Research Pooling Initiatives
Research Assessment ExerciseScottish Science Advisory
PanelMonday 21 and Tuesday 22
May 2007
Professor David Gani FRSC FRSE
Director of Research Policy and Strategy
A Challenging R & D and KT context
Increasingly globally competitive Majority of research funders outwith Scotland UK private investment in Scotland (and UK)
declining Overseas investment in UK increasing UK countries’ research policies increasingly
diverse Increasing emphasis on “added value” activities Established OECD competitors larger; new ones
fiercely driven and “hungry”.
High Level Policy Issues Increasing value of UK research base
– international competitiveness– effective utilisation of outputs
Sustaining research evolution– financial stability– responsive and flexible research base– autonomous, market informed HEIs
Data and Facts 2005-06People
Research Active Academic Staff 5086 (12.1% of UK)
Research Fellows/Assistants 3948Research Students (MRes, PhD) 7871 (10.6% of UK)
at 30 sites in over 300 departments/units
IncomeResearch Income £263.4MResearch Contracts and KT Income£289.9MSFC and OSI Research and KT Grants (2005) £237.0M_______
Total £790.3M
Scottish Devolved Government
Advantages of “local” policies
Advantages of UK influence
Balance between Scottish and UK
stance
Challenges of behaving as a coherent
UK system
RAE 2001Total FTE by grade, expressed as a percentage of each country's
research base
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
England Scotland Wales NorthernIreland
UK
Country
To
tal
FT
E
1
2
3b
3a
4
5
5*
%
RAE 2008 and the future
RAE 2008 – on schedule Early indications of volume HEFCE letter to English HEIs Timetable for developing metrics
published Well-connected UK-wide interactions Early findings available late Summer
2007
Research Landscape
SABRIs and HEI interactions ETI EIT ERC Concordat on Contract Research
Careers Research Council Institutes and FEC
Knowledge Transfer and Direction of Change
KTG evaluation Strategic Priority Investments in
Research and Innovation Translation (SPIRIT)
KT in Colleges Developing KT for Cultural Engagement
and Public Policy Greater reward for existing KT activity Research Councils’ KT agendas and
“Pools” Masters/PhD degrees in Enterprise and
Innovation?
Internationalisaton
ORSAS
Marketing Scottish HEIs
Commercial advantages of “Pools”
Attracting international
grants/investments
Retaining international graduates.
“Research Pooling” SUPA (Physics) Scotchem (Chemistry) ERP (Engineering and Mathematical
Science) SAGES (Geo- and Environmental Science) SIRE (Economics) SRP (General and Civil Engineering) SULSA (Biological and Life Science) Phase
1 SINAPSE (Brain Imaging) * MSS (Marine Sciences Scotland)
SRDG
SULSA and SINAPSE supported SICSA progressing MSS progressing Announcing SRDG 2006 competition
results Next periodic SRDG competition
awaiting the SR2007 outcome Spending review outcome expected
Nov. 2007 Planning meeting for “pooling”
reflections
Expectations from Investment Attracting the best researchers
Attracting greater project supportboth for basic and applied research
Enhanced outputs in R & KT
Advocacy in other developments
HEIs involved in large scale collaborations
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Aberd
een,
Univ
ersit
y of
Aberta
y Dun
dee,
Univer
sity o
f
Bell C
olleg
e
Dunde
e, U
niver
sity o
f
Edinbu
rgh
Colleg
e of A
rt
Edinbu
rgh,
Univ
ersit
y of
Glasgo
w Cale
donia
n Univ
ersit
y
Glasgo
w Sch
ool o
f Art
Glasgo
w, Univ
ersit
y of
Heriot
-Wat
t Univ
ersit
y
Napier
Univ
ersit
y
Paisley
, Univ
ersit
y of
Queen
Mar
gare
t Univ
ersit
y
Rober
t Gor
don
Univer
sity
St And
rews,
Univer
sity o
f
Stirlin
g, U
niver
sity o
f
Strathc
lyde,
Univ
ersit
y of
UHI Mille
nnium
Insti
tute
Nu
mb
er o
f E
ng
agem
ents
Sept. 2006
Approved Collaboratiions
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
AERS
NMAHP
SUPA
ScotC
HEM
ERPEMSCCJ
SAGESSIR
P
£ M
illi
on
HEI
Co-Funder
SFC
September 2006
More Recently Approved Collaboratiions
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
SIRE SRPE SULSA (SINAPSE)
£ M
illio
n
HEI
Co-Funder
SFC
February 2007
