We write to express our strong support for the views put forward by Donald Braben et al. regarding Research Councils UK's Pathways to Impact process ("Corrosive impact merits only dismissal", Letters, 14 April). In particular, we endorse the call for academics to respond to requests to peer-review the Pathways to Impact component of grant applications by stating that they are not competent to assess future socio-economic impact.

We ourselves will respond to the research councils in this way and encourage our colleagues to adopt a similar stance. As Braben et al. point out, the Pathways to Impact initiative undermines the fundamental purpose of university research and will permanently damage UK academia.

Ross Adamson, School of Humanities, University of Brighton

Patrick Ainley, School of Education, University of Greenwich

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Daniel Allington, lecturer in English language studies and applied linguistics, Centre for Language and Communication, The Open University

Phil Allport, head of particle physics, director of the Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre, University of Liverpool

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J. Ambrose, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Rita Astuti, department of anthropology, London School of Economics

Paul Bagguley, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds

Sorin Baiasu, philosophy programme director, secretary of the UK Kant Society, Keele University

David Bain, lecturer in philosophy, University of Glasgow

Anew Balmer, department of sociological studies, University of Sheffield

Maud Anne Bracke, history, University of Glasgow

Bob Brecher, professor of moral philosophy, University of Brighton

Robin Briggs, FBA, emeritus senior research Fellow, All Souls College, University of Oxford

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Michael Burden, Faculty of Music, University of Oxford

Michael Carley, department of mechanical engineering, University of Bath

Timothy Chappell, director, The Open University Ethics Centre

Hugo Christenson, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds

Paul A. Clarke, FRSC, department of chemistry, University of York

Stephen R.L. Clark, emeritus professor of philosophy, University of Liverpool

John Collins, head of school, philosophy, University of East Anglia

Juan-Carlos Conde, faculty lecturer in medieval Spanish literature, University of Oxford

Paul Coones, supernumerary Fellow and tutor in geography, University of Oxford

Julie Curtis, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Isabelle Darmon, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester

Graham Dawson, reader in cultural history, University of Brighton

Karl Dayson, director of Sociology and Criminology Directorate, University of Salford

Alex Dennis, lecturer in sociology, University of Salford

Luis Diaz, School of Architecture and Design, University of Brighton

Giuseppina D¡¯Oro, School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Keele University

Hormoz Ebrahimnejad, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southampton

R. Evans, FRS, H.O. Wills professor of physics, University of Bristol

John Finney, emeritus professor of physics, department of physics and astronomy, University College London

Ian Forrest, Fellow and tutor in history, Oriel College, Oxford

Carlos Frade, School of English, Sociology, Politics and Cultural History, Centre for Social Research, University of Salford

Steven French, department of philosophy, University of Leeds

Wolf-Gerrit Fr¨¹h, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences ¨C Mechanical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

Maria Fusco, director of art writing, Goldsmiths, University of London

Jerome Gauntlett, head of theoretical physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London

Michael Glazer, department of physics, University of Oxford

Sara Gonzalez, department for continuing education, University of Oxford

Simon Glendinning, reader in European philosophy, European Institute, LSE

Michael J. C. Gordon, FRS, professor of computer-assisted reasoning, University of Cambridge

Jonathan Gorman MRIA, emeritus professor of moral philosophy, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, Queen¡¯s University Belfast

Victor Goryunov, department of mathematical sciences, University of Liverpool

Iain Grant, history, philosophy and politics, University of the West of England

Clive Griffin, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages and Literature, University of Oxford

Richard Hall, reader in education and technology, De Montfort University

Sudhir Hazareesingh, Fellow in politics, University of Oxford

Jeff Hearn, human and health science, University of Huddersfield

K Hannah Holtschneider, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh

Tim Horder, department of human anatomy, University of Oxford

Muir Houston, School of Education, University of Glasgow

Simon Huxtable, department of history, Birkbeck, University of London

Christopher Janaway, professor of philosophy, University of Southampton

Simon Jarvis, Gorley Putt professor of poetry and poetics, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge

Eileen John, department of philosophy, University of Warwick

Justine Johnstone, science and technology policy research, University of Sussex

Nicholas Joll, philosophy, The Open University and University of Hertfordshire

Anew Jones, reader in prehistoric archaeology, University of Southampton

P.J.E. Kail, university lecturer in the history of modern philosophy, University of Oxford

Lev Kantorovich, department of physics, King¡¯s College London

David Karlin, department of zoology, University of Oxford

Anna Kemp, lecturer in French literature, University of Southampton

Peter Keevash, reader in pure mathematics, Queen Mary, University of London

Catriona Kelly, FBA, professor of Russian, University of Oxford

Ian James Kidd, department of philosophy, Durham University

Simon Kirchin, senior lecturer in philosophy, University of Kent, and president, British Society for Ethical Theory

Johannes Knapp, head of high-energy astrophysics, University of Leeds

Katrin Kohl, medieval and modern languages and literatures, University of Oxford

Susanne Kord, department of German, University College London

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Vasileios Koutsos, Institute for Materials and Processes, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Marc Lauxtermann, Bywater and Sotheby professor of Byzantine and modern Greek language and literature, Exeter College, Oxford

Catherine Laws, department of music, University of York

David Lee, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Mark Levene, history, School of Humanities, University of Southampton

David Lewis, department of social policy, LSE

Guy Longworth, department of philosophy, University of Warwick

Christine Lopes, visiting Fellow in philosophy, University of London

Michael Luntley, department of philosophy, University of Warwick

Stefano Luzzatto, reader in mathematics, Imperial College London

Ian Maclachlan, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Aur¨¦lien Madouasse, research Fellow, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham

Hans Maes, School of Arts, University of Kent

Shahn Majid, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London

Muireann Maguire, department of Slavonic studies, University of Oxford

Sophie Marnette, lecturer in medieval French, University of Oxford

Thibaut Maus de Rolley, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Martin R.S. McCoustra FRAS, FRSC, department of chemistry, Heriot-Watt University

Patrick McGuinness, department of modern languages, University of Oxford

Esther McIntosh, theology and religious studies, York St John University

Monica McLean, School of Education, University of Nottingham

Denis McManus, reader in philosophy, University of Southampton

Patricia McManus, senior lecturer in media and cultural history, University of Brighton

John McTague, Faculty of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford

Saladin Meckled-Garcia, director, Institute for Human Rights, University College London

Katrina Miller, School of Education, University of Brighton

Barbara A. Misztal, department of sociology, University of Leicester

Liz Morrish, linguistics, Nottingham Trent University

Thomas Mueller, professor of mathematics, Queen Mary, University of London

Katrina Myrvang Brown, Socio-Economic Research Group, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen

Karma Nabulsi, department of politics and international relations, University of Oxford

Daniel Nehring, department of criminology and sociology, Middlesex University

Michael A. Nicholson, dean and emeritus Fellow, modern languages, University College, Oxford

Charlotte Nicklas, Centre for Research and Development, University of Brighton

Viacheslav V. Nikulin, professor of pure mathematics, University of Liverpool

Josselin Noirel, The Chemical Engineering at the Life Sciences Interface Institute, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield

Christopher Norris, distinguished research professor in philosophy, Cardiff University

Kathleen O¡¯Donnell, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton

William Outhwaite, professor of sociology, Newcastle University

Sarah Pearsall, senior lecturer in non-European history, Oxford Brookes University

Steve Phillipps, professor of astrophysics, University of Bristol

Aian M.S. Piper, APRA Foundation, Berlin

Bob Plant, department of philosophy, University of Aberdeen

Anthony Price, department of philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London

Dwijen Rangnekar, School of Law, University of Warwick

Cyril Rauch, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham

Aian Rifkin, professor of art writing, Goldsmiths, University of London

Fiona Roxburgh, School of Philosophy, UEA

Srila Roy, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham

Paul Ruffle, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester

Selina Sadat, president of the British Postgraduate Philosophy Association; PhD student, department of philosophy, University of Edinburgh

Johan Siebers, affiliated Fellow, Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies,

School of Advanced Study, University of London

Hilary Smith, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Giuseppe Stellardi, Fellow and tutor in Italian, University of Oxford

Bernard Sufrin, emeritus Fellow and tutor in computation, Worcester College, Oxford

Helen Swift, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Richard Thomas, professor of pure mathematics, Imperial College London

Rowan Tomlinson, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Kate E. Tunstall, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Kees van der Pijl, professor of international relations, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex

Rosa Vasilaki, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol

Klaus von Haeften, department of physics and astronomy, University of Leicester

Jonathan Way, department of philosophy, University of Southampton

Ian Watson, university lecturer in French language and linguistics, University of Oxford

David Webb, department of philosophy, Staffordshire University

Alan Weir, professor of philosophy, University of Glasgow

Gavin Williams, emeritus Fellow and tutor in politics, University of Oxford

Lesley Whitworth, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton

Luke Yates, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester

Sarah J. Young, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London

Michael Zaiser, professor of mechanics of materials, head of the Institute for Materials and Processes, University of Edinburgh

Anei V. Zvelindovsky, computational and theoretical physics, University of Central Lancashire

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