Nordicom's activities are financed by a basic grant from the University of Gothenburg and through funds from the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Swedish Ministry of Culture. The basic grant from the University accounts for about 40 per cent of Nordicom's total funding, and the funds from the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Culture for about 25 per cent each. In addition, the Norwegian Ministry of Culture finances a position at the University of Bergen that contributes to Nordicom's Nordic work.
Nordicom's financing model means that we have both a Nordic and a Swedish mandate.
The Nordic Council of Ministers
Nordicom has been part of the Nordic cooperation for over forty years. The Nordic Council of Ministers contributes through a strategic partnership with Nordicom to the financing of our Nordic operations. Nordicom's mandate from the Council of Ministers includes promoting and disseminating research-based knowledge about media in the Nordic countries and strengthening cooperation between Nordic media researchers. The partnership with the Nordic Council of Ministers is regulated through a time-limited mandate. The current mandate extends from 2022 through 2024.
The partnership with the Nordic Council of Ministers is divided into three sub-mandates:
- To collect, synthesise, and disseminate knowledge about media development in the Nordic region.
- To initiate and publish new media research literature with a Nordic focus.
- To create and stimulate contact surfaces and collaborations among Nordic media researchers and between Nordic and international media researchers.
The Swedish Ministry of Culture
The Swedish Ministry of Culture provides Nordicom with an annual grant through the state budget to be used to compile Swedish media statistics and to document ownership and market conditions on the Swedish media market. It should also be used to carry out the Swedish Media Barometer [Mediebarometern], which is an annual survey of the Swedish population’s media habits. Through the grant from the Ministry of Culture, Nordicom’s Swedish operations are part of Swedish media policy.