What You Need to Know: How other Countries Assess Research

Two ends of the South African research assessment scale: kak and lekker.
Photo by Greg Bakker on Unsplash

In the UK the REF has become an unavoidable feature of the research landscape. But how do other countries assess research? We look at one example - South Africa - and their very different solution to the same challenge.

The Rise of the Flexigator

A fully balanced flexigator diet of a block grant burger and side order of study leave
Photo by Edward Franklin on Unsplash

With the rise in vegetarianism and veganism, meat eaters with a conscience are having a difficult time. They enjoy meat, but they don't want to appear like they don't care about animal welfare or the future of the planet.

Luckily semantics is at hand to help them out. 'Flexitarianism' is the new name they invented to suggest that they've given some serious thought to things, and that, whilst they'll still eat anything they want, they might occasionally eat a bit less meat and aren't adverse to a lentil or two.

The success of 'flexitarianism' has had an unexpected effect on the world of research funding. It has been adapted by those academics who really care about grants and external funding, but don't actually want to change any old habits.

At Home with the Gyimahs

Millet-based breakfast at the Gyimahs. Yum (photo: CC0, via MaxPixel)

Universities minister Sam Gyimah told the UUK Conference this week that universities had 'not risen to the challenge' of replacing research opportunities after Brexit. Now read on.

Open Access: Europe's Plan A-R Explained

A publisher mansplains 'Titanium OA'
(photo: Rawpixel via Unsplash)

There was much excitement in Brussels this week with the publication of 'Plan S', the European Commission's plan to make all scholarly publications resulting from public research funding open access from 1 January 2020.

But the big question is: what happened to Plans A-R? Robert-Jan Smits, Senior Advisor on Open Access within the European Political Strategy Centre, spoke exclusively to Fundermentals.

'It was a long and difficult process,' suggests, Smits, 'and it took us many months and an awful lot of coffee.'

Smits set out the process that they had been through to reach Plan S, and the 18 previous plans that got them there.

Having his 'Cake'

After the summer break, welcome back. We're back with a bang and a brand new lookalike. Over at the subsection of the UKRI behemoth that deals with creative types, the AHRC, a new Director of Research took the helm before the summer.

Yes,Chris Morris, the former presenter of The Day Today, the seminal take on rolling news coverage in the 1990s, is back. Taking satire to a whole new level, the new show will poke fun at the insanity of modern quangoery, and in particular life inside a nine-headed pushmi-pullyu.

Any similarity to Edward Harcourt is, of course, entirely coincidental and completely outrageous.