Universities have been told to inform Research England about any ¡°material changes¡± to the scale of research activity supported by quality-related (QR) funding.

Under linked to strategic institutional research funding, English universities will need to ¡°report on material changes they are making to research and innovation capabilities and capacity¡±, explained Jessica Corner, executive chair of Research England, which allocates about ?2 billion a year in QR funding on the basis of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), alongside funding bodies from the devolved nations.

Writing in a on the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) website, Corner said the new requirements would also relate to ¡°wider changes in institutional form or organisation when these may affect the basis on which our funding is awarded¡±.

The new policy marks a significant shift for QR funding, which has previously been given to universities without the need to state how it is spent or whether the areas in which QR funding is won in the REF corresponds with where it is awarded within an institution.

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There are concerns, however, that widespread job cuts at UK universities have seen institutions reduce activity in areas of research strength. In some cases, universities have received millions of pounds in QR funding for departments that have been subsequently closed or dramatically reduced in size.

In the Hepi blog, Corner announced Research England is also seeking to ¡°monitor the implications for the sustainability of research in universities against the current financial context¡±.

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With the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, it has commissioned a study that will investigate ¡°how institutions are responding to current pressures with respect to research and innovation¡±.

¡°The survey will provide important data that can support advice to government and others on the extent of universities¡¯ financial challenges, how these issues are being managed, and how this impacts their investment and planning in the research and innovation space,¡± said Corner who described how the sector now faced ¡°unprecedented challenges¡± to financial sustainability.

¡°Erosion of the value of student fees and the growing costs of delivering education, disruptions to anticipated income from international student fees, a slow erosion of the value of QR, rising costs of research and a mismatch between this and cost recovery from grants has created a and unsustainable operating models for most institutions,¡± said Corner, who added the ¡°additional ?5 billion a year in funding towards research and innovation is no longer guaranteed¡±.

Under a into how strategic institution research funding, including QR funds, are spent, Research England would begin a pilot study in 2025-26 to help create a ¡°light touch and low burden¡± transparency framework in which universities ¡°report back on their use of strategic institutional research funding¡±, continued Corner.

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¡°In the second phase of this work, we intend to work with institutions to develop a forward-looking strategic element that will give insight into plans and then how decisions are made about the deployment of funding,¡± said Corner, who said her organisation was also reviewing the ¡°effectiveness of the different unhypothecated and ring-fenced research funds provided to institutions¡±.

This information ¡°will enable Research England greater visibility of the role of institutions and the contribution of our formula-based research funding (including QR) to the research and innovation system while also contributing to efforts to have more systematic and timely data¡±, said Corner.

While Corner stated the work would help to ¡°strengthen assurance [of research spending] with more robust data¡±, experts have warned efforts to introduce greater accountability for REF-related funding could lead to significant bureaucracy as institutions attempt to itemise the diffuse ways in which QR funding is spent by research teams.

This may lead to costly and wasteful accountability procedures, they argue, pointing out that quality assurance on QR funding is principally related to the REF, which awards money based on excellence.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com