The proposal is based on a number of inaccuracies

the Authors ' proposal is based on a series of errors and creates new problems instead of taking up what would make the Swedish research system better, which also lifted in the earlier lines of the article.

the Swedish research council's assessment process is described on our website. We have thorough procedures for impartiality and no conflict of interest and funding research of the highest quality regardless of institution, gender, or research. Around 80 per cent of our research funding (not including forskningsinfrastrukturstöd), go to the thematic freedom of research, where the researchers themselves formulate the research problem. The research projects supported by grants from the Swedish research council are selected in the national competition after an extensive peer review of externally hired researchers of which half are active in foreign, preferably european, universities.

There is just one point on which we share sandström's and Hall's description of the challenges Sweden faces. It is true that Sweden is not included among the leading countries when it comes to the percentage of högciterade scientific publications.

There is just one point on which we share sandström's and Hall's description of the challenges Sweden faces. It is true that Sweden is not included among the leading countries when it comes to the percentage of högciterade scientific publications. This is despite a high proportion of researchers, a high proportion of scientific publications per capita and a population with a high level of trust for research.

the Researchers ' ability to get their research ideas tested against stringent quality standards in the national competition also contributes to the researcher's and the research freedom and autonomy. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the financing of the forskarinitierad research. For the Swedish part it applies in particular in the form of free grants, which is the fastest and most flexible way to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

But, for the external funding will come to their right, it is crucial that these researchers have the opportunity to work in an environment that is characterised by creativity and long-term perspective, they have access to the relevant equipment and that they have a good balance between teaching and research. The universities, the opportunities to provide researchers with these conditions, and to guarantee research freedom is therefore a prerequisite for securing the quality of research.

On may 21, we present our report ”Choices for the future of research systems – Knowledge, quality and integrity” . Where we highlight what we believe is necessary for Sweden to reach the government's goal to become one of the world's leading forskningsnationer.