Two years ago in this publication ("Modest revolt to save research from red tape", Letters, 12 February 2009), we wrote to express our concern with the research councils' new initiative now known as "Pathways to Impact". Following meetings with Research Councils UK in January and July 2010, we met the new minister for universities and science, David Willetts, who asked for evidence supporting our request for the initiative's termination and who also asked Alan Thorpe, chief executive of RCUK, to justify his support. Our paper, sent to Willetts on 8 September 2010, has been ignored. We have not seen Thorpe's promised justification.
We, the undersigned, believe that "Pathways to Impact" compromises UK academic research and wastes taxpayers' money. Researchers have proved time and again that they can handle financial hardship, but complete freedom is essential. Recall Ernest Rutherford's dictum: "When money is short, there is no alternative but to think." The initiative corrupts researchers' thinking, obliges them to prejudge results while planning their proposals and encourages them to aim for attainable goals.
We urge researchers invited to review "impact" submissions to make responses such as "I am not competent to assess the future potential socio-economic impact of this proposal". Indeed, we do not know of anyone who is competent in this respect. Acquiescing might offer short-term benefit, but the long-term damage could be irreversible.
Donald W. Braben, University College London
John F Allen, Queen Mary, University of London
William Amos, University of Cambridge
Michael Ashburner FRS, University of Cambridge
Jonathan Ashmore FRS, UCL
Tim Birkhead FRS, University of Sheffield
Mark S Bretscher FRS, Cambridge
Peter Cameron, Queen Mary, University of London
Richard S Clymo, Queen Mary, University of London
Richard Cogdell FRS, University of Glasgow
David Colquhoun FRS, UCL
Adam Curtis, Glasgow University
John Dainton FRS, University of Liverpool
Felipe Fernàndez-Armesto, University of Notre Dame
Pat Heslop-Harrison, University of Leicester; Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate
H Robert Horvitz FRS, MIT, Nobel Laureate
Sir Tim Hunt FRS, Cancer Research UK, Nobel Laureate
Herbert Huppert FRS, University of Cambridge
Sir Alec Jeffreys FRS, US National Academy of Science, University of Leicester
H Jeff Kimble, Caltech, US National Academy of Sciences
Roger Kornberg FRS, Stanford University, Nobel Laureate
Sir Harry Kroto FRS, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Nobel Laureate
James Ladyman, University of Bristol
Michael F Land FRS, University of Sussex
Peter Lawrence FRS, University of Cambridge
Sir Anthony Leggett FRS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nobel Laureate
Angus MacIntyre FRS, Queen Mary, University of London
Sotiris Missailidis, Open University
Philip Moriarty, University of Nottingham
Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick
Iain Pears, Oxford
Beatrice Pelloni, University of Reading
Lawrence Paulson, University of Cambridge
Douglas Randall, University of Missouri, US National Science Board member
David Ray, BioAstral Limited
Guy P Richardson FRS, University of Sussex
Sir Richard J Roberts FRS, New England Biolabs, Nobel Laureate
Ian Russell FRS, University of Sussex
Ken Seddon, Queen’s University of Belfast
Steve Sparks FRS, University of Bristol
Sir John Sulston FRS, University of Manchester, Nobel Laureate
Harry Swinney, University of Texas, US National Academy of Sciences
Iain Stewart, University of Durham
Claudio Vita-Finzi, Natural History Museum
David Walker FRS, University of Sheffield
Eric F Wieschaus, Princeton University, Nobel Laureate
Glynn Winskel, University of Cambridge
Lewis Wolpert FRS, UCL
Phil Woodruff FRS, University of Warwick