Responding to the publication of UKRI’s EDI strategy, Helen Kara and Linda Baines argue that by excluding the work of independent researchers, the strategy will struggle to achieve its objective of promoting an inclusive research system. Earlier this y…
Category: UKRI
Funding cuts undermine the global impact of research and its value as an emancipatory project
Responding to the recently announced cuts to UKRI’s research funding and Overseas Development Assistance programme, Nicky Armstrong and Evelyn Pauls, argue that these developments reflect a narrow conception of the impact of academic research on societ…
Scientist Led or Mission Oriented – How much does it cost research funders to lead science?
Across national research systems, decisions about what research is funded are influenced by both researchers themselves, and policymakers with national priorities. However, beyond short term change in response to grants, it is unclear how the latter mission oriented form of research funding affects research practices over the long term. In this post Kyle Myers, shows that the funding needed to […]
Lessons from the past – Why our current understanding of UK research policy is wrong
As a result of Brexit, research policy in the UK is being asked to perform an increasingly large array of functions and will likely undergo significant changes. In this post David Edgerton draws on the findings of a recent British Academy report on the history of UK research policy to highlight how research policy in the UK is frequently misunderstood […]
Knowledge exchange or research impact – what is the difference between REF and KEF?
The UK research system has historically been innovative in its approach to measuring and assessing the impacts of academic research. However, the recent development of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), has elicited scepticism as to how this framework will significantly differ from the impact element of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). In this post Hamish McAlpine and Steven Hill outline […]
Six important things about impact you need to know from the REF2021 guidance
Mark Reed presents 6 key points from the REF2021 guidelines and outlines how they change the current working understanding of impact in the UK. The final guidance for REF2021 was released this week. Most of the guidance on impact is consistent with what I expected from the consultation. For the full guidance on the submission of impact case […]
Six important things about impact you need to know from the REF2021 guidance
Mark Reed presents 6 key points from the REF2021 guidelines and outlines how they change the current working understanding of impact in the UK. The final guidance for REF2021 was released this week. Most of the guidance on impact is consistent with what I expected from the consultation. For the full guidance on the submission of impact case […]