Sweden

The Government’s instruction to the Swedish Research Council mandates to “evaluate research and assess the research and its scientific quality and impact” (paragraph 1:6). The instruction further states that the Council shall carry out research policy analyses and advise the Government on research policy issues (paragraph 2.1). To fulfil this mandate, the Swedish Research Council conducts the evaluations described above, as well as analyses of research performance in Sweden. 

While the primary responsibility for quality assurance in Sweden rests with higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves, the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) oversees the review of HEIs’ internal quality assurance systems. The Swedish Council’s national research evaluations can also inform and support quality-enhancing measures undertaken by HEIs, decision-makers, and funding bodies.

The results of the national research evaluations by subject in Sweden are publicly available.

Governance

The national research evaluation by subject in Sweden is administered by the Swedish Research Council, the country’s largest governmental research funding body under the Ministry of Education and Research. The Council operates independently while working within the framework of government policy, with the aim of supporting high quality research across all scientific fields. Participation in the national research evaluations by subject is mandatory.

Operation of the exercise

Focus of the assessment

Within the national research evaluations by subject, the assessment focuses on scholarly outputs, scientific impact, and societal interaction. Scholarly outputs and scientific impact are evaluated through bibliometric analyses and peer review of publications. Societal impact is assessed through peer review of case studies compiled by the HEIs, demonstrating how research has influenced society beyond the academic sphere.

Unit of assessment and scope

HEIs with substantial scientific output and staff in the subject area under evaluation are selected by the Swedish Research Council for inclusion in the national evaluations. The evaluation provides a national overview of the scientific quality and societal impact of research in Sweden, based on assessments of the research conducted at individual HEIs (evaluation units). 

Methods

The national research evaluation by subject in Sweden is based on informed peer review conducted by international expert panel and external expert groups, with both expertise in the subject area and a deep understanding of the national societal context. For scientific quality, publications are first reviewed and graded by the subject-specific external expert groups, each of which includes one member from the main expert panel. These external evaluations, together with bibliometric analyses, are used by the panel to determine the overall scientific quality. The same panel also assesses societal impact by reviewing case studies compiled by the HEIs.

History, reviews and evaluations

The model for the national research evaluations by subject was developed by the Swedish Research Council in 2018-2019. According to the Government’s research policy bill from 2020: “These evaluations shall provide a national overview of the research within a specific research field and will be an important complement to the evaluations made by the HEIs themselves, and to the higher education institution audits for which the Swedish Higher Education Authority is responsible”.

The model was revised in dialogue with an advisory group comprising four HEI representatives, appointed by the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions and one representative from the Swedish Higher Education Authority. Following discussions with the advisory group, the model design is intended to reduce the burden on HEIs in the evaluation. The model was subsequently tested in a pilot evaluation of research in political science in 2021 and in an evaluation of research in physics in 2023. According to the expert who provided the information on the national research evaluations by subject in Sweden, Nina Bandmann, ‘Lessons from these evaluations led to some adjustments in the model, which was used again in 2025 to evaluate basic medicine research in Sweden. The most recent changes concerned the work of the external panel. Rather than submitting only individual scores, the experts held meetings to agree on consolidated grades’.

Last updated: February 2026

Acknowledgement: Information provided by Nina Bandmann.