Research Capability of the University System: A Report by the National Academies Policy Advisory Group (Napag)

Research is the advancement of learning, the discovery of new knowledge or new associations between events or phenomena already known. It is original in nature and its greatest achievements enjoy a lasting and world-wide recognition and contribute to the quality of life. A national research base is a loose community of researchers and scholars in universities, industry, government and private research institutes. This report examines the factors affecting the future research capability of the university system and concludes that the present system will not be able to deliver what is being required of it. In particular: funding for research is not competitive by international standards; student/staff ratios allow inadequate time for research; and all aspects of university infrastructure are being dangerously eroded. The report makes recommendations for addressing some of these issues. The report: recommends that universities retain a central role within the research base of the country; states that research funding from government sources should be selective, and that the degree of selectivity will reflect the lack of resource; recommends that an element of the Funding Council research funding - presently of the order of #50 million a year - should be allocated for professional development and teaching to subject units of assessment which (a) have student/staff ratios above the national average, and (b) did not enter the most recent RAE. The report suggests that accountability for the research funds at present allocated by Funding Councils should continue to be retrospective - it recommends in particular that urgent attention be given to capital needs of univeristies for libraries, modern equipment, building maintenance, and the requirements of statutory authorities; maintains that the Research Councils should have a duty of care for those parts of the research base that fall within their province; recommends that the Funding Councils should continue to review the distribution of funding between academic fields; and urges the government to seek, through benign taxation policies, to encourage industry to invest in research and to bear in mind the scale and nature of support afforded to the research base in other countries when determining its contribution to the research base in the UK. Ultimately in research it is quality not quantity that matters. This means that, for any given level of support, the work supported must be the best and must be supported fully. Therefore the more funds are restricted, the more severe selectivity will have to be. This will be unpopular but is inescapable. As the success of long-term Japanese research intiatives has shown, patience is essential. Research, particularly in scientific and technological areas, is very important for industry and will help wealth creation; but it is essential not to be caught in the late 20th-century mind-set that industry is the only, or even the main beneficiary. Living with technology will be the challenge of the next century: in health, environment and social policies, a proper understanding will help to improve the quality of life.