Million+ comments on Funding Council decision on funding research
Responding to the communication from the Higher Education Funding Council for England regarding the funding of research rated in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of million+ said, “The Funding Council has clearly attempted to ensure that research of international excellence is funded wherever it has been found. The real proof of the pudding will be in the final allocations. The preference given by the Secretary of State and Hefce to STEM does suggest that some pre-92 institutions which have been historically well-funded will be effectively protected. This runs the risk of diverting funds away from excellent research in other areas of significance to the economy and to public policy, many of which are located in post-92 universities. Hefce must also consider the impact of the ending of research capability funding which has been of great value in post-92 institutions.”
Commenting further, Professor Les Ebdon CBE, Chair of million+ and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire said, “The days of a closed shop on research funding should be over. Universities that have demonstrated research excellence in spite of very little research funding in the past will now want to see a real and significant increase in quality related public research investment. An expanded and more competitive research base would benefit UK plc and create greater accessibility to research including for businesses as they restructure in the recession. It would also add value to the international higher education partnerships in research, teaching and knowledge transfer in which post-92 universities are world leaders. It is also crucial that students benefit from research-informed teaching whatever course they choose to study and whichever university they choose to attend.”
Notes:
- Million+ is a leading university think-tank, working to solve the complex problems in higher education. www.millionplus.ac.uk
- Hefce is the Higher Education Funding Council for England
- The Hefce decision is detailed here http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2009/funding.htm
- For more information please contact Gemma Tumelty, Public Affairs Officer on 0207 7171657 or 07900 277819.