Ola Engelmark took office as the new MD of MISTRA almost two years ago. He is working to bring about more clearly defined research prioritisations and greater competition for a research grant. More cooperation with the business sector and more humanities were on his wish list two years ago. How has it been since then?
You write in your latest annual report that you support research programmes which produce societal effects. In which area has your research been most successful?
- There are many areas. But I want to emphasise climate research, environmental technologies and ecosystem management. Other advances have been made in international air pollution control negotiations, industrial recycling and environmental chemistry.
- Climate research deals with modelling and adaptation by society, and also new knowledge for political negotiations, i.e. the Kyoto Protocol and its successors.
- The environmental technology research of MISTRA has yielded results such as the development of solar cells, fuel cells, more efficient diesel engines and non-fossil fuels, for example dimethyl ether (DME). DME can be produced by gasifying black liquor. If this technology proves successful and is expanded, Sweden can produce one third of the domestic demand for motor fuel, says Ola Engelmark.
The third successful area concerns the management of ecosystems. Examples of these are Vastra (Swedish Water Management Research Programme), Stockholm Resilience Center and Fjällmistra (Sustainable Management in the Mountain Region).
MISTRA's research on Sustainable capital management is also worth mentioning in view of the current "financial tsunami" in society. The capital market could invest both more environmentally and with a long term view. In this respect, we have taken a number of initiatives to develop knowledge and practice, so that capital can be invested with a view to promoting sustainable development. MISTRA's own capital is entirely managed on the basis of sustainability criteria.
In which sphere of society do you think that MISTRA's research may have great significance for development?
- Business development and knowledge for politicians and managers. Our research programmes deliver two alternative results. One is commercialisable results which is a new basis for the business sector, the development of new products and services. The other is knowledge for politicians and managers. In this way, all programmes are of significance for development in society.
One of your large research programmes is Hagmarksmistra (Management of Seminatural Grasslands) which has just ended after seven years. What significance will these research results have for the continued development of rural areas?
- They are important results. Agriculture and forestry in the countryside supply products and services to the rest of society. In order to understand how land can be managed in a long term sustainable manner, we need to study how land has been managed before. Knowledge about harvest, grazing and their effects on ecosystems and biodiversity are of critical importance in this respect. The reason why the landscape looks as it does is described very well in Hagmarksmistra. The way rural areas will be developed is now also highly dependent on EU decisions concerning grants.
Forestry also must develop new thinking concerning land use, says Ola Engelmark, and continues: - Society is facing serious challenges. Discussions are now going on about investments in diversity for outdoor activities, recreation and the other assets of the forest, instead of focusing, as before, on the production of timber. Social values are important. In order to meet the new need for knowledge, we are starting a new research programme, The forest of the future, next year.
- Forestry is one of the largest export industries of Sweden. How are the owners to manage this resource in a time of climate changes and globalisation? What new assets can be discovered, what can be improved? How can business development, recreation and biodiversity be combined? These are the issues that this research will examine.
When you took the post of MD for MISTRA almost two years ago, you said that you hoped for greater cooperation with the business sector. How has this worked out?
- Very well! The programme The forest of the future is one example of this. Over two years, the focus of this programme has been developed in cooperation with the business sector. It will now be jointly financed by MISTRA, all the large forestry companies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, Umeå University and the Forestry Research Institute. To start with, more than MSEK 148 will be invested over four years. We are contributing forty per cent of this sum.
Other examples are Volvo's support for the development of fuel cells and the involvement of the forestry companies in developing the technology for black liquor gasification.
- The ambition of our large forthcoming action area Urban Futures which will be decided on next year is that it will be financed to the tune of fifty per cent by the users, i.e. municipalities and the business sector. Urban development is not only a matter of environmental technology, urban planning and transport. This programme will have a holistic approach and will give answers to questions such as: How to reduce the environmental impact while giving people an ever improving living environment? How can the city become attractive as regards integration, ethnic diversity and so on? How can the city contribute to sustainable growth?
You also wanted to elaborate how social sciences and the humanities can contribute to environmental issues. What has happened?
- We continue to work on environmental social science research. Political analysis and other social scientific knowledge are important for the management of environmental issues.
With regard to the humanities, there is a lot still to be done. Where are the philosophers? Social scientists study short term events, a few years or decades, natural scientists often work over a little longer time scale. But in order to create a sustainable future, we also need philosophers and other humanists with their knowledge of societies that are hundreds or thousands of years old, and of humanity's different needs. Ola Engelmark calls on philosophers to become more involved in the discussion on the development of society.
This year, you have started a research programme MISTRA-Swecia which is to study climate changes and the way society must adapt. It is a four year programme. What are your hopes for this?
- Great hopes. The climate is an issue of crucial importance after a growth in the national economy that is unparalleled. But everything has a price, the environment and the climate have suffered from e.g. the emissions from fossil fuels. Climate changes cannot be simply switched off. We must adapt to them. If there will be more and more violent storms, if floods will occur more often, society must make plans to deal with these. The programme will be interdisciplinary. Political scientists, natural scientists and economists will work together to deliver results that can be used in specific cases in the real world.
Ola Engelmark also speaks of his collaboration with other research foundations. The assets of many of the world's foundations were accumulated during the last century. Decisions are now being taken to invest for the future. Ola Engelmark is in charge of work involving twenty foundations from different countries to coordinate future investments in research for the public good. The will and the money are there. We are now discussing how we are to prioritise our common efforts so as to increase the societal effects, says Ola Engelmark.
MISTRA
MISTRA, Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, was formed in 1994 using the assets of the discontinued employees' funds. It must administer its capital to initiate and support research that prevents and solves environmental problems and at the same time develops society and the economy. A small secretariat of eight people is at the heart of the work. The annual investment in research is MSEK 200. Total assets amount to MSEK 3000. The Board, consisting of representatives of the research community, the business sector and non-profitmaking organisations, makes the decisions concerning research programmes and grants. Around 20 research programmes are in progress, with a total of 500 researchers and about the same number of practitioners.