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13 August 2003

Review aims to sustain and develop world class research

Proposals to reward world-class research in higher education and encourage effective collaboration, whilst ensuring the financial sustainability of research activity in England, form the basis of a review into the funding of research published today (13 August 2003).

The proposals are outlined in the 'Review of research funding method', published for widespread consultation by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The results of the consultation will be taken into account when the HEFCE Board makes decisions later this year on both the assessment and the funding of research, which will affect the annual allocation of over one billion pounds.

Rama Thirunamachandran, Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer at HEFCE said:

'The proposals aim to develop and maintain a dynamic research sector in this country by making the best use of available resources, which are inevitably limited. We will do this by supporting excellence in research wherever it is found through a sustainable funding regime and through encouraging collaboration.

'The Transparency Review has revealed the extent to which the full economic costs of research have outstripped the resources available to pay for it. We are working with the sector, through the Joint Costing and Pricing Steering Group (JCPSG) and with the Office of Science and Technology in introducing measures to help higher education institutions establish the full costs of the research they undertake, taking into account the need for sensible investment to renew and update the research infrastructure.'

The consultation document is presented in three sections. The first invites comment on specific proposals for research funding in the period from 2004-05 until at least 2007-08, throughout which HEFCE will continue to use the results of the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise to inform funding.

The review confirms that funding of around £20 million a year will be provided to the strongest 5* departments and that funding for 4-rated departments will be maintained at current levels (£118million) until the next RAE. The proposals in this section place a strong emphasis on minimising the administrative burden to institutions.

The second section invites comment on a new approach to the funding of postgraduate research students, designed to place the emphasis firmly upon the quality of training and supervision. The new proposal will simplify the current three streams of funding driven by postgraduate research student numbers into a single 'supervision fund'.

The third section outlines HEFCE's current thinking on the development of research funding from 2008-09, following the next major assessment of research quality, and asks interested parties to consider its implications. The proposals in this section relating to allocations of funds between subjects, minor volume measures and cost bands cannot be finalised until the broad shape of the next RAE is agreed following the conclusion of the Roberts review.

Notes

1.    Review of research funding method (HEFCE 2003/38) is available on the HEFCE web-site.

2.    HEFCE welcomes responses to the consultation, which should be made by 6 November 2003.

3.    The proposals have been made in the context of:

  1. The HEFCE strategic plan 2003-08 (HEFCE 2003/35).
  2. Government policy for research set out in the White Paper 'The future of higher education'.
  3. The policy statement 'investing in innovation' and the recent Office of Science and Technology consultation paper, 'The sustainability of university research'.
  4. The recommendations of Sir Gareth Roberts' 'Review of research assessment' (HEFCE 2003/22).

4.    Funding for research will continue to be allocated as block grant which institutions can use at their own discretion.