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation | Covering sciences and humanities, with 183 members for life in 14 Sections, including Medical Sciences. There are 66 scientific (including social science) research units across the country. Scientists control their own research plans and in-house publishing of over 100 journals. |
Slovak Academy of Science | Mixed/Commissioner | Ministry of Science - direct and competitive. | Has five divisions, 74 organisational units, a budget of €46.7 m and employs 3300 people. One division is medicine with 8 institutes, including oncology and heart disease, but no institute covers public health research. The Academy also manages the VEGA Grant Agency which in 2008 supported 1722 projects with €9.7 m. |
Slovenia Academy of Arts and Sciences | Advisory | 100 full and associate members are organised in 6 Sections, including Medical Sciences. There are 13 major independent institutes. The SAAS Scientific Research Centre coordinates 18 small institutes in humanities and social sciences, including the Socio-Medical Institute with a multidisciplinary approach. |