A financial analysis of the outline agreement by the four intended coalition parties PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB shows that the sector plans will be “rationalised” (i.e. cut down) for an amount of 200 million euros annually. Not immediately, but from 2026 onwards. The plans cover a very broad range of research themes: from the human factor in new technologies, psychological disorders, sustainable food systems to globalisation.
What will the consequences be? Will the people who were appointed by UM on the basis of the sector plan lose their jobs? How much will be left to invest? For many deans from the Maastricht faculties it is a case of reading tea-leaves. The outline agreement does not excel in clarity. But there are concerns and indignation too. “I can’t fathom that such resolute cuts are being made,” replies dean Annemie Schols from the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML).
Manpower
Millions have been invested by universities (so also by Maastricht) in manpower – academic and support staff have been appointed, temporary contracts have been converted into permanent contracts and assistant professors have been promoted to associate professors. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), for example, has 13 new assistant professors. FHML reports of a growth of 40 FTE in the budget of 2023 – vacancies have been filled to a large extent by researchers who were already working there on temporary contracts.
Law
The legal sector – part of the social sciences and humanities – were the first in the Netherlands to initiate sector plans in 2019. At the Maastricht Faculty of Law, a Law & Tech Lab was set up, as well as a research group around the topic of globalisation. The amount that the law faculty may count on annually in the framework of this sector plan is about six hundred thousand euro. And although the period will come to an end this year, universities always worked on the basis that the investment was structural. Dean Jan Smits: “In case of a positive evaluation, the sector plan funds would be included in the regular budget.”
As this will happen before 2026 for the Faculty of Law, Smits is hoping that his faculty will not be hit by the cuts. But that doesn’t mean that he is not worried. “In the time to come, we will all lobby hard for the preservation of all sector plans.” Adding: “Those plans are based on administrative agreements between the Ministry of Education and the educational institutes. Can a new cabinet simply obliterate an agreement like that? Is that legally admissible? That is an interesting matter too.”
Effort
Smits’ message is shared by FASoS dean Christine Neuhold: “We will have to make a joint effort to keep the funds structural, as planned.” Scientists at her faculty are working on ‘Forward Together’, a combination of sector plans within the social sciences and humanities which started in 2022. FASoS is already working with various themes. Two examples: ‘The human factor in new technologies’ and ‘Social inequality and diversity’. The Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences (FPN) is also participating in the latter theme. In addition, great investments are being made into research into psychological disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, PTSS with a focus on microdosing. The School of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Law have a (modest) share in the broad theme of ‘Education, citizenship and democracy’.
Optimistic
How worried is the science section? “The outline agreement certainly contains things that are going to hurt us, but we will have to wait on the effect.” Dean Thomas Cleij from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) feels that it is therefore “too soon to have any opinion about it”. His faculty participates in the Science sector plan, with a focus on information science, biology (the largest part) and earth and environmental sciences (which relates to the developments in Venlo in the field of sustainable food systems and planetary health). So, what if the coalition agreement turns out to be negative after all? “I am optimistic that there will also be new policies that will be advantageous for the science sector. So, we are paying close attention, making alternative plans, but are certainly not panicking.”
Drain
For FSE, this concerns amounts of roughly 1.4 million euro per year. That is less than, for example, for Psychology (about 1.8 million), FASoS (2,3 million euro), and FHML together with the hospital (5 million). For the latter, the cuts would constitute a huge drain. “It will hit us hard,” says FHML dean Annemie Schols. Initiatives have been taken within the framework of ‘Acceleration on Health’ in Maastricht, which she feels “fit in seamlessly with the strategic objectives of MUMC+”. Investments are being made in three themes: prevention, data-driven innovation, and ‘from basic research to clinic and practice’. Schols takes a firm stand: “We are determined to guarantee continuity, even if funding from the sector plan is withheld.” Where the money will then come from, is not clear yet.
Wendy Degens, in co-operation with Peter Doorakkers, Dennis Vaendel and Cleo Freriks