Published: 2024-06-05 Updated: 2024-06-11, 08:14

The United States Leads Arctic Research in Both Funding and Projects

NEWS A UArctic report on funding of Arctic research was presented at a recent well-attended seminar at the Arctic Congress in Bodø, Norway, drawing great interest from the audience. This report underscores the USA's pivotal role in Arctic research, showcasing its leadership in both funding and project initiation. It is part of the UArctic Thematic Network on Research Analytics and Bibliometrics and highlights the USA's dominance in total spending and number of projects.

Text: Simon Oja

The report reveals that earth science, environmental science, and biological science are the top-funded research areas. Medical, social science, and humanities research also feature prominently, with health science, education, and human society among the top ten subjects. It builds on previous UArctic reports from 2016 and 2017 using data from the Dimensions database.

Sweden has notably increased its Arctic research funding and now joins the USA, Canada, Russia, and Norway in the top five countries for Arctic research projects.

“This report highlights the leading nations in Arctic research and underscores the importance of consistent funding and collaborative efforts in advancing our understanding of the Arctic region”, emphasises Lena Maria Nilsson, research strategist at the Arctic Centre and one of the report's authors as well as the presenter at the Arctic Congress.

The report also discusses the challenges of comparing research funding across countries due to different funding systems. Denmark's limited representation in the Dimensions database contrasts with Sweden's higher proportion of externally funded research.

Sweden's influence is growing and the European Union's impact on Arctic research is significant

Sweden has notably increased its Arctic research funding and now joins the USA, Canada, Russia, and Norway in the top five countries for Arctic research projects since 2016. The European Union (EU) ranks as the second-largest in terms of funding, following the USA.

Globally, UArctic-affiliated institutions are key contributors to Arctic research, particularly in countries within the Arctic Council. In Sweden, the difference between UArctic and non-UArctic members is negligible. A more thorough analysis can be conducted if desired, providing deeper insights into the trends and impacts of Arctic research funding.

The University of the Arctic (UArctic)

Is an international cooperative network with more than 200 members in the form of universities, institutes and other organisations with an interest in the dissemination of research and education in the Arctic.

Most of its members are in the Northern Hemisphere, but UArctic also has members from China, Japan, Korea and other non-Arctic countries.