Message from Yves Saint-Geours, Chairman of the Board of Governors, to Pasteurians

"Dear Pasteurians,

The publication of the Haut Conseil à l'Évaluation de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement supérieur (Hcéres) report and the Pasteur 2030 strategic plan gives me the opportunity to express my views on the situation at Institut Pasteur, whose Board of Governors I have the honor of chairing.

As the Hcéres report points out, the institute has many strengths, while facing numerous internal and external challenges:

•    Hcéres underlines the excellence of our research activities, the high quality of the support provided by the institute to its research teams, both in terms of administrative procedures and career guidance for researchers, access to state-of-the-art technological equipment, and the high quality of our activities in support of innovation and technology transfer. Hcéres also noted our pioneering role in science education worldwide.
•    At the same time, Hcéres points out that Institut Pasteur faces a number of challenges in maintaining research at the highest international level within a constrained budgetary context.  The Hcéres proposes that we take a number of measures, in particular to refocus our activities on several key scientific priorities, to increase synergies between our research, innovation, teaching and public health missions, to anticipate the challenge of renewing our scientific staff in the face of a large number of retirements, to strengthen our national and European partnerships, and to support the reform of Pasteur Network.

The plan presented by the President to the Board of Governors, and unanimously approved by the latter, seems to me to be the right one to restore the institute to its rightful place on the international stage, and to meet the challenges we face. Strategy is both the art of conception and the art of execution. On this latter point, the President will shortly be presenting her roadmap for the coming year.

As part of its statutory duties, the Board of Governors votes on the Institute's budgets and staffing forecasts, taking into account the financial situation and the objective of ensuring the long-term viability of the organization. It also approves the accounts. As such, it is responsible for the institute's strategic choices in budgetary and financial matters.

I know that there are questions about our budgetary capacity to execute the strategic plan. Indeed, while the financial situation should give rise to neither anxiety nor fear, it must be taken seriously, given the rapid deterioration, since 2022, of our operating balance (the difference between our income and our current expenses).

We have been running a structural deficit for several years, and this has worsened sharply since 2022, due to the reduction in our industrial resources and the increase in our costs (inflation and its impact on payroll, rising energy and raw material costs, rising cost of science) and our decision to support the development of our activities, particularly scientific, and our staff.

Faced with this delicate situation, there is no miracle solution. I would like to emphasize the professionalism of the Financial Affairs Department's teams in this difficult budget forecasting exercise, and the seriousness of their work, the ethics of which cannot be called into question. The Board of Governors has voted a budget for 2025 which accepts a significant deficit. Under these conditions, the endowment fund is what enables us to cope with difficult times, as is currently the case, and to finance our investments. But it is not a “mattress” that can be used today without thinking about tomorrow. By draining it beyond what is necessary to cover our deficits, we would be sacrificing the future.

The future is also about the investments we need to make to provide the infrastructure for tomorrow's science, in particular the Climate and Environment Center that will replace the Darré Borrel building, and the renovation of the historic building. These investments are necessary and are being financed. We must, however, be cautious here too, which is why we have taken careful note of the fact that the President has abandoned plans to construct a new building for the Center for Vaccinology and Immunotherapy, which will be housed in the existing premises.

Despite this deficit, the budget for scientific activities is increasing, in particular for incentive programs, salary increases have been planned - in line with the fall in inflation and the increases observed in the private and public sectors, the recruitment of a new Scientific Director and new G5s with a call for applications underway.

In this context, the Board of Governors has decided to initiate a process of reflection, in close collaboration with General Management, members of the Board of Governors and experts (volunteers), both members of the Assembly and external experts. This work will be carried out throughout 2025, with the aim of redefining our business model and seeing how we can regain financial leeway. In April, together with the President, I will be presenting the institute's financial situation and the initial avenues of work to the trade unions, followed by the group's conclusions at the end of the year.  

The Board of Governors is the guarantor of two fundamental elements for our institute: its ambition for scientific influence in the service of public health, and its long-term viability. Even if the door is narrow, I know that we will find a way to strike a balance between excessive rigor and laxity in postponing the difficult choices that lie ahead.

I recently met with the board of the Assembly and all the department directors, and I am very attentive to both your projects and the difficulties you may be facing. So it's a message of seriousness, but also of hope and commitment, that I wanted to convey to each and every one of you.

Best regards,"

Yves Saint-Geours,
Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Governors