Too many world class research universities in UK could lead to less money for all
Calls have been made to ensure that UK university research does not suffer due to the record high numbers of institutes producing world class research, as indicated in the latest national benchmarking exercise. As UK funding is allocated on the basis of attaining this level, and as there is presently no indication that the level of funding will be increased, concerns have been expressed that some universities could receive less funding despite having reached a higher level of research. This opinion was borne out by Professor Derek Burke of the European Commission's high level group on life sciences (LSHLG), who said he fears UK university research may lose out on international talent, funding and staff following the results of the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which are used to determine the allocation of approximately 5 billion pounds research grants. Professor Derek Burke, who has worked at the UK Universities of Warwick and East Anglia, told CORDIS News on 18 December that he feared that the good results may jeopardise future research funding as too many academic departments have now reached a quality level which qualifies them for resource support. He added that a lack of funds could lead to redundancies and reduce the attractiveness of UK university research to talented researchers from the rest of Europe and elsewhere. The Times newspaper reported on 10 December 2001 that less than a third of the academics assessed during the last RAE in 1996 were in departments of world-class calibre. It also said that the scale of the improvement may mean some research groups lose out on funding in the short term. A senior RAE official was reported by the paper as saying: 'We have always funded research selectively, giving most money to those with the best grades. That means that the top departments have had the money to expand and attract other good researchers, as they should.' The Save British Science society (SBS) welcomed the results of the latest RAE gradings, but called for the UK government to ensure that this success will not lead to research being penalised. 'After a long and rigorous process, there is now no doubt that the university research community is delivering what has been asked of it,' said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of SBS. 'Researchers have met their side of the bargain and now [UK Prime Minister] Tony Blair and [Chancellor] Gordon Brown must do the same.' He called on the UK government to 'invest in this success,' warning that otherwise 'underfunding will catch up with us.' The UK's House of Commons science and technology committee will now conduct an inquiry into the RAE which will consider the validity of the results and future strategies for allocating higher education research funding.
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