Relief as UK’s ‘very high quality’ global research hubs saved

Research leaders have welcomed news that a network of UK-led global research hubs will continue after a government review praised the “very high quality” of their strategically important work.

A statement issued by UK Research and Innovation on 18 November said the 12 flagship research hubs funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) had been awarded a “specific allocation…which will enable them to continue for the remainder of their grant period”.

The interdisciplinary hubs, which are mainly led by UK universities but involve hundreds of partners worldwide, and employ more than 1,000 researchers, had faced the axe after reductions in government allocations provided from overseas aid budgets were slashed by about £300 million in March, down to about £125 million in 2021-22.

With the hubs awarded about £200 million over five years in 2019 to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues, such as climate change, they represented the majority of GCRF-funded projects with an end date after 2021.

In its statement on 18 November, UKRI explained that following last month’s spending review, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) had “communicated to the delivery partners of its Newton Fund and GCRF that legal commitments for existing projects from 2022-23 will be met, including UKRI’s GCRF hubs”.

However, while “no further cuts to the programme budget will implemented…we will not have sufficient funds to reimburse funds cut from 2021-22”, it added, with the shortfall for this financial year reported as about £120 million back in March. That saw the curtailment of many overseas research projects, with no new grants also approved.

Welcoming the news, Christopher Smith, UKRI’s international champion, said that UKRI was “pleased to have confirmation that following the spending review outcomes, BEIS remain[s] committed to funding these crucial projects and the GCRF hubs, all of which are addressing complex global challenges that impact us all”.

“We would like to thank our community for their dedication, hard work and resilience,” he added.

Professor Smith, who is executive chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), acknowledged that the past seven months had been “an extraordinarily difficult time for all our researchers and partners involved in GCRF and Newton Fund, and we acknowledge with regret how challenging this has been for everyone concerned”.

“We can now look forward to working with our community and our international partners to ensure research and innovation remain central to solving many of the world’s most pressing challenges, to continue to seek every opportunity to deliver impact for communities in need, and to work in equitable partnership with countries across the world on excellent science and innovation for sustainable development goals,” he said.

UKRI added that it is “awaiting specific details on its overall overseas development aid allocation” following the spending review, adding that “there is no flexibility for UKRI to allow extensions past March 2022 other than for the reason of statutory leave”.

It added that a review of the GCRF hubs undertaken by BEIS “highlighted the very high quality of the hubs programme, the breadth of partnerships developed, and the impacts delivered to date despite the significant challenges posed by the on-going pandemic”.

As well as aligning with strategic priorities, including overseas aid and sustainable development, “the programme was considered to represent good value for money, and it was recommended that if possible the programme should continue for the remaining duration”.

Alison Phipps, Unesco chair for refugee integration through languages and the arts at the University of Glasgow and former co-chair of the UKRI/AHRC international advisory board, said it was “good to receive the long-overdue assurances from UKRI following the BEIS spending review that the GCRF monies are to be reinstated from 2022 following the unprecedented, egregious and extremely damaging cuts to [overseas development aid]”.

“Our hard fight to see the excellence of our partners’ work with UK researchers honoured in low- to middle-income countries has been truly gargantuan, but this is a gratifying moment for research excellence,” added Professor Phipps.

“It is vital that the UK government and UKRI now work hard to rebuild the confidence in the UK as a trusted international partner in research and to begin to heal what are deep wounds in the research community at all levels.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com