The Carlsberg Foundation five-year strategy for the period 2019 – 2023 covers the foundation’s support for basic research (the foundation’s department B). The strategy is based on the wording of the Charter stating that the foundation must “promote and support the natural sciences as well as mathematics and philosophy, the humanities and the social sciences”.
Read the Carlsberg Foundation narrative: "We brew knowledge for a brighter future."
The purpose of the strategy is to outline a clear direction for the activities of the Carlsberg Foundation.
The aspiration is to “Brew knowledge for a brighter future” and the board has defined four cross-cutting strategic principles to be integrated in all activities. Thus, the foundation wants to:
- Strengthen talent development
- Promote diversity, including gender diversity
- Revitalise cultural values and knowledge and
- Communicate effectively
The strategy also operates with four focus areas with the aim to:
- Future-proof basic research
- Invest in new knowledge
- Collaborate internationally
- Strengthen the Carlsberg Family*
Elements of the new strategy are already incorporated in The Carlsberg Foundation Call for Applications, where the instruments have been adapted to the strategy. Thus, the collaboration with University of Oxford, where the foundation provides the opportunity for postdocs to study at an elite institution after completing their PhD, is a direct continuation of the principle to strengthen talent development and focus on international collaboration.
Furthermore, the Carlsberg Foundation is focused on promoting gender diversity in Danish research. This is reflected in the new maternity reimbursement scheme, which statistically would benefit mainly female researchers.
Read more about the maternity reimbursement scheme
Read the Carlsberg Foundation Mission Statement: “Promoting Diversity in Danish Research”
The strategy is also expected to improve the foundation’s internal work on monitoring and evaluation.
The strategy sets the direction for the foundation’s work while allowing for adjustments during the strategy period. The foundation has already clearly defined the process for annual evaluations, revisions and updates of the strategy.
The strategy does not break with the Foundation Charter. On the contrary, it is based on a narrative, which defines the raison-d’être of the foundation and its “purpose”, and the difference it wants to make in the world in the context of its unique history and DNA created by brewer J. C. Jacobsen in 1876.
*Includes the Carlsberg Foundation, New Carlsberg Foundation, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, the Tuborg Foundation, Carlsberg Research Laboratory, the Museum of National History and Carlsberg Group