What's the point of a research consortium? It's a tough, existential question to face on a snowy, February day, but a valid one.
When I started as Director of Eastern Arc, the regional research consortium comprising the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent, I looked around at the other consortia across the UK. I managed to find at least 12, all with different raisons d'etre. For some it was to share equipment, for others it was to facilitate engagement with industry, and others it was to provide a framework for doctoral training.
For me, it was broader than that. In the words of the ill-fated 'remain' campaign, it enables members to be 'stronger together,' to share knowledge and expertise and to find areas where they can work to support each other.
However, it also allows us to think differently about how we work. Higher education in the UK has become increasingly marketised, and we are forced into competition more often than collaboration. Consortia run counter to that, and they enable us to find the commonalities from which we jointly benefit.
