Fundermentals Top 10 2019

It's been quite a year. One, I think, that we'd all rather forget. 

Well, as ever, you can trust Fundermentals to do the wrong thing. Here, with a reminder of every twist and turn of the Year that Brexit Never Was, is the top ten most popular articles on the site this year. 

UKRI Delivery Plan Top Trumps

For us research policy nerds, the past week has been like Christmas. Each of the constituent parts of UK Research and Innovation, as well as the all seeing eye that watches over them, have all produced their Delivery Plans.

These flesh out the - ahem -  'Strategic Prospectus', which was published last year. How long are these valid for? Well, that's moot, but at least until the next Comprehensive Spending Review (so 2019-20) after which it will 'update our 'near-term actions' to reflect the financial years covered in the SR.'

Deconstructing the Research England Logo

Research England, the erstwhile research-focused element of Hefce, will soon join the seven research councils and Innovate UK to be the ninth pillar of UK Research and Innovation. 

It will be a key part of the higher education landscape, guiding the REF and distributing the block grant that results from it, whilst looking nervously (or should that be defensively?) sideways at its sister councils to make sure the dual support mechanism is still, well, dual.

We're all still trying to work out what it will mean for us, and are jumping on every nanogram of news that limps our way, tearing its entrails out and desperately reading them for signs of the future.

Imagine our excitement, then, when a positive behemoth of news lumbered into view with the unveiling of Research England's logo. Now you might not think that that would warrant much, but Fundermentals is nothing if not a past master at deconstructing logos. Remember this? And this? And even this?

So what are we to make of this?