The Confederation is expected to subsidize training, research and innovation (FRI) with more than 28 billion francs from 2021 to 2024. The Education Committee of the Council of States wants to release 200 million more than the Federal Council .
Innovation should particularly benefit. By 9 votes to 1, the committee proposes to increase the spending limit for encouraging it by 130 million, including the operating costs of Innosuisse. The ceiling would exceed 1.17 billion, announced Friday evening the services of the Parliament.
The committee also wishes without objection to inflate from 39 million to 457 million the envelope provided for research establishments of national importance. Twenty-eight million are for technological skills centers, 4 million for the Gosteli Archives on the history of the Swiss women’s movement and 7 million for the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Academies of Science and other national research and innovation initiatives are expected to total $ 4.812 billion. The commission defends an extension of 6.9 million to the Swiss Academies of Sciences for their basic mandate and wants to release 12.4 million as an incentive in favor of the digitization of natural science collections.
No European link
Credits linked to Switzerland’s participation in European programs such as Erasmus or Horizon 2020 are paid separately. To keep the overview on the FRI domain, the Federal Council has planned to block part of the additional resources until the conditions for participation in these programs are clarified.
The committee nevertheless proposes without objection to remove this blockage. It thus wishes to guarantee the security of planning within the institutions concerned.
By 7 votes to 5, the committee proposes to increase by 12 million (to 135.7 million) the credit for multi-year projects on tasks of interest in the higher education system. She wants funds, in particular for sustainability issues. A minority rejects the proposal.
Continuing education
A minority proposes to allocate an additional 10 million to continuing education, or 63.5 million so that the organizations concerned receive at least 20 million instead of 10. Another minority would like to increase the same appropriation by 9.3 million (to 62.8 million) to support the cantons with 40 million.
In addition, a minority wishes to increase the credit for international mobility and cooperation programs in the field of training by 41.1 million. The envelope would thus reach 240 million.
The Council of States will look into the matter next month.
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