'Concentration is not the Answer'

Libby Aston, former research director of the Russell Group and director of University Alliance, has written in defence of the principle of funding excellent research, wherever it is found. You may remember that the issue of piling research funding into a small number of research intensive universities was kick-started by the publication of Mandelson's 'Higher Ambitions' (ah! Never was a title so apposite), which first floated the idea.
However, Aston begs to differ. The UK already has 'one of the most concentrated funding models in the world', she claims in Research Fortnight, and Mandelson et al are confusing excellence with volume.
'If you fund on explicit concentration by institution, you are in effect leading money away from world-leading research in some institutions to fund a long tail of research in others.' Let's hope Mandy pulls a hand brake turn.

Mandelson: the Future is in 'Concentrating Research Funding'

Business secretary Peter Mandelson has launched a new framework for Higher Education. Entitled 'Higher Ambitions,' the report focuses mainly on the needs of students. However, research does come up, and the framework emphasises that BIS wants to :

• 'Sustain our world class research base by continuing to focus on excellence, concentrating research funding where needed to secure critical mass and impact; and


• Encourage collaboration between universities on world class research, especially in high cost science.'

'Concentrating research funding'. Hmm. That gets alarm bells ringing, and seems to go counter to the thrust of the last RAE which was to reward excellent research wherever it was found. Not surpisingly, the Russell Group are crowing. “Only by concentrating resources can we ensure that Britain retains world-class universities which are international partners of choice for students, researchers and business,” said Wendy Piatt, director general of the group, quoted in ResearchResearch.
More information on the report is available on the BIS site here.

You Wait Ages for One Framework...

Hot on the heels of the RCUK's Framework comes news of a new (sigh) government framework for higher education. Due to be published in the next few weeks, the framework will include concrete incentives to encourage universities and business to work together in long term partnerships. Quoted in ResearchResearch the businesses secretary Peter Mandelson said that the framework would also “create a system more capable of responding quickly with funding to fill niche gaps in the skills base in critical industries such as the civil nuclear supply chain or low carbon technologies.”
Talking at the Royal Academy of Engineering on 19 October, the minister warned that, for these measures to work, businesses would have to play their part by being “much more clear and prescriptive about what they need." All too often, he claimed, investors are “less able or unwilling” to identify long term rather than short-term investment opportunities.

'We Do the R Better than the D' - Mandelson

Peter Mandelson has used his speech at the Labour Conference to outline his vision of the future of university research and development.
“I want to see an innovation nation. Science is one of the jewels in the crown of Labour’s years in office. And we want closer links between businesses and universities so that good ideas don’t stop at the research lab or the library door,” He said. “We’re one of the world’s biggest investors in research and development. But we still do the R better than the D and that must change.”

Dual Support System Under Threat?

The Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has announced a review of HE funding to cut back on overlaps. There's no more detail yet, but the fear is that the Dual Support System is under threat. The government has been under pressure to cut what are seen as costly quangos.
Apparently BIS, Hefce and RCUK were caught off guard by Mandelson's remarks, and none have commented.
Would a review be a bad thing? Not necessarily, but it depends on what is provided as a replacement to Dual Support. The fear is that, in the current economic climate, government will be looking to fund less rather than more. We'll watch with interest...