Statutes

Provided by the Swedish Government on 2 December   1993;

Articles 4-6 and 8 revised on 7 January   1997;

Articles 4-6 and 14 revised on 12 May   2010;

Article 20 revised on 18 December   2015.

 

 

Objective

§1. The objective of the Foundation, which shall be known as the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (Stiftelsen för Stra­tegisk Forskning), shall be to support re­search within natural science, engineering and medicine. The Foundation shall pro­mote the development of strong research environments of the highest international standard and of significance for the develop­ment of Sweden’s long­term competitiveness.

 

Assets

§2. The Foundation’s assets shall consist of the funds transferred to it under the Government decision of 2 December 1993 and any additional funds transferred to it in future to replenish its capital.

 

Activities

§3. The activities of the Foundation shall be built up gradually based on the Foundation’s own, independent policy and shall be distinguished by the special characteristics outlined below. The research funded may involve both basic and applied research, and, not least, intermediate areas.

The Foundation’s activities shall be distinguished by:

• a concentration of efforts in order for internationally competitive research centres or research areas to be established

• interdisciplinary projects and programmes

• the establishment of cooperation networks or firmer forms of collaboration nationally and internationally, for example by the establishment of an international exchange programme for researchers

• promotion of postgraduate studies and recruitment of researchers

• the establishment of research centres or research specialties in close affiliation with universities and colleges

• collaboration between academia and industry in areas of particular interest to industry

• the promotion of mobility of researchers internationally and between universities, institutes and companies.

The Foundation’s activities may in due course result in the depletion of its capital assets.

 

Governing Board

§4. The affairs of the Foundation shall be managed by a Board with ten members.

Two members shall be appointed by the Government. At least one of the members appointed by the Government shall have relevant financial qualifications for work on the Board. Other members shall be appointed by the Governing Board as follows.

 

1. Two members shall be appointed upon nomination by the Directors­General of the Swedish Research Council (VR), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas), and the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova),

2. two members shall be appointed upon nomination by universities and colleges,

3. three members shall be appointed upon nomination by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), and

4. one member shall be appointed by the Governing Board.

 

Before submitting nominations for Board members, the nominating bodies mentioned in items 1­3 shall consult with each for the purpose of achieving a well­rounded composition of the Board in terms of qualifications and gender.

 

The term of office for the members of the Board is three years, renewable for one term. If a Board member resigns during his or her term, a new member is appointed for the remainder of the term. Such a replacement shall be nominated and appointed in the same way as the member to be succeeded was appointed.

Board members appointed by the Government shall be dismissed by the Government. Other members shall be dismissed by the Board.

 

§5. The Governing Board shall appoint a Chairman and a Vice Chairman from among its members.

§6. The Governing Board shall have its seat in Stockholm. The Board shall be convened at the summons of the Chairman or upon request by no less than three of its members. However, when the Board makes decisions to appoint Board members for the upcoming

term in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 4, the Board shall at the same time resolve to convene the newly elected Board for its first meeting. The Board has a quorum when more than half of the members are present, including the Chairman, or, if the Chairman is prevented from attending, the Vice Chairman.

Minutes shall be kept of the meetings of the Board.

 

Decision-making procedure

§7. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority, except in cases described in Article

8. In the event of a tie, the Chairman casts the deciding vote.

§8. In respect of a decision to apply for permutation of the Deed of the Foundation or to implement an amendment there to following a decision to grant a permutation, at least three­fourths of the Board members must be in agreement.

 

Asset management etc.

§9. The Governing Board shall be responsible for ensuring that the Foundation’s assets are managed in a prudent manner so as to limit risks and secure a satisfactory yield.

§10. The Foundation may negotiate a loan from a credit institution to meet temporary liquidity needs.

 

Authorisation to represent the  Foundation

§11. The Board or a person or persons desig­ nated by the Board for that purpose, shall be authorised to sign for and on behalf of the Foundation.

 

Accounting and auditing

§12. The Foundation shall keep accounts in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Act. The Foundation’s financial year shall be the calendar year. The Board shall adopt a budget in advance for each financial year.

§13. For each financial year, the Foundation shall prepare an annual report on the basis of the annual accounts. The annual report shall consist of an income statement and a balance sheet as well as an administration report, which, in addition to the customary informa­ tion, shall include information on how the objectives of the Foundation have been fulfilled during the preceding financial year.

§14. The Foundation’s accounts and financial statements and the Board’s administration shall be reviewed by two auditors, at least one of whom shall be an Authorised Public Accoun­ tant. Personal deputies shall be appointed for the auditors.

 

It follows from Chapter 4, Article 1, fourth paragraph of the Foundation Act (1994:1220), as compared with Article 2, item 5 of the Act (2002:1022) on Auditing of State Activities etc., that the Swedish National Audit Office may appoint one or more auditors to participate in the audit together with other auditors.

§15. The Foundation shall submit the annual report to the auditors for review no later than four months after the end of the financial year.

§16. The Board shall be convened if the audi­ tors prescribed in Article 14, first paragraph, so request.

§17. After completion of the audit, the Foundation shall submit a copy of the annual report and the audit report to the Royal Swed­ ish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

 

Evaluation etc.

§18. The Royal Swedish Academy of Scienc­ es (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) shall be entitled to review the Foundation’s activities.

§19. The Foundation shall ensure that the re­ search funded by the Foundation is evaluated on a regular basis.

The Foundation shall, moreover, annually pub­ lish and disseminate a plain­language account of its activities.

 

Supervision

§20. The Foundation shall be exempt from supervision under the Act (1929:116) on Su­ pervision of Foundations.

The regulation in § 20 has been abolished according to a decision by the Board on June 10, 2015, and by permission of the Supervisory Authority on November 16, 2015.