Swedish marine research is of high quality and is highly relevant. However, research results often do not reach politicians and practitioners. When researchers collaborated across diciplinary boundaries, both nationally and internationally, a higher scientific quality was achieved. This is shown by an evaluation for the period 2003-2009 which Formas and the Environmental Protection Agency submitted to the government in February 2010.
Some projects were however very successful because the relevant users were involved in the project at an early stage. The research programe of the Environmental Protection Agency is a model in this respect, considers the panel that comprised researchers and practitioners with a marine background, three from Sweden and eight from the rest of Europe.