STRATEGIC REPORT on HFSPO by the INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC REVIEW COMMITTEE (ISRC) September 29, 2018 The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of their employers or affiliated organizations. Short Bio Sketches of the ISRC members Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Chair Former Director of the Wellcome Trust Chair of International Advisory Board, ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong Deputy Chair, Sense About Science Council Member, St George's House Trust, Windsor Castle Selected accomplishments: Fellow of the Royal Society Dame of the British Empire Fellow of Academy of Medical Sciences Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science Companion of the Order of Australia Establishment of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Professor Nancy Ip Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies, Morningside Professor of Life Science, and the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Selected accomplishments: Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Member of the US National Academy of Sciences Member of the World Academy of Sciences, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Councillor for the Society for Neuroscience, Member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council National Natural Science Awards L’OREAL-UNESCO for Women in Science Award 10 Science Stars of China by Nature. 1 Dr. Jill Heemskerk Acting Director, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health. Deputy Director, NIBIB, NIH Selected accomplishments: Former Director for Research Administration, NIBIB, NIH Former Deputy Director for the Division of Adult Translational Research, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Former Acting Director of the Office of Translational Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH. Former Advisory Board member of the ALS Association, the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation, and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. Professor Mats Ulfendahl Professor, Director of Research, Regional Council of Östergötland Chair, Swedish Society for Medical Research Chair, Delegation for Research of the Swedish Society of Medicine Selected accomplishments Former Secretary-General for medicine and health, Swedish Research Council Former Director of the Center for Hearing and Communication Research, Karolinska Institutet. Chair of international expert panel for interim evaluation of EDCTP2 (European Commission) Former Chair of the management board of Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance Honorary Doctor (Dr h.c.) of Odontology, Malmö University The Petrus and Augusta Hedlund 40-year anniversary award HFSP involvement Program Grant 2003 2 Eric Westhof Emeritus Professor, Université de Strasbourg (France). Institut de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire du CNRS, Strasbourg, France. Selected accomplishments: Former Director of the Unit and the Institute (2005-2016). Former Vice-President for Research and Doctoral Studies at the University of Strasbourg (2007-2012). Member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) (1998), Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher (LEOPOLDINA) (2000), the French Academy of Sciences (2011). Lifetime Achievement Award, International RNA Society, Kyoto (2016). HFSP involvement: HFSP Research Grants 1997 and 2005. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Main conclusions of the ISRC HFSP grants and fellowships are highly recognized and a real mark of distinction. HFSPO is successful in its strategy to enhance and synergize national science funding programs. HFSPO is international at every level. The current policy of funding curiosity-driven, daring, interdisciplinary and international research, without any priority given to a scientific topic or area, has been particularly successful. Main results of the Science Metrix Analysis . All the indicators point to the high impact level of the scientific outcomes. Bibliometric comparisons with other national or international funders, all much larger than HFSP, are stunningly convincing that the scientific returns on investment are significantly above world average. The analysis demonstrates the very high quality of the review and selection processes. The post-doctoral fellowships are an undoubted “success story”. The analysis demonstrates that HFSP Research Grants are unique in combining impact, multidisciplinary collaboration and interdisciplinary research at the same time. The funding amount and duration of the awards are no longer competitive relative to other funding programs. Major recommendations of the ISRC Restore attractiveness of the awards by increasing their amount and duration. This will require an increase in the budget. Focus on Grants and Fellowships. Encourage repatriation of HFSP fellows. The Career Development Awards should cease and the salient features as well as the funds should be made available as an option for the long-term and cross-disciplinary fellows from the start of these awards. Supporting comments Continue to build up the Alumni Network of HFSP worldwide to promote international understanding, scientific integration, and increase connectivity. Continue to exploit Awardees Meetings to promote internationality. Invite board members and alumni. Continue to make efforts to attract other countries that are key to the global scientific endeavor to join HFSPO. HFSP grants and fellowships are highly recognized, very competitive and a real mark of 4 distinction. The main strategic objective of HFSP is to enhance and synergize the national science Preamble This strategic report is intended for the Board of HFSPO in order to prepare the Intergovernmental Conference in 2019, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Program. The Secretary-General, Warwick Anderson, originated the idea and the organization of the ISRC. The Board of Trustees validated the process on 25 October 2016. Both the members of the ISRC and the reviewing organization were chosen among a list furnished by the Board of Trustees and the final choice and terms of reference approved by the Board by email on 13 April 2017. The Committee members met several times in person and during teleconferences (see The installation of the Independent Scientific Review Committee in the Appendix). At the outset the committee members would like to acknowledge the imaginative and visionary perspective of Japan about three decades ago when Hon. Yasuhiro Nakasone proposed HFSPO at the 1987 G7 summit in Venice. The idea of former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was to establish a funding organization for basic research in the life sciences. The following words pronounced by Hon. Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1987 were discerning and far-sighted: “HFSP was meant to be a 21st century, long-term global research program fostering international cooperation for the benefit of mankind, under which courageous researchers from throughout the world and the spirit of challenge would form teams to analyze and discover various complex mechanisms of living organisms”.1 This Report is not meant primarily as an evaluation report, but instead aims at presenting a strategic analysis setting a vision that should go beyond maturation following three decades of very successful and pioneering activities. In support of this effort, an independent analysis was commissioned from Science Metrix Inc.2 by the Secretary-General of HFSPO upon the advice of the ISRC. The analysis is quantitative and based on various criteria and data sets including interviews, case studies, surveys and extensive bibliometrics. The Independent Scientific Review Committee validated the methodology and the indicators used after several exchanges with Science Metrix agents. The staff at HFSPO participated in those exchanges, prepared and sent the necessary datasets and files from the HFSPO archives. We aim to answer the following questions: What is truly unique and distinctive about HFSP funding? How successful and impactful is the HFSP funding? What aspects of the funding schemes should be maintained, improved, amended or discontinued? In this Final Report, the evaluation performed by Science Metrix provides the observational data on which the Independent Scientific Review Committee (ISRC) elaborated and built a forward- looking strategic vision with clear recommendations to the Board. In the present Report, results from the Science Metrix analysis will not be systematically considered or discussed, but references to it will be given when judged appropriate. With a funding budget of HFSPO around $55 million/year, it is obvious that scientists worldwide depend essentially on national funding throughout their careers. HFSPO incorporates, therefore, as a main axiom that its central objective is to enhance and synergise the science promotion and funding strategies of the national funders. Consequently, we stress HFSP’s added value compared to what 1 From HFSP Strategic outlook Final.pdf 2 See Science-Metrix Inc 5 can be done at a national level. A second foundation is that the core element of the uniqueness of HFSPO is its in-built international character at every level, starting with its funders and members, to the peer review committee members, the awardees, and the scientific and managing staff of the organization. We will use this common thread throughout the document. The Independent Scientific Review Committee (ISRC) is indebted to HFSPO staff for their very constructive help