A report published today by Universities UK concludes that the process of concentration of research funding continues although it recognises that there is still considerable diversity across the system as a whole.
This new report explores the ways in which research concentration in the UK higher education sector has changed over the 14 year period from 1994 to 2007. The report extends the earlier analyses by Universities UK and confirms previous trends.
The study finds that:
- Whilst research activity in higher education in the UK is highly concentrated, at present it nonetheless retains a substantial degree of diversity
- Over the 14 years from 1994 to 2007 research activity has become more concentrated in the most highly rated research units
- Of the subjects examined in the report, the one where research activity is most concentrated is biology
- Research contracts from industry are the one category of research funding which is becoming less concentrated
Professor Eric Thomas, Chair of Universities UK's Research Policy Committee, said: “This report is particularly timely in the light of the completion of the latest Research Assessment Exercise in 2008, the funding decisions for 2009/10 made in the light of these results, and the forthcoming roll-out of the new Research Excellence Framework (REF).
“Although in England, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has now announced the funding decision based on Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 outcomes, it is not yet clear how these funding decisions will impact on research concentration in the system. It will therefore be necessary to undertake further work to understand the implications of the 2008 RAE.”
Notes
- This report - Monitoring research concentration and diversity: changes between 1994 and 2007 - was prepared for Universities UK by Evidence Ltd. Universities UK commissioned this work to provide an up-to-date picture of research concentration and diversity across the UK system and, in particular, to pick up the trends in the system. The report is the third in a series, with previous reports having been produced by Evidence Ltd in 2003 and 2006. To download the report, click here.
- This study reviews the extent of research concentration and diversity across six sample subject disciplines. The six selected disciplines were biology, chemistry, mechanical engineering, psychology, sociology and history.