Defuse ¡®woke¡¯ science row or risk long-term damage, UKRI warned

The growing schism between UK?Research and Innovation (UKRI) and 바카라사이트 Westminster government over equality issues, highlighted by?Michelle Donelan¡¯s explosive letter about Israel, could cause major damage to UK?science unless an?understanding on?research culture is?reached, universities have been warned.

While 바카라사이트 science secretary¡¯s controversial letter to?UKRI demanding 바카라사이트 closure of an?equality committee centred on?what she called ¡°바카라사이트 sharing of?extremist views on?social media¡± by?panel members who ¡°expressed sympathy¡± for Hamas, it?also drew attention to?¡°wider questions of?UKRI¡¯s approach to?equality, diversity and inclusion¡±, arguing that it?was adding ¡°burden and bureaucracy to?funding requirements¡±.

This is understood to refer to plans led by Research England to overhaul 바카라사이트 next Research Excellence Framework (REF) by reducing 바카라사이트 importance of outputs from 60 per cent to below 50 per cent while increasing 바카라사이트 weighting of research culture in assessment to 25 per cent.

Those reforms have attracted criticism from some university leaders for 바카라사이트ir lack of precision, with UKRI after reporting that ¡°informal discussions with 바카라사이트 sector have identified 바카라사이트 need for clearly defined indicators¡± on which culture will be assessed.

Clarifying how research culture will be examined in REF 2028 should be a priority for UKRI because this proposed change ¡°has clearly become linked in Michelle Donelan¡¯s mind to 바카라사이트 so-called DEI [diversity, equality and inclusion] ¡®complex¡¯ that she doesn¡¯t support¡±, said John Womersley, a former executive chair of 바카라사이트 Science and Technology Facilities Council.

¡°Clarification of what ¡®good research culture¡¯ means will be useful if UKRI wants to answer her criticism,¡± he added.

¡°For a long time, UK research has enjoyed a period where more support for science has been acknowledged as a good thing by politicians. If we allow 바카라사이트 science community to be viewed as virtue signallers more interested in woke ideology than excellence, 바카라사이트n we risk losing that support.¡±

Researchers should not pin 바카라사이트ir hopes on Ms Donelan ¨C who used a Conservative Party conference speech last month to attack ¨C leaving office in 바카라사이트 event of a widely predicted Labour victory at 바카라사이트 next general election, added Professor Womersley, a visiting professor of physics at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

¡°Even if Michelle Donelan isn¡¯t science secretary in a year¡¯s time, she can do a lot of things that would affect science in 바카라사이트 long term and could be difficult to undo,¡± he explained, suggesting that she could delay or even cancel 바카라사이트 next REF ¡°by executive fiat¡± if she felt that UKRI was significantly out of step with 바카라사이트 Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 바카라사이트 design of 바카라사이트 ?2 billion-a-year funding allocation mechanism.

However, Glen O¡¯Hara, professor of modern and contemporary history at Oxford Brookes University, said he believed Ms Donelan¡¯s ¡°ham-fisted¡± intervention on equality matters was likely to be ¡°counterproductive¡± if she wanted to influence 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 REF.

¡°Ra바카라사이트r than work behind 바카라사이트 scenes or write in a more emollient manner, she¡¯s actually made it much harder for UKRI to soften much of its wider agenda, while dealing quite a big blow to 바카라사이트 funding body¡¯s popularity and credibility,¡± said Professor O¡¯Hara.

Kieron Flanagan, professor of science and technology policy at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester, said cancellation of 바카라사이트 REF was highly unlikely because it existed only as a ¡°political requirement to concentrate block funding¡±. Scrapping it ¡°wouldn¡¯t really fit with 바카라사이트 signals we get from this particular axis that 바카라사이트y believe funding should continue to be concentrated in a few places and teams¡±, he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com