Czech Republic (2021)

0 Total number of institutions

0 Number of Public Institutions

0 Demo survey health index number

SSH Health Index

NB! This is a demo survey based on a limited number of responses. The Czech Republic's cumulative result across all categories: 2.25/5.

SSH Country Landscape

The general impact of academic rankings, research evaluation, and funding mechanisms on the Czech Republic's SSH.

SSH Health Index

NB! This is a demo survey based on a limited number of responses. The Czech Republic's cumulative result across all categories: 2.25/5.

SSH and Education Policies

When you talk to junior colleagues in your field/domain about their professional future in general, how do they feel about it?

1 star = pessimistic
2 stars = rather pessimistic
3 stars = neither pessimistic nor optimistic
4 stars = rather optimistic
5 stars = optimistic

RESULT: 2.09/5

Europe

Comments

The field is very underfunded; the salaries are so low (under the level of a “minimum decent wage” in the country) that many academics combine more academic jobs (working even 2 full-times) or academic job with non-academic job; thus there is no time to do teaching at the highest quality level; but it is not only about salaries and time of academics/teachers but also about money for developing the disciplines and enabling to work with students with the latest analytical software etc. The licenses for analytical software are sometimes not even purchased for academics, let alone students.

Teaching positions in humanities are usually part-time (due to the specialization and, therefore, fragmentatization of curriculum), often even secured by external teachers on short-term contracts. The average salary of a university teacher is lower than that of a high-school teacher (given the internal university policy). Academics are thus often forced to cumulate (combine) two or more jobs (academic positions), affecting their well-being and the quality of their teaching, supervision, etc.

The basic salary for teaching is very low. Teachers are financially motivated for scientific production, but there is a complete lack of financial motivation for teaching activities.

There is an unfair system of distribution of finances, both regarding education in SSH and research in SSH. SSH is still understood as “easy” compared to STEM and less needed in the society. Policies are tackling the problem to a degree, but without a clear positive change and unfairness in the finances remains.

Negligence often on purpose, lack of interest, no conception, hegemony of STEM disciplines, financial remuneration so low it recently violated the minimum wage regulations.

While SSH are supported by the policy formally the same way as other disciplinary fields, SSH, especially humanities, are severly underfunded.

The way of financing SSH education makes the main focus be rising numbers of students, which results in lower quality, overburdened teachers, and less satisfaction on all sides.

Little funding, little state support, unclear university policy, poor communication with the public.

SSH and Research Policies

Now think of the policies in your home country related to RESEARCH in the domains of SSH in general. In your honest opinion, what is the effect of these policies on the current status of SSH? (Please don’t think of career prospects, etc. for SSH graduates, but of the SSH’s potential for development as *educational and research* domains, and for career development for people *employed in academia*, etc.)

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.0/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

The field is very underfunded; the salaries are so low (under the level of a “minimum decent wage” in the country) that many academics combine more academic jobs (working even 2 full-times) or academic job with non-academic job; thus there is no time to do research at the highest quality level; it is a vicious circle – the SSH field is sometimes accused that the outcomes are not so excellent as in the STEM field and that this is the reason why the funding of the SSH field should not be increased but if the funding will not be increased the quality could not increase too; there is no money even for analytical softwares for researchers at some faculties – thus, it is very difficult to develop the field and to be competitive in the international field or relevant partners for researchers from Western countries.

There is a very limited number of research positions and funding options (leaving aside international and EU grants and funding).

Underfinancing and lack of a clear conception lead to the dominance of grant funding – further fracturing of already too loose conceptual framework of SSH.

Research funding both on project and institutional level is rather limited in comparison with STEM.

The finance (and thus space in general) given to SSH is too small to allow an internationalized research focus or any feasible access for young researchers.

Emphasis on circular funding, few opportunities to apply for grants.

SSH Future: Relevance and Importance

In terms of national policies related to EDUCATION, what are your personal expectations about the future of SSH in your professional home country?

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.37/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

It was a difficult question but I want to be an optimist. The times are quite tough right now and I hope that the SSH field will be seen as a useful advisor for understanding society and keeping or rather supporting social and actual peace. However, the energetic crisis means also more investment in technology development and budget cuts on some other sides. Thus, the scenario for the SSH field could be also the opposite… (2 or 3 stars).

I do not think the situation can worsen much.

Crises of the recent years suggest, that we really need strong SSH education and research.

Social crises need to be understood and addressed.

I do not see any significant initiative that could be successful in gaining attention for SSH in policy arena.

Enter quote text here

SSH Future: Education

In terms of national policies related to EDUCATION, what are your personal expectations about the future of SSH in your professional home country?

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.27/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

If the support for SSH academics will not improve (especially salaries), the quality of SSH teaching will not improve. I do not want to say that the quality is catastrophic, many academics do their best, but their day has just 24 hours. Preparing perfect lessons is impossible if they do not have time for it. Also, low status in society and accusations of spending public money on teaching useless stuff are not helping and support the development of burnout syndrome.

All of the above, the lack of coception is crucial, gender studies programs already affected, one forcibly closed down.

I guess the system will react to diminishing students’ interest in SSH.

In the context of rising populism and conservatism, there are increasing attacks on higher education; moreover, higher education is not an issue for politicians.

SSH Future: Research

In terms of national policies related to RESEARCH, what are your personal expectations about the future of SSH in your professional home country?

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.54/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

The public budget for SSH field research is stagnating or even decreasing. Thus, the competition for the grant money started to be rather a lottery. There are more high-quality projects than money. For example, last year the success rate in the grant scheme for the applied SSH research was 8%. This is alarming in a situation when grant funding is almost the only way how to finance research at Czech universities and public research institutions. It is very demotivating for researchers, especially the ECRs who often consider leaving their academic careers in such working conditions.

With budget cuts on all levels of the education and research system we cannot expect any positive trend.

SSH might become a part of research response to the current challenges and understanding their social, historical etc. aspects.

In the context of rising populism and conservatism, there are increasing attacks on higher education; moreover, higher education is not an issue for politicians.

Attitude to Research Output Evaluation

Please think of the official systems for evaluation of research output in your professional home country. What do you think of the effect they have on SSH in general?

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.45/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

Positive = forced SSH to produce more and better results, stop being “just presenters” without publications; negative = vain publications (no one reads it, publication for publication etc.)

National evaluation within the university sector is in fact a ranking system that undervalues SSH.

Thanks to the system of circular funding and grants, there is a growing pressure for scientists to engage with the West, which is good on the one hand, but on the other hand it increases the dependence of local science on Western science. Journals are disappearing, the public has no idea what scientists are doing, etc.

Attitude to Local Funding Systems

Now please think of the national academic funding systems in your professional home country. What do you think of the effect they have on SSH in general?

1 star = negative
2 stars = rather negative
3 stars = neither positive nor negative
4 stars = rather positive
5 stars = positive

RESULT: 2.27/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

In the Czech academic environment dominates the grant/competitive funding over the more stable institutional funding. Thus, the research is supported almost only in the regime of short-time (usually 3 years) projects. It prevents the continual development of specific topics and also the proper research work as the academics need to spend half of their working time searching where to apply for further funding and writing grant proposals. In the SSH field is the competition tougher than in the STEM field because the amount of money to compete for is lower. Also, the number of options where to apply or where to gain the money is lower because in the SSH field is no usual (by its nature) collaboration with the private sphere, especially industry.

Little funding, standing in for lacking institutional funding, the boards decision is totally obscure, vague standards

Even if there are some opportunities for project funding in SSH, all of the programmes are significantly less funded than in STEM. It is not just the problem of overall volume, but especially in level of salaries. Regarding the institutional funding, the system was severly biased during the former funding system towards the STEM due to the “money per points” scheme that gave substantial preference to disciplines with fast publication cycle in IF journals. These disproportions have not been changed even after the change of the funding system.

They are too much bound to the state budget and its condition (so we are expecting cuts now), rather than a definition of SSH mission vis-a-vis the current challenges.

Circular funding of science contributes significantly to the precarization of academic work, its uncertainty and dependence on the West.

Professional Confidence of Junior Researchers

When you talk to junior colleagues in your field/domain about their professional future in general, how do they feel about it?

1 star = pessimistic
2 stars = rather pessimistic
3 stars = neither pessimistic nor optimistic
4 stars = rather optimistic
5 stars = optimistic

RESULT: 2.0/5

Czech Republic (2021)

Europe

Comments

Low salaries, unstable contracts.

Competition with colleagues from other countries, limited offer of academic and/or research positions.

They have either opportunity to leave country thanks to some project money (doctoral or postdoc fellowship) or to stay at university depending mostly on project funding. Salaries from institutional funding are very low and there is limited number of vacancies in my discipline. At universities senior professors usually maintain their permanent contract until very senior age and deans have limited instruments to change this.

They are bothered by insufficient salaries that fall short of the basic necessities of life, the high demands of the work, the lack of free time and, most importantly, the lack of available positions.

SSH Country Landscape

The general impact of academic rankings, research evaluation, and funding mechanisms on the Czech Republic's SSH.

Rankings & Evaluation

Independent National Academic Ranking Systems

There are no independent national ranking systems in the Czech Republic. However, international systems, such as QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia (EECA) University Rankings are reflected, although they are not related to funding or other significant institutional matters. Rather, they are used in newspapers or debates to compare the overall level of Czech universities and how that is connected with Czech higher education policies.

State Evaluation Systems

State policies for evaluation of research outputs

There is a state system in place for evaluation of research outputs in Czechia – Methodology 2017+. Below follows a detailed report of its development.

Until 2004: No assessment methodology in the Czech Republic (low level of competitiveness and competitive funding)

1990 – First internal research assessment was carried out at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Aim – rectifying past communist wrongs and assessing quality. As a result, institutes and departments of lower quality were eliminated and only 50% of employees retained their jobs. Effort – to follow Western standards, especially those of the UK and USA.

2004: Beginning of national reforms

2004: First national assessment of science (effectiveness of institutions and programmes of research and development)

2009: Assessment connected to funding in HE sector

Basic idea: quality should be achieved through competition for research funding. Result – rapid growth of competitive funding at the expense of institutional funding, which is under 50%.
Emphasis on fair competition: academic quality becomes the sole relevant criterion as part of an effort to depoliticise academia (in comparison to the communist past). Application of objective bibliometric criteria becomes the main principle of research assessment.
Emphasis on continual publication performance and long-term international mobility become leading preconditions for career growth and side-lining of teaching activity.

Mockingly, this 2009 Methodology for Evaluating Research and Development Outputs was nicknamed ‘coffee grinder’ due to its relation to the distribution of funding and its simplifying character. Primarily, its approach was bibliometric: evaluation was based on counting points for publications, and the funding received was proportional to the cumulative number of points counted (there was a set ‘price’ of one point). As a greater amount of points led to greater funding, the system supported the practice of publishing in low-quality and ‘predatory’ journals and/or ‘citation fraternities.’ The system also failed to evaluate the actual quality of assessed outputs, as it did not take the peer-review aspect into account. Another problem was that it was discriminatory for SSH domains, as the Impact Factor (IF) of SSH journals is usually lower than in STEM and, additionally, SSH publication speed is slower and publication teams are smaller with single-author publications being very common. As evaluations were annual, this methodology hardly allowed for long-term institutional visions. An assessment report from the 2005-2009 period (in Czech): https://www.avcr.cz/export/sites/avcr.cz/.content/galerie-souboru/hodnoceni/Souhrnna_zprava_o_hodnoceni.pdf

2017: Methodology 17+ (Evaluation of Research Organisations and RD&I Purpose-tied Aid Programmes (https://www.vyzkum.cz/FrontClanek.aspx?idsekce=695512).

Methodology 17+ runs on a 5-year basis and is more complex than its predecessor. The bibliometric part remained, but additional aspects were added. Thus, the evaluation is currently divided into 5 modules:

Quality of selected results, aimed to motivate research organisations to deliver research of a quality standard in international comparison and to encourage research with a high potential of practical application
Research performance, assessing the productivity, quality and competitiveness in research, development and innovation
Social relevance, evaluating the positive impacts of research, development and innovation results on society and communities
Viability, assessing the quality of management and international processes in research organisations
Strategy and policies, assessing the strategy, mission, and longer-term vision of research organisations

Full details in English: https://www.vyzkum.cz/FrontClanek.aspx?idsekce=695512&ad=1&attid=881522

Approaches to SSH as compared to STEM

There are separate evaluation panels for specific disciplines. The evaluation compares the outcomes in specific research disciplines at 3 levels (national/EU 15/world) and assigns an overall grade for the whole institution on a five-point grading scale: 1 (world-leading), 2 (excellent), 3 (internationally recognised), 4 (satisfactory), 5 (unsatisfactory). Thus, different grades for different disciplines within one and the same institution are possible. As peer-review and bibliometric criteria reflect the size of the discipline and the relevant journals, identical evaluation criteria in effect work differently depending on the discipline under evaluation.

Approaches to different institution types

The strictness of evaluation depends on the type of the institution. The Czech Academy of Sciences receives the strictest evaluation, as it is primarily a research institution. Evaluation of universities is less strict, as they are active both in teaching and research

Scientometric/bibliometric channels

Methodology 17+ considers only publications ‘in journals indexed in internationally recognised citation databases’ i.e., Web of Science and Scopus. As noted above, it takes into account the AIS (Article Influence Score) rather than of the IF (Impact Factor), as well as Web of Science’s quartiles and deciles positioning instead of the overall number of publications.

National vs international publications

Methodology 17+ aims to reflect the global importance of a particular publication within a discipline. Hence, in most cases institutions submit for evaluation their best international publications in English. Submissions of national publications and/or publications in languages other than English is more common with institutions active in language-specific research activities, e.g. Czech philology, Ibero-American studies, Asian studies, etc.

Societal impact

Social impact is a separate evaluation module under Methodology 17+ (see above). Like in the case of the other four modules, it operates using a five-point grading scale:

World-leading level: The practical application of works of this level will bring about a fundamental change with an international economic impact (realistic assumption of application in several foreign markets, etc.), or a change with an extraordinary impact of an international nature on society (a realistic assumption of fundamental application at the international level in areas of public interest).
Excellent level: The practical application of works of this level will bring about a change with an international economic impact, or a change with a significant impact on society.
Very good level: The practical application of works of this level will bring about a change with an economic impact on the Czech market or a change with an impact on Czech society.
Average level: The practical application of works of this level will bring a partial change with an economic impact on the Czech market or a partial change with an impact on the Czech society.
Below average: The practical application of works of this level is unlikely to bring any change with an economic impact or a change with an impact on the Czech society. There is no realistic presumption of application in areas of public interest.

SSH-relevant research output types excluded by the policy

Consulting services or participation in national/local policy debates are not always reflected in evaluation reports, as the relevant outcomes are not necessarily visible. Thus, they are often challenging or impossible to document, e.g., there is no specific policy document at the end, or no formal membership of researchers in policy bodies.

Evaluation-based funding

Evaluations do not currently impact funding. However, this will change in the near future with evaluation results becoming a key factor determining the amount of institutional funding of research organizations – in addition to pre-existing competitive and grant funding. There has been no definitive statement from the government so far, and the specific terms in this regard remain unclear.

Regulation and Funding

General Data

General data

Number of academic institutions

Universities – 26 public universities, 2 state universities (Police Academy, University of Defence), 33 private universities, 20 foreign higher education institutions (https://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/vysoke-skolstvi/prehled-vysokych-skol-v-cr-3?lang=1).
Academies of sciences – The Czech Academy of Sciences consists of 54 public research institutions (52 research institutes, 1 library, 1 Centre of Administration and Operations) (https://www.avcr.cz/en/about-us/cas-structure/research-institutes).
Universities with SSH faculties/departments – almost all Czech universities have SSH faculties or departments, including those profiled in STEM. Universities of technology usually have economy/management departments or faculties, or study programs (e.g., MENDEL University, profiled in agricultural studies, has a Faculty of Business and Economics and a Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies – https://mendelu.cz/en/ (in English); the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague has a Bachelor’s program in Economics and Management – https://www.vscht.cz/studium/studijni-programy/studijni-plany-bc/program/22900/AB902 (in Czech).
Academies with SSH faculties/departments – altogether, there are 16 SSH research institutes within the Czech Academy of Sciences.

SSH staff numbers as compared to STEM

Most research employees are occupied in the field of STEM. Among university employees, the distribution is somewhat even.

Distribution of research employees by research fields in the government sector (including the Czech Academy of Sciences) in 2019:
- STEM – 79,6 %
- SSH – 20,4 %
Distribution of research employees by research fields in the university sector in 2019:
- STEM – 77,6 %
- SSH – 22,4 % (Czech Statistical Office 2021

Source: Czech Statistical Office: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/122362628/21100220031.pdf/665988e9-4a3d-440c-a0be-af2c0c26779e?version=1.1 (in Czech)

Distribution of academic employees by research fields in the university sector in 2018:
- STEM – 55,4 %
- SSH – 44,6 %

Source: Gender & Science 2020: 31 – https://genderaveda.cz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Postaveni-zen-v-ceske-vede-2018.pdf (in Czech)

Universities employ approximately 3.5 times more academics and researchers than institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. (See https://www.statistikaamy.cz/2020/01/28/kolik-bylo-v-roce-2018-vyzkumniku-na-vysokych-skolach-a-v-akademii-ved). The number of employees in research and development reached a total of 113,446 people in 2018 (74,970 FTEs). More than two thirds of the researchers in the Czech Republic work in STEM: technology and engineering account for 37.7% of employees, and the natural sciences for 31.0%, whereas 41.5% of researchers in the Czech Republic (2018) are employed at universities and 40.8 % in enterprises (https://genderaveda.cz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Postaveni-zen-v-ceske-vede-2018.pdf).

Expenditure for education and research

Total: 247 billion CZK for education in 2018 – https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/nejvice-penez-vynakladaji-vladni-instituce-na-socialni-ochranu (in Czech); 111 billion CZK for research and development in 2019 – https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/169156947/zakladni_ukazatele_vydaje_2010_2020.pdf/10cd64c8-0b5a-4ea3-9cd6-3be32b1887fc?version=1.1 (in Czech)
% of GDP: 4,1 % (excluding R&D 3,7) for education in 2018 according to OECD (OECD 2021: 252: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/b35a14e5-en.pdf?expires=1645365239&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=9F25B40F7EC1332F2F73FF66440E498C (in English); 4,6 % according to Czech Statistical office: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/135356637/csu_tk_vladni_vydaje_prezentace.pdf/bab7730e-480f-4c46-acf2-ccb9f47bcd6f?version=1.0 (in Czech); 1,93 % for research and development in 2019
SSH-specific expenditure – for research and development only (https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/122362628/21100220058.pdf/4d158861-8e4d-4a05-ae16-153cbdd93aa9?version=1.1):
- Total: 7.4 % SSH, 92.6 % STEM (2019)
- Government sector (including The Czech Academy of Sciences): 15.6 % SSH, 84.4 % STEM
- In university sector: 14.2 % SSH, 85.8 % STEM

Regulation Framework

Regulation framework

Policies

National HE strategies:

Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for Higher Education for the period from 2021 (https://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/vysoke-skolstvi/strategicky-zamer-ministerstva-pro-oblast-vs-na-obdobi-od); 6 priority goals:

Develop competencies relevant to life and practice in the 21st century
Improve the availability and relevance of flexible forms of education
Increase the efficiency and quality of doctoral studies
Strengthen strategic management and efficient use of research and development capacities at universities
Build capacity for strategic management of higher education
Reduce the administrative burden of university staff so they can focus on their discipline

The Plan does mentions no specific measures related to a specific research domain or field of study.
Strategy for the Internationalisation of Higher Education for the period from 2021 (https://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/vysoke-skolstvi/strategicky-zamer-ministerstva-pro-oblast-vs-na-obdobi-od); 6 priority goals and areas:

Development of global competences of students and university staff
Internationalisation of university study programmes
Simplifying the foreign education recognition process
Creating an international environment in the Czech HE institutions and promotion abroad
Strengthening the strategic management of internationalisation
Activities of the national accreditation office in the field of internationalization

The document mentions no specific measures related to a specific research domain or field of study.
National Policy of Research, Development and Innovations (Národní politika výzkumu, vývoje a inovací České republiky 2021+; https://www.vyzkum.cz/FrontClanek.aspx?idsekce=913172); addressing the development and progress in the following key areas:

Governance and funding of the research, development and innovation system
Motivation of people to pursue research careers and development of human resources
Quality and international excellence in research and development
Cooperation of the research and the application spheres
Innovation potential of the Czech Republic.

The Policy also responds to 21-century global risks and threats. It defines 5 strategic goals based on key areas, and outlines 28 measures to achieve these goals. For each measure, the document provides implementation dates and performance indicators. The strategic goals are:

Set up a strategically managed and effectively funded system of research, development and innovation in the Czech Republic
Support research organisations in creating motivating working conditions and the development of people’s potential across the whole spectrum of research and development
Increase the quality and international excellence of research and development in the Czech Republic, increase the openness and attractiveness of the Czech Republic for international research and development, intensify integration of the Czech R&D&I into the European Research Area
Support the expansion of cooperation between the research and application spheres in the R&D&I field
Achieve the development of the R&D&I in both enterprises and the public sector

The document proclaims that the policy should reflect the research field specifics and promises to support the cooperation between the research and application spheres in SSH in particular with new state funding schemes. (However, the only specific funding scheme for the SSH field (TA ČR Éta) was cancelled in 2021, which led to a 2-3-year gap in funding of applied SSH research; also, support for applied research and development in the SSH field does not seem to be of primary relevance, as it is not reflected in any strategic areas of the document.)

Legislation

Higher education in the Czech Republic is regulated by the Law of Universities (Zákon o vysokých školách, https://www.msmt.cz/dokumenty-3/zakon-c-111-1998-sb-o-vysokych-skolach).

The law guarantees the autonomy of the Czech universities and the government (particularly the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports) possesses limited power to regulate the different policies of individual universities. Following the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the communist regime, academic freedoms became untouchable rights of universities, allowing them to sustain full independence from state politics. Whereas the main benefit of this is the protection of universities as independent critical voices, it also raises questions regarding possibly problematic university policies and malpractices.

The law regulates the requirements for establishing study programs (e.g., sufficient number of associate professors and professors) and limits the right to award doctoral degrees to universities only. (The Academy of Sciences has no such right despite the fact that it trains doctoral students, which leads to conflicts between universities and the Academy, especially regarding the institutional affiliation of research articles of students affiliated with both institutions). It also defines tertiary-education study levels (bachelor, master, doctor) and establishes universities as both teaching and research institutions, thereby avoiding the separation of ‘teaching-oriented’ from ‘research-oriented’ universities.

The following laws are of particular relevance to the Czech Academy of Sciences and research institutions in general:

Law of public research institutions (Zákon č. 341/2005 Sb., o veřejných výzkumných institucích, in Czech)
Law of supporting research, experimental development, and innovations (Zákon č. 130/2002 Sb., o podpoře výzkumu a vývoje z veřejných prostředků a o změně některých souvisejících zákonů; zákon o podpoře výzkumu, experimentálního vývoje a inovací, in Czech)
Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Zákon č. 283/1992 Sb., o Akademii věd České republiky, in Czech) – establishes the Academy of Sciences as an independent public research institution with its own budget chapter in the state budget.
Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (Rámec pro státní podporu výzkumu, vývoje a inovací, in Czech; Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (europa.eu), in English) – a framework created by European Commission.

National classification system of academic fields

The main tools used for the classification of academic fields are the Frascati Manual and FORD:

Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development – Frascati Manual – OECD (in English)
Classification and Distribution by Fields of Research and Development (FORD) – Fields of research and development (FORD) | UNESCO UIS (in English)

Funding Framework

Funding framework

Funding actors

State – the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

The Ministry of Education distributes funding among teaching public universities in the Czech Republic using a coefficient called the KEN (koeficient ekonomické náročnosti, or “coefficient of economic demands”; https://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/vysoke-skolstvi/koeficienty-ekonomicke-narocnosti?lang=1). This funding is based on the number of students in study programs and the KEN, resulting in a higher percentage of money being allocated to STEM fields as compared to SSH. There is a common misconception that STEM fields require expensive facilities, while SSH only require ‘paper and pencils.’ This can lead to limited access to analytical software and other resources for SSH students, and contributes to a significant disparity in salaries between STEM and SSH fields.

Research funding also plays a role in the allocation of funds, with a significant portion of funds allocated to research rather than teaching. STEM departments typically have larger and more well-funded research projects, which can result in higher average earnings for professors and associate professors in STEM fields as compared to those in SSH fields. The ratio of institutional versus grant/research funding varies by institution, faculty, and department. However, grant/research funding often dominates, which can create challenges for the sustainability and development of various disciplines in the country. This can also cause issues with teaching, as academics may prioritise research over quality teaching due to the relatively low pay for basic teaching positions in SSH fields.

The proportion of funding allocated to institutional versus grant/research purposes varies widely among institutions, faculties, and departments in the Czech higher education system. However, grant/research funding often dominates, which poses a significant challenge for the sustainability and advancement of various disciplines in the country. This can make it difficult for individual researchers and institutions to develop long-term research plans. Additionally, the emphasis on research funding can negatively impact the quality of teaching, as teaching positions are often less well-compensated than research positions. As a result, academics may prioritise research over teaching, particularly in the SSH, where the basic teaching salary falls below the national ‘decent’ wage level without additional research funds.

Czech Science Foundation, GAČR (Grantová agentura České Republiky, https://gacr.cz) – the most important funding body for fundamental research in the country

Competition in SSH has become very fierce in recent years, leading to a significant decrease in grant funding success rates. Even for well-established researchers, securing research funding has become a challenge. The situation is particularly dire for early-career researchers (ECRs), as demonstrated by the example of the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, which employs more than 100 academics, but only two projects were funded in 2021. Though there are special funding schemes available for ECRs, the criteria for these programs are often strict, such as requiring a successful applicant to spend more than one year abroad.

The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, TA ČR (Technologická agentura České republiky) – national public funding body for applied research

In 2021, the Agency’s only funding scheme for the SSH field (Éta, https://www.tacr.cz/en/eta-programme) was cancelled.

The most prominent public universities in the Czech Republic have their own grant programmes, commonly referred to as ‘excellence schemes.’ The term ‘excellence’ implies that receiving such grants is exceptional, and as a result, these schemes do not play a fundamental role in the development of specific research fields or disciplines within the university or across the country.
European Commission – Czech academics and researchers also have the opportunity to receive funding from the EC’s operational programs, such as the European Social Fund, which are managed by Czech Ministries. The Ministries typically redistribute these funds for research through specific programmes.

Funding forms

In the Czech Republic, most research is financed through competitive grant funding. Without a grant, it is rare and often impossible to conduct research in any field. Education is primarily funded by the state through the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports. However, research is given priority when it comes to funding.

Financial support for students and researchers

In the Czech Republic, there is no specialised support programme for academics. Some individual academic institutions, such as the Academy of Sciences, may offer lower rental prices on apartments, but it is not a widespread practice within the academic community. Students under the age of 26 years are eligible for standard student benefits through programmes like ISIC, which include discounts on travel expenses, books, and cultural events, and are also exempt from paying social and health insurance, which is covered by the state. However, students in doctoral programmes over the age of 26 are only exempt from paying health insurance and are required to pay social insurance. This can pose a problem for students who only receive a stipend and have no work contract at a public research institution, as they are not considered employees by the social benefit system. This can be particularly discriminatory for doctoral students in SSH, where it is less common to employ Ph.D. students on grant projects of their supervisors as compared to STEM.

Cost of education

In the Czech Republic, there are no tuition fees for public universities, despite attempts by politicians to introduce such fees. The ideas behind these attempts often discriminate against the SSH, as they advocate for public money to be allocated only to disciplines deemed ‘important or useful for the national economy.’ The cost of education in the Czech Republic is roughly equivalent to what students could earn if they focused solely on paid employment. However, most Czech university students cannot afford to do so and often hold part-time jobs while studying. Some students even work full-time.

Conclusion

The state of the social sciences and humanities field in the Czech Republic is not favourable. As compared to STEM, the field is underfunded and faces a lack of private funding, with collaborations between private companies and universities or other public research institutions being uncommon. This lack of funding makes it challenging for early-career researchers to make ends meet, often leading to unstable contracts and the need to cumulate multiple contracts to obtain full-time employment or even to cover living expenses. This also limits the potential of Czech SSH researchers to compete or cooperate with Western researchers in the field, endangering further development of the SSH field. Despite claims by politicians and academic policy representatives on the importance of the SSH field, these statements are not reflected in concrete actions.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.