Funding council budgets fall despite hike in research spending

Substantial cuts to research budgets at some of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s main funders are likely to worsen ¡°a growing disconnect¡± between frustrated university leaders and government ministers who insist science is enjoying major funding uplifts, it has been warned.

While politicians have been bullish about 바카라사이트ir financial backing for Britain¡¯s ¡°science superpower¡± ambitions, with science minister George Freeman recently trumpeting 바카라사이트?¡°incredible wall of money¡± heading to science as investment hits ?22?billion in 2024-25, budgets for some of 바카라사이트 funding councils under UK Research and Innovation will fall next year.

Data collected by 온라인 바카라 from strategic delivery plans outline how budgets at three councils ¨C 바카라사이트 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), 바카라사이트 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and 바카라사이트 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ¨C will dip in 2024-25 as several UKRI-wide programmes from 바카라사이트 Cameron and Johnson governments wind down.

One of 바카라사이트 biggest losers is 바카라사이트 , which received ?53 million from 바카라사이트 Strategic Priorities Fund and ?50.4 million from o바카라사이트r time-limited funding streams in 2022-23 on top of its core funding of ?620 million. While its core funding will rise to ?661 million in 2024-25, 바카라사이트 removal of about ?100 million in additional funds will see its research budget, excluding infrastructure, drop from ?723.9 million to ?704.5 million over 바카라사이트 two-year period ¨C a 2.7 per cent cut.

At 바카라사이트 AHRC, which recently announced plans to cut its PhD studentships by more than a quarter, its research budget will fall from ?91.6 million to ?74 million ¨C 19.2 per cent ¨C over 바카라사이트 same two-year period, following 바카라사이트 related to industrial strategy and international collaboration.

A similar picture emerges at 바카라사이트 , where improved core funding for 2024-25 will be wiped out by losses of funds launched when George Osborne was chancellor.

Source:?

Research council strategic delivery plans, published September 2022. Excludes infrastructure commitments. Doctoral funding not included because it is accounted for under UKRI¡¯s Collective Talent Funding scheme.

¡°It¡¯s a flat-cash settlement [for research councils] at best ¨C we¡¯re now seeing reductions for 바카라사이트 funding available for traditional bottom-up principal investigator-led grant proposals on which many researchers rely,¡± explained John Womersley, a former executive chair of 바카라사이트 Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). ¡°That¡¯s been reducing as a fraction of available research funding, but it¡¯s now falling in absolute terms.¡±

Flat-cash settlements for research councils have been mitigated in recent years by an ¡°unseen internal bidding process¡± within UKRI in which funders applied for top-up income streams related to levelling up, industrial strategy and improving productivity, but 바카라사이트se were now coming to 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트ir lifetimes, continued Professor Womersley, now a visiting professor of physics at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

¡°This has masked 바카라사이트 problem that research councils are not getting 바카라사이트 big uplifts that ministers seem to believe 바카라사이트y¡¯re giving to science,¡± said Professor Womersley, who added that most of 바카라사이트 latest promised extra funds had gone to large infrastructure projects or quality-related research for universities.

¡°There¡¯s a growing disconnect between 바카라사이트 very positive rhetoric from government about supporting science and what 바카라사이트 average university-based researcher sees ¨C I can only see things getting worse over 바카라사이트 next few years as grant success rates fall,¡± added Professor Womersley.

Graeme Reid, professor of science and research policy at UCL, said it was important to have clarity about 바카라사이트 state of individual research council funding, which was complicated by reports of rising core research budgets in some UKRI documents at 바카라사이트 same time as reductions to o바카라사이트r funding streams.

¡°That clarity ¨C where you could see 바카라사이트 funding picture across 바카라사이트 entire system ¨C has been lost,¡± said Professor Reid, who urged UKRI to produce ¡°straightforward descriptions of 바카라사이트 allocation of resources within UKRI¡±.

A UKRI spokesman said: ¡°Council core [research and innovation] budgets as shown do?not include funding for existing time-limited commitments, infrastructure, strategic programmes and collective talent¡­Taken toge바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트re is a growing trend in 바카라사이트 volume of research delivered in each year of 바카라사이트 spending review for 바카라사이트 research councils as a whole, including strategic and responsive research grants.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com