Is purdah, intended to maintain the impartiality of the civil service, infringing on university researchers’ independence at a time when their expertise is most needed? Bob Ward explains the rules and argues that the next government should undertake a review of the guidance available, in order to ensure that purdah does not harm the public interest in the future. University […]
Category: RCUK
Addressing societal challenges: Joined-up research funding could facilitate innovation and engagement.
With changes looming for research councils and research funding as a whole, John Goddard looks at what a more joined-up research council driven by societal challenges would mean for the social sciences. Universities are going to have to increase their capacity to support engagement with society. The social science community therefore needs to actively enter into the fray locally and nationally […]
Hallelujah and praise the LARD! The first London Area Research Data group meeting
This is a guest post by Laurence Horton, Data Librarian at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) It was a hot and stormy day; the rain fell in torrents – except at occasional intervals, when I dodged … Continue reading →
Report from the RCUK/POST Big Data exhibition
On a very warm Tuesday 15 July, I attended the Research Councils UK (RCUK) Big Data exhibition at the House of Commons in London, organised by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).read more
Finch Group reviews progress in implementing open access transition amid ongoing criticisms.
The working group which first released the Finch Report on expanding access to published research in June 2012 has issued a new progress update. Following the UK government’s unilateral acceptance of these recommendations, criticisms have mounted against this so-called ‘push for … Continue reading →
What happens when you make a book open access? New business models are emerging, but challenges still remain.
Initial studies into the effect of open access monographs suggest little to no impact on sales, but an increase in discoverability and online usage. But there are still many hurdles to overcome before OA books become a routine option for … Continue reading →