Show them the money: U.K. government fails to back the excellence of university research - Business & Finance

Electronic News, May 13, 2002 by Alex Mayhew-Smith

My mother once told me that nothing in life is fair. The perceived wisdom in the face of this truism is to accept the situation and move on.

Life is unfair, but there are times when this needs pointing out so that something can be done. This is one of them. There is a current shortfall of around [pounds sterling]200 million ($293 million) of university research funding from money allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and it is threatening research posts and programs.

The situation has come about not because these university research departments have been found undeserving, but on the contrary, because they have worked hard and succeeded in improving their work. Life is certainly not fair.

The Research Assessment Exercise is carried out intermittently, most recently in 2001 with results published this year and previously carried out in 1996. It awards a grade from between 1 and 5* to university research departments that apply for funding. This grade is set until the next assessment and funding, allocated by the HEFCE, is based on this grade.

The current problem of under-funded research departments has been brought about because of a huge improvement in the rating given to many research departments. There is simply not enough money available to match this improvement Instead, HEFCE has made the decision to fund departments at grade 3a and above. Any department below this grade receives nothing.

In the case, for example, of the electrical and electronic engineering department at Staffordshire University, research quality has improved from grade 1 to grade 3b. This must have been the result of some hard work and deserving of a reasonable return for its efforts. Instead, an apparently hardworking department of 10 staff is awarded nothing. Unfair again.

HEFCE says it handed out as much money as it could and freely recognizes it is not enough. Therefore, the government must allocate more money to remedy this situation. The government's Spending Review takes place this summer and the HEFCE says it is hoping there will be more money for higher education.

University research funding must be increased. It is vital because this is where our highly valuable startup companies hone their technology. These startups can make the United Kingdom a world-leading center for technology, with all the benefits to the economy this can accrue.

It is simply not possible to predict from which piece of research the next killer application might emerge. A shortfall in the money these departments earn is not just a disgrace but also risks the United Kingdom's future economic and scientific standing in the world.

Forty-five electrical and electronic engineering departments applied for research funding, 20 fewer than in 1996. Out of these 45 departments, 6 received the top 5* rating. The HEFCE says it is only increasing funding for the 5* departments. This means most electrical and electronic engineering departments that applied are not getting the money they should. Of the 5* departments funding is being increased by just 2.6 percent More money is needed, and it must be more fairly distributed.

"It is very disappointing that the improvement demonstrated by RAE 2001 is not being recognized by Government in the funding allocations for 2002-03," said the Science and Technology Committee in a recent report. "We are not convinced of the wisdom of its [the HEFCE's] decision to target its limited budget on the highest-performing departments at the expense of those which are developing," the report said.

Indeed. A 5 rating is described as indicating "levels of international excellence in up to half of the research activity submitted and to attainable levels of national excellence in virtually all of the remainder." To reduce the funding of departments at this level of excellence is a very sorry state of affairs indeed.

Alex Mayhew-Smith is an editor for Electronics Weekly, a sister publication of Electronic News.