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Edited by: Ehsan Masood, Editor of Research Fortnight
Authors: Natasha Gilbert, Priya Shetty and Katharine Sanderson
ISBN 978-0-9533138-2-2
Price: £975 (includes printed copy, PDF and circulation link for entire institution)
Individual price: £175
The next few years are likely to be among the toughest for the UK research community since the early 1990s. The research budget has doubled since 1997, but thanks to the economic crisis further increases on such a scale are unlikely for the foreseeable future. What this means is that individual research fields, research groups and university departments face a flatter, if not slimmer future.
How can the UK maintain world class standards when money is tight?
Research Fortnight put this question and more to leading research managers, professors and former vice chancellors. Read what they have to say exclusively in Live or let die: Research in tough economic times, a report which will help researchers and research managers navigate this new, more uncertain landscape.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1: Introduction: Back to the future?
Why is the UK cutting research now when countries such as France and Germany are investing more, and keen to attract the world’s talent – including the best of the UK? What can be done to persuade star talent not to leave?
2: Tough times call for creative measures
What is it like to run a university when money is tight? What has past experience been? A generation of vice chancellors cut their teeth running universities in leaner times. We bring you their stories, lessons and tips on surviving the future.
3: Closing down gracefully
Decisions to close are on the cards for many departments. What does closure involve? Is there a ‘good’ way to shut down? We bring you examples of good practice and what not to do.
4: Small is vulnerable
Which research fields are more threatened in a funding crisis? Those that fail to demonstrate ‘impact’? Or those, such as nuclear physics, that have little political backing, or clout? In the 90s it seemed to be chemistry departments that suffered the brunt of the cuts. Now it appears to be physics. Why do some disciplines suffer more than most?
5: Living through the lean years
Many middle-income countries have experience of running elite research centres in a climate of perpetually low funding. How do they do this? Where do they raise funds from and how? How do they nurture and attract top talent? How do they demonstrate ‘impact’, if at all? The leaders of top research institutions in Brazil and India reveal how they do it.
Get your hands on this exclusive, first report from Research Fortnight and keep your strategy group informed about dealing with the upcoming post-election cuts in government funding.
About the editor:
Ehsan Masood is editor of Research Fortnight and Research Europe. He also teaches international science policy at Imperial College London and is the author of several books, including Science and Islam, a history (Icon, 2009) and Dry: life without water (Harvard, 2006). Ehsan was formerly on the staff of Nature where he worked for many years as a writer and editor. He frequently appears as an environment commentator for BBC Radio 4 and is a trustee of Leadership for Environment and Development.
About the authors:
Natasha Gilbert has been a reporter for Nature since 2008, covering science policy in the UK and across Europe. She also writes about biology, ecology and conservation. She previously wrote for The Guardian on higher education and was a former news editor at Research Fortnight. She has a degree in environmental biology from Reading University and a master's in the philosophy of science from the London School of Economics.
Priya Shetty is a freelance journalist and editor specialising in health in the developing world. She has worked as a news editor at New Scientist, assistant editor at The Lancet, and commissioning editor at SciDev.Net. She has an MSc in science communication from Imperial College London, and a BSc in human genetics from University College London.
Katharine Sanderson has been a reporter for Nature for four years, covering science breakthroughs, policy, business and community stories. She has also worked as a reporter and features editor for Chemistry World, the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine. Katharine studied chemistry at Imperial College London before moving to Cambridge University to complete her PhD.
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