New Government Must Rethink Research Funding for UK Regions to Prosper

This week marks a pivotal milestone for UK politics as we will see a general election take place on the 8th June. Each of the UK’s 650 parliamentary constituencies will elect just one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons. Over the next few days we will see the campaigning heating up as the public must decide on which political party has delivered a manifesto that best reflects their own personal interests and priorities.

For Digital Science, we are particularly invested in a result that will be most desirable for the academic community. To-date, we have already examined the implications of Brexit for the UK research base, highlighting how the UK risks losing EU research funding to the tune of £1 billion per year.

Most recently, we have looked at the manifestos of each party’s position on science and research funding and as a result, today in The Guardian, our Chief Scientist Jonathan Adams muses on how we need to rethink research funding for UK regions to prosper.

Jonathan explains how it’s up to the next government to rethink the distribution of funding and talent programmes across the country and how more thought is required into whether money is being spent in the right ways.

Jonathan also questions whether we are “stuck in the ‘golden triangle’” where currently most R&D investment is concentrated in the south-east, London and the east, with the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, Imperial College and the LSE taking over a quarter of the pot. He clarifies how there is a need to distribute the financial resources equitably and consider the northern powerhouse universities like Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Lancaster and Liverpool:

“…we have to distribute the financial resources equitably, since these draw in people, support great ideas and underpin education. We will have to rebuild a national network of great civic centres of learning and innovation.”

You can read the full article over on The Guardian to find out more and make sure you have your own say.