Statement from the executive board of the Research Council of Norway on the consequences of the situation for research in the United States

"The board wants to be clear about the challenging international situation we are in," says Gunnar Bovim, chair of the executive board of the Research Council of Norway. It is important that academic freedom and autonomy are safeguarded in small and large decisions, in the Research Council and in Norwegian research communities in general," says Bovim.

The following statement from the executive board was adopted:

Scientific quality, academic freedom and freedom of expression is the very foundation of free and independent research and one of the cornerstones of democracy. It is crucial that international research collaboration is based on reciprocity.

The Board of the Research Council underlines that these fundamental principles must be upheld and actively defended. Academic freedom is under pressure in many countries as currently seen in the situation in the United States. The Board of the Research Council encourages the Norwegian research community to resist pressure and ensure that the institutions' and researchers' right to autonomy is not inadvertently restricted.

The Board asks the Research Council's administration to secure that the same principles are followed in the Research Council's project portfolio and throughout the Council's activities. The board states full support to the administration's handling of the situation, nationally and internationally.