The most ideal funding of universities and what this could mean in a broader concept of society funding issues is at the heart of this study. How can one explain complex cost calculations and the relation with the funding of public universities in simple language? It aims to answer the (research) question to what extent cost-based funding creates more public value for/within public universities than performance-based funding? The study attempts to contribute to the discussion about the perceived unfairness of the funding of the Dutch public universities.