9 January 2020
The 2020 budget reflects the UvA’s financial health. For the period 2020 – 2023, the UvA has drawn up a budget that should result in a residual amount of zero and includes between €2.8 million and €6.7 million for new policy investments in 2021 – 2023.
In addition to the details of the entire University and the budgets of the various faculties, services and other units, the 2020 budget also includes the updated Accommodations Plan 2020 (Huisvestingsplan 2020) and the ICT Project Portfolio (ICT-projectportfolio). The budget has taken into account the principles in the Framework Letter and the discussions on the draft budget, and has tested the development of key financial indicators according to the relevant standards.
UvA's expected income for 2020 will increase by €32.8 million in comparison with the budget for 2019. Most of the expected increase will originate from the government grant. Following adjustments of the reference forecasts and the wage and price indexation, this is an increase of approximately 5%.
The increase in revenue will facilitate an increase in prices and budgets in the allocation model. Prices and budgets are 2% higher in the budget compared with the Framework Letter. This will allow faculties to cover the wage and price increases.
Although UvA's income as a whole will increase, the opportunities are not divided equally across the institution. The natural sciences will benefit from new opportunities to acquire funds, whereas other fields will feel the pressure of rising costs. Meanwhile, all the UvA research institutes are experiencing pressure to match grants. The transfer from the second to the first flow of funds will mean a slight relief this year.
In comparison with the Framework Letter, the budget has greater scope to improve support for education and research. In the short term, investments in teaching logistics and e-science must provide lecturers and researchers with better support possibilities. The budget also has more capacity for sustainability, such as in neutralising the UvA’s CO2 pressure in the short term and accelerating the energy transition. In the longer term, there will be opportunities for investments that may support new interdisciplinary initiatives. Diversity is another key area.
Significant investments in facilities and accommodation are planned for 2020 (and beyond), the object of which is to better support students, lecturers and researchers.
The draft budget was made available online for feedback and consultation, as was the Framework Letter before it. After the Joint Meeting of the Central Works Council and the Central Student Council agreed on 29 November, the Supervisory Board approved the budget on 20 December. This concluded the budget process.