Academic freedom – a crucial prerequisite for international cooperation

The British Institute of Development Studies (IDS) recently launched an initiative aimed at providing researchers with a secure environment for their scientific work, notably in subject areas where social debates could restrict freedom of research. The objective is to promote international exchange and safeguard the conditions for independent research.

This initiative serves as a reminder that academic freedom cannot be taken for granted. It is the foundation on which research can develop in a critical, open and fact-based manner – and is therefore a prerequisite for evidence-based findings, including in health research.

This is an important signal for Switzerland. Programmes such as NRP 83 demonstrate how essential a free and internationally networked research environment is when it comes to systematically investigating gender in medicine. It is only when researchers around the world can exchange knowledge, learn from each other and discuss their findings openly that the basis for fair and effective healthcare is created.

International initiatives such as those undertaken by the IDS underline that scientific cooperation and research in the service of society are based on mutual openness and trust. They remind us of the need to uphold the value of independent research in Switzerland too – as a shared responsibility of science, politics and society.