The Ministry of Universities proposes an increase of 45 million over four years for ULL and ULPGC, exceeding 1.242 billion. The agreement aims to replace annual negotiations with a stable and evaluable framework.
The Minister of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture of the Canary Islands government, Migdalia Machín, presented on July 28 to the rectors of the University of La Laguna (ULL) and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Lluís Serra and Francisco García, a proposal for a university funding agreement for the period 2027-2030. The meeting, held at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, marks a change in model: abandoning annual negotiations without a horizon and opting for a multi-year, stable, and evaluable programming.
The document foresees a 16% increase in regional funding compared to the initial forecast, translating into an additional 45 million euros by 2030. In total, the annual amounts will exceed 1.242 billion euros for the four-year period. This amount includes the Canary contribution for technology but does not incorporate the possible equivalent state funding or the extraordinary and singular funds, whose amounts are yet to be finalised.
Minister Machín emphasised that “universities need stability to plan, and the Canary Islands need that stability to translate into better teaching, more research, more transfer, and more opportunities for students.” The execution of each annual amount will require coverage in the corresponding budget law of the Autonomous Community, which gives a guarantee character to the agreement.
A growing structural base
The agreement primarily protects the consolidable basic funding, intended for personnel, ordinary functioning, maintenance, usual investments, structural research, and scientific infrastructures. This base is supplemented by a leveling fund of 9.7 million euros to correct the estimated gap between structural costs and accumulated regional contributions between 2021 and 2026.
According to the proposal, ULL would reach 173.24 million euros by 2030, a 15.76% increase compared to 2026, while ULPGC would reach 153.65 million, with a 16.18% increase. The distribution is based on different cost structures and combines common criteria with instruments to address the particularities of each university. The scheme also incorporates consolidable competitive funding linked to the increase in full-time students and a variable funding that would begin to be paid in 2028, with a maximum of 1% of the basic funding. The indicators governing these funds must be defined and agreed upon before formalising the framework.
Technology, results, and transparency
The Canary Islands plans 34 million euros for technological modernisation during the four-year period, distributed as four million in 2027, six million in 2028, ten million in 2029, and fourteen million in 2030. The government intends to request an equivalent contribution from the state through the corresponding agreements, so this possible co-financing is not considered confirmed.
The head of the Ministry of Universities insisted that “we must clearly distinguish what is programmed by the Canary Islands, what depends on additional agreements, and what remains open to negotiation. Each figure must be communicated with its period and conditions.” The funding linked to results will take into account, among other areas, continuous training and dual degrees, reducing dropouts, academic efficiency, research, fundraising, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, internationalisation, and the use of teaching capacity.
Each university will develop its own Financial Plan with the participation of its Social Council. The framework also foresees the implementation of analytical accounting, annual economic reports, verifiable information, external auditing, and a monitoring committee with representation from the Ministry, the universities, and the Social Councils. The efficiency study by AIReF will provide additional information for evaluation and, if necessary, adapting the instrument through agreements and addenda.
Negotiations continue
The meeting has allowed progress in the architecture and figures of the model, as well as identifying issues that require greater technical precision. Among them are the rules for the indicators, application guarantees, governance, financial annexes, extraordinary funding for infrastructures, and programs aimed at specific needs.
The Canary executive will maintain technical work with both universities until the text is completed and its financial and legal elements are validated. No signing date is set: the agreement will be considered closed when the parties have validated the document and its annexes. Machín concluded that “our intention is to reach an understandable and useful agreement for both universities, with stability for planning, resources to sustain the system, and shared objectives to improve it.”
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