Learning from the American Fundraising Model: A European Perspective March 2014 | Page 20

07. supplementing
state
generosity
Mikael Horal,
Senior Development Officer,
Karolinska Institutet (Sweden),
Class of 2009
Unlike the fundraising heads of so many European institutions, Mikael Horal is not facing the
financial difficulties associated with disappearing government funding. “It’s the opposite,” he
says. “There’s actually been increased support
– so we are better funded than ever.”
Behind this generosity lies a national agenda,
he explains – a drive to increase funding for
academic research. With Sweden’s strength in
life sciences having waned in recent years –
including AstraZeneca’s closure of two of its
three Swedish sites and the sale of Pharmacia
to Pfizer – the government is keen to rebuild
the country’s strength in this sector.
As a medical research institute, Karolinska has
been a beneficiary. “If you see the campus you’d
be amazed,” says Horal. “There’s a totally new
teaching hospital and laboratory facilities – and
that is predominantly funded by the city council
and the state.”
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C ON V ERS A T I ONS

Nevertheless, in 2005, the univer