Maintaining research excellence and volume
Summary
This report describes aspects of the public funding of research within UK universities. It outlines the background and main findings of a study by Evidence Ltd, which may be viewed on their web-site at www.evidence.co.uk. The context is a desire to ensure that the higher education (HE) sector is able to maintain, or increase, its capacity for carrying out research at the highest levels.
The report concludes that UK research performance is highly competitive and has measurably improved against world baselines over the last 15 years. The UK's peak performance provides tangible value for money in terms of both quality and quantity although, for research of international excellence, the relationship between investment and returns should not be expected to be linear. The UK's gain in performance can be linked to the research assessment process, but this process will need to change if the UK is to continue to build on its achievements. The individual and institutional investment that the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has entrained is not sustainable unless quality-related core funding can be maintained at appropriate levels for leading-edge research. Recurrent investment in research excellence has drawn heavily on institutional reserves, and personal staff commitment has led to increased workloads above reasonable long-term levels. Infrastructure investment has helped to support excellence, but has not been sufficiently strategic to sustain the longer-term.
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Last updated 4 September 2003