Horizon Scan: Research Funding in 2020

2020: all eyes to the horizon

What does 2020 hold in store for those working in the world of research funding? Here's what's on the horizon in the months ahead.
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Inside No 10

Top notch chap.

Jo Johnson, the Science Minister, resigned today. Now read on.
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Blond on Blond

Boris and Jo: Blond on Blond

With just three and a half months to go until the EU referendum, the debate on whether to stay or go is already at fever pitch. In TV studios and pubs across the land ill-informed but passionate views are being swapped, and the focus swings from immigration, to trade, and back to immigration again.

One of the key question is the European Union's position on the display of wild blond hair (WBH), particularly for the older man. Whilst in the past Europe has been a key exporter of WBH, it has in recent years been somewhat ambivalent to those whose hair seems to defy the laws of physics. Witness the European disdain for Donald Trump.

Government Follows up REF and TEF with AEF and FTEF

Jo 'Edmund' Johnson: Sleep Excellence Framework 'to follow'

Following news of the new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), the Government has announced that it intends to introduce an Administration Excellence Framework (AEF) and a Free Time Excellence Framework (FTEF).

'Research and Teaching are only a part of an academic's life' explained Jo 'Edmund' Johnson, Minister of State for Universities, Science and Excessive Assessment. 'We want to get a full understanding, and star rating, for absolutely every single part of it: every moment of every day.'

What Does £5bn Buy You?

Buddy, can you spare a £5bn?

Earlier this week the Higher Education Statistics Agency announced that income from research grants and contracts totalled £5.08bn in 2013-14.

This is an impressive amount, but if you were a Russian oligarch and had a spare £5bn to splash, what else could you spend it on, if you didn't want to bankroll the cost of pushing forward the boundaries of knowledge? It's always useful to be prepared should you ever be asked, so here's the Fundermentals cut-out-and-keep guide: