APPENDIX 64
Memorandum from the Department for Education
and Skills
GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT
TO SCIENCE
1. Our science base is among the best in
the world, and keeping it so is vital to the UK's status as a
key knowledge hub in the global economy. Government's strong commitment
to sustaining excellence in science and research was detailed
in The Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-14, published
in July 2004 by HMT, DTI and DfES. It is backed up by substantial
new investment across the key departments: over £1 billion
additional funding for Science over the next Spending Review period—in
addition to the £1.25 billion increase in the period leading
up to 2005-06.
2. Our commitment is also backed up by long-term
strategic planning. In developing the Framework, we took a hard
look at all aspects of research capacity. We are familiar with
the concerns prompting the Committee's inquiry, and we welcome
this further opportunity to explore the tensions and complexities
involved in addressing them. We are confident, however, that the
approach we have adopted is the right one to sustain excellence
and we do not agree with some of the assumptions the Committee
makes in its call for evidence.
3. Chapter 6 of the Framework considers
the supply of talent to the science base. It recognises that learner
demand is declining at school and university level for some science
disciplines which nonetheless remain important to our economy
and society. The UK is not alone in facing this decline—many
developed nations have similar problems—but we realise that
it is those countries which not only recognise but address the
issues that will enjoy scientific and economic success in the
future. We want the UK to be successful and a leader.
4. "Science" covers a broad range
of disciplines and activities, and continues to develop new ones:
it should not be surprising that there are fluctuations in popularity
within this world. The similarly broad sphere of Arts is also
experiencing such fluctuations in demand. The challenge for Government—and
for others who need new chemists and physicists—is both
to stimulate fresh demand to match our needs and to ensure that
capacity is maintained to respond to demand as it develops. This
inquiry focuses on the second of these areas, but Government is
active in both.
ACTION ON
STRATEGIC SUBJECTS
5. A number of departments and courses have
been closed by their HEIs over the past few years (and new courses
and departments have also been created). The individual cases
show a mixture of precipitating factors connected with demand,
funding and HEIs' strategic interests. We have already acted to
address more widespread consequences of these specific closures,
by inviting the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
to advise on HE subjects or courses of national strategic importance,
where intervention might be appropriate to strengthen or secure
them. Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses
are among those subjects of strategic importance and we are seeking
HEFCE's views on the circumstances when intervention might be
right, and the types of intervention which could be considered.
6. The Office of Science and Technology
(OST) and the Research Councils are working alongside DfES to
assess and stimulate the "health" of science disciplines,
with initiatives aimed at renewing capacity in key research areas.
An example of action being taken at Research Council level is
the EPSRC's pilot scheme, in partnership with HEFCE and the Scottish
Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), of Science and Innovation
awards to start to restore and renew capacity in some of the most
threatened research areas in engineering and the physical sciences,
including physical inorganic chemistry and research at the chemistry/chemical
engineering interface. These awards are large, long-term grants,
typically £3-5 million over five years supporting staff in
a research group, with a commitment from the host HEIs to continue
support after the end of the grant.
7. As part of its drive to translate overall
strategic priorities for the science base into specific aims and
objectives for the Research Councils and other delivery agents,
OST is actively encouraging them to bring forward imaginative
proposals to address the health of key disciplines of science,
in particular those which are likely to impact on the successful
development of other disciplines. The health of disciplines is
also being discussed by the Research Base Funders' Forum set up
to allow governmental and non-governmental funders of "public
good" research to consider the collective impact of their
strategies on the research base.
RESEARCH ASSESSMENT
EXERCISE
8. The Committee has invited evidence on
the impact of the research funding formula, as applied to Research
Assessment Exercise ratings. Our research policy is to support
excellence wherever it is found, and we make no apologies for
providing a higher level of public funding to the best departments.
We believe a proper level of funding for the highest quality research
is necessary if the UK is to compete globally. Excellent research
facilities are competing internationally, and this involves a
high level of investment. We are clear that we should not ask
excellent departments to take less in order to keep poorly performing
departments viable.
9. It is not for Government to assess research
quality, of course, and that it why we look to the peer-review
based Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). As well as measuring
quality, the RAE helps to promote it. Research quality rose significantly
in the period between the 1996 and 2001 RAEs, with 55% of researchers
found to be working in departments rated 5 or 5* in 2001, compared
with 31% in 1996.
10. This general improvement in quality
must be a good thing, but it has perhaps brought to the fore difficult
decisions for HEIs about departments which perform well, but are
not among the best. HEFCE has put in more money from 2004-05 and
guaranteed that funding for departments rated 4 will be maintained
in real terms as they consider their strategies towards the next
RAE. Institutions' decisions may involve judgements about departments'
direction of travel, their function in an institution, their income
from sources other than Government and other factors. HEIs will
want to focus on activities that complement each other, and serve
their overall missions. We would encourage them to do that. By
no means will they inevitably conclude that "good not excellent""
departments are not viable: many 4 rated departments are flourishing.
RESEARCH CONCENTRATION
11. The Committee has invited evidence on
the desirability of concentrating research in a small number of
departments. Linking funding to the RAE is not aimed at concentrating
resources in a small number of departments or in particular institutions,
or at creating centres of excellence. It is not Government's policy
to concentrate funding or research in this way, and we are not
convinced that there is such a concentration. Our policy is to
fund selectively, based on the quality of research and we expect
institutions to determine where they concentrate their efforts.
There may be more concentration than there was 20 or 30 years
ago, but we need to recognise the range of high quality research
taking place with support from funders other than Government.
There is excellent work being done too outside the Russell Group:
in the CMU and elsewhere.
12. It is our policy to fund the best research,
wherever and in whatever context it is found. Changes introduced
by the funding bodies following the review of the RAE after 2001,
will ensure that the next RAE in 2008 delivers this policy. "Quality
profiling" will replace single averaged ratings for departments,
enabling identification and funding of excellent research within
and across departments, and other changes will better recognise
collaborative and interdisciplinary research. We are pleased that
the Committee's report Research Assessment Exercise: a re-assessment
in September 2004, following its inquiry on the RAE, has endorsed
the 2008 RAE going ahead as planned.
13. The funding methodology for 2008 will
not be announced before the submissions process, and this should
help to reduce the games-playing which has sometimes obscured
the purpose of previous RAEs. As always, funding linked to the
RAE will be allocated as part of a block grant to institutions,
leaving them free to support departments according to their strategic
priorities.
TEACHING AND
RESEARCH
14. Universities also have flexibility in
deciding where the best balance lies between their research and
other activities and teaching. The Committee has raised the question
of the balance between teaching and research: the HE Research
Forum's gave well considered advice to Government on this in summer
2004, concluding that good teaching should be "research informed".
The Forum described a variety of ways in which this may happen,
making it clear that there is no straight choice between top RAE
performers and "teaching only" HEIs. We recognise the
importance of research informed teaching, and we are making some
funding available to help develop it in HEIs with less QR income.
15. This is in line with our expectation
that, regardless of their other strengths, all universities should
provide good teaching. Like QR, teaching funding is part of a
block grant, and institutions decide how much they actually spend
on what courses. HEFCE decide the formula for teaching funding.
They expect to consult on the aims and objectives of a new method
for calculating teaching funding in April, with a consultation
on an outline method following in November. Work will then be
undertaken during 2006, to develop the method in order to inform
allocations for 2007-08.
REGIONAL IMPACT
16. The Committee has invited comments on
the importance of maintaining capacity at regional level, and
the "regional mission of higher education" is another
area on which the Secretary of State has recently sought advice
from HEFCE. Generally speaking, we view the provision of university
science teaching and research in the context of a national asset,
which can make valuable contributions to economic growth at local,
regional, national and international levels. Higher education
institutions have important international and national roles as
well as regional and local roles in supporting the competitiveness
of UK plc. These roles are reflected in Individual institution's
missions in varying degrees and some institutions will look to
have a specific regional role whilst others will concentrate on
their international/national roles.
17. We, and institutions, recognise that
they can make a valuable contribution to regional economic progress.
Our Skills Strategy aims to strengthen regional structures, moving
away from a "one size fits all" approach, to one in
which skills and business development activities are tailored
to meet specific regional, local and sectoral business needs.
Universities and colleges are already contributing to this, through
membership of the Regional Skills Partnerships being established
to address skills and business priorities within each region.
18. HE institutions and Regional Development
Agencies (RDAs) have developed HE networks that support collaboration,
knowledge transfers, innovation and inward investment as well
as the commercialisation of products arising from research and
development activity. They have also been partners in inter-regional
initiatives like the Northern Way, Midlands Way and Thames Gateway.
Involvement in these should help the HE institutions to play to
their strengths and pool expertise and resources on a wider front.
19. Government recognises that it is possible
that independent universities, acting separately, may take decisions
which, taken collectively, are not in the best interests of individual
regions (or of the country as a whole). We do not believe, however,
that every branch of science (or arts) needs to be taught in every
region. Some sciences are specialised to the degree that only
one or two centres of excellence will be found nationally. The
Framework also sets out that HEFCE will now consider providing
additional funding to particular departments if there is a powerful
case that weakening provision in a particular region would hinder
student access to disciplines that are important to national and
regional economic development. We do not believe there to be any
immediate regional crisis in science: high quality research departments
and associated funding are located throughout the UK in a wide
spread of institutions.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
20. At our request, HEFCE is considering
what can be done for strategic subjects. Government is prevented
by law from instructing universities which courses to run. We
do not wish to change this position, and we do not believe anyone
else wishes us to do so. It is right and proper that universities,
as independent autonomous bodies, take action in support of their
individual strategic missions. It is up to each university to
decide for itself what its mission is. It is not desirable to
revert to a state-controlled curriculum, where government decides
what courses universities can run. That route would destroy university
autonomy, and leave subjects fossilised according to last century's
needs.
21. Government is acting strategically to
influence demand for science and technology subjects. As well
as providing financial support for research through funding grant
proposals under the Dual Support system, one of OST's key objectives,
delivered both through the Research Councils and support for Learned
Societies, is to fund training for our brightest and best researchers.
This is delivered through a range of grant award schemes, including
awards to promote international collaboration.
22. We recognise the need take action at
both university and school levels. The Framework sets out our
plans to increase physical sciences and engineering participation
in higher education and improve the quality of science teachers
and lecturers; the results for students studying science at GCSE;
the numbers choosing SET subjects in post 16 education and further
education; and the proportion of better qualified students pursuing
R & D careers. This approach recognises that there are no
instant solutions, and that demand for these subjects has to be
kindled in schools.
23. Within the limits set by respecting
university autonomy, we believe that our policies assuring quality
and stimulating demand provide the right basis from which to consider
any further action to maintain the health of science disciplines.
We await HEFCE's advice, and the Committee's views, on whether
and what additional intervention may be sensible.
February 2005
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