Information about BFI

The way it works is, that relevant research publication channels, primarily scientific journals if qualified, are entered on the BFI lists of channels and this triggers funding from the block grant for the universities when scientists publish in the journals. A number of criteria must be met for a journal to be entered on the BFI lists.

You can read more about it here.

The journals on the BFI lists are graded into levels at level 1, level 2 and some times level 3. The higher the level of the journal in which the researchers publish, the more basic funding is granted to the university.

You can find the current BFI lists here.

67 expert panels

To ensure the quality of the channels entered on the BFI lists and to grade the channels into levels, scientists have been appointed for 67 expert panels to assess the quality. I represent AU in expert panel 33, ”Environment, ecotoxicology, agriculture/forestry, natural resource/landscape management, fisheries”, which covers many of the channels in which AGRO scientists publish. However, many of us also publish in channels entered on the biologists’ or molecular biologists’ expert panel lists.

Level 2 journals are only allowed to represent a limited share of the lists, and that quota has been filled up, which means that when you wish to have a journal moved to level 2, you need to move other journals from level 2 to level 1. This also means that the more level 1 journals we actually have, the more level 2 journals we can have. Therefore, it is very important that you inform us when new journals appear within your field of expertise that qualify for entry on the BFI lists in order that we can include them on the list.

Expert panel 33 - ”Environment, ecotoxicology, agriculture/forestry, natural resource/landscape management, fisheries”

In expert panel 33 we have decided against level 3 journals, because we concluded that it will cost too much of the level 2 share, especially considering  that panel 33 is a very broad scientific field in which we would like to ensure that all fields of study have the possibility of publishing in level 2 journals. We have also set up some criteria of what is needed to move a journal to level 2:

1. Our aim is that all academic sections within panel 33 have the possibility of publishing in an academically relevant level 2 channel.
2. Review journals are generally credited with many citations and should be level 1 channels as they will otherwise take up too much of the level 2 quota.
3. If one channel is moved from level 1 to level 2, the journal(s) that consequently must be moved to level 1 must preferably belong to the same academic section.
4. The continuity of channels on the lists is important so that it is possible to work on publishing in level 2 journals without running a major risk that the intended journal of publication will be removed from the list.

Transfer of channels between expert panels should only take place if the channel becomes a level 2 journal in the expert panel in which it is going to be placed.

How should universities' basic funds be allocated?

When the BFI system had worked for 10 years and questions were raised whether it worked in an optimum way, the previous government set up an expert committee to evaluate the BFI system and put forward recommendations for potential improvements. Part of the criticism of the BFI is that it encourages research quantity rather than quality, and that it in many places is not just used at institutional level but is also used for hiring/sacking scientists. The evaluation of the BFI took place in the spring of 2019.

Read more here

For more information

Associate Professor Sabine Ravnskov, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Tel. +45 8715 8136. Mail: sabine.ravnskov@agro.au.dk