Research funding changes could leave humanities trailing

Humanities research could be under threat as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) considers altering its research funding model which decides the level of funding that is awarded to universities.

In a Hefce announcement made earlier this year, it was stated that research will be assessed on three specific levels; that of output, impact and environment, dependent on each department's contribution to the economy and society.

Every year, an average of £1.76 billion is given by UK funding bodies to UK universities for research, allocated through the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

David Sweeney, Hefce director for research, innovation and skills, said: “The REF will recognise and reward excellent research and the sharing of new knowledge for the benefit of the economy and society. It will also ensure the effective allocation of public funds. It will encourage the productive interchange of research staff and ideas between higher education and business, Government and other sectors.”

Many humanities based research departments may not be able to compete with other subjects, who are considered crucial to economic recovery.

NUS President Wes Streeting, last week criticised the government's approach to higher education.

"Much of government higher education policy during the past decade has been worryingly utilitarian. The government must ensure an appropriate balance between utility and the wider educational value,” Mr Streeting said.

It is unclear at present how changes to the Hefce will affect Scottish universities because the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), which funds higher education institutions in Scotland, is yet to announce whether it will also be implementing the REF as an assessment system.

An SFC spokesperson said that higher education changes were often drawn up with counterparts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“The plans for the new (REF), including the increasing importance of demonstrating the impact that research has had on society and the economy, has been developed in full co-operation with SFC and the other funding bodies. A formal decision whether or not to use the REF in Scotland as a means of assessment will be taken soon," they said.

There are fears that changes to research funding at English institutions could have detrimental affects on the quality of education.

However, it has been recently announced that Hefce and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have collaborated to set up an expert group to ensure that any assessments made regarding humanities research funding is fair and well-informed.