Sophie's original piece is now free to read btw

Officially announced today: new deals between UK unis and 'big 5' publishers will trial removing article-processing fees from some journals, effectively making them free for both readers and authors @sophieatrpn.bsky.social was well ahead of the curve on this www.jisc.ac.uk/news/all/lan...

Universities dropping publisher deals ‘could boost open access’. Advocates say non-profit platforms could become more attractive, but warn of accelerating redundancies in libraries. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

It's become a mantra that the govt are protecting curiosity-driven research It's still the biggest chunk of UKRI's budget But figures out today clearly show it will decline in real-terms, while spending on govt priorities and innovation will rise www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

BREAKING: Flat cash settlement for curiosity-driven research at UKRI up to 2030. UKRI has released a breakdown of how it will spend its £38.6 billion four-year research budget. Spending on government priorities will increase. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Cash-strapped universities face tough calls on publishing deals. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

Just out: Four major publishers agree deals with UK university sector after long-running talks. Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley have met "sector-agreed thresholds for acceptance", says Jisc. Via @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

BREAKING: Four major publishers agree deals with UK university sector Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley meet “sector-agreed thresholds” in long-running talks Free to read www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...

Easy to miss, but Research England will now require "minimum standards" on research culture as a condition of funding Collecting baseline data was mooted as part of REF, but dropped "to keep REF focused on its core purpose" Instead RE will "establish rigorous standards” on culture in 2026

STFC leadership braces staff for more job losses. Around 80 employees to depart under first voluntary exit scheme, research council confirms, with more likely to come. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Kinda saying the quiet part loud this one... Interesting to hear it coming from DSIT though. Slow recovery will drain £££ from the UK's research budget Notable Jamie Arrowsmith of UUK saying that in the 3-year freeze-out there was “definitely a loss of expertise in things like research management”

REF after the pause: politics and a quiet retreat on culture. Changes risk reinforcing “extreme myopia” on traditional research outputs, write Simon Hettrick, Gemma Derrick, James Baker and Ola Thomson. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Skills minister’s grip on university insolvency queried by MPs Education Committee questions claim by Jacqui Smith that insolvent institution could continue research and teaching www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Free to read this one, as is all our coverage on the REF reworking today 👇

REF 2029 changes: how the sector is responding. Responses from higher education and research organisations to reshaping of the Research Excellence Framework. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

🚨BREAKING🚨 REF 2029: Research culture metric overhauled (and weighting reduced). Research Excellence Framework reworked “to reduce burden”, with elements of 2021 exercise reinstated. All the headlines as the three-month pause ends. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

UKRI's new CEO wants shift from "transactional" short-term grants to strategic relations with universities, based on "continuity and commitment". Ian Chapman in his first sit-down interview - with @resprofnews.bsky.social @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

UKRI CEO Ian Chapman told me he doesn't want universities to “get into an unsustainable financial position because there’s any drive from us for them to put in lowball bids, not at all” “I’m interested in quality and output, and if I pay a bit more for that quality output, fine, absolutely fine”

Our reporter @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social went to the British Library and found staff at the picket line pessimistic about the recovery of library services after the 2023 cyberattack "Things just aren’t improving", said the PCS union branch chair Meanwhile, management have upped their pay offer

Grabbed a (very) quick interview with skills minister Jacqui Smith in Oxford last week. Longer version in the 8am Playbook this morning. Link in second post. 1/2 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

That's 2 out of 3 of the ERC's big schemes that the UK has come out with the most grants from this year (see www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...) Further underlines that the UK does really well in the basic research bit of Horizon - it's the other bits where things are less hunky dory

There were warnings about this 2.5 years ago. (See www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...) This is 60+ staff at one MRC unit in Cambridge Cambridge has 6 MRC units

Good piece by @francesjones.bsky.social elevating the voices of researchers such as @petermandler.bsky.social on how the issues at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social are impacting scholarship including abandoned/postponed projects. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Major academic publishing companies will trial removing article fees from certain journals as part of deals being struck between publishers and the UK higher education sector #OpenAccess pilots represent a “fundamental shift in business model”, says Jisc Exclusive from @sophieatrpn.bsky.social

Flew under the radar a bit last week, but Jacqui Smith said there will be no transformation fund, as UUK had called for She was “not convinced that it should need a government bung in order to take your strategic responsibilities to your future financial sustainability and your partners seriously”

DSIT going pretty hard on this - if it doesn't fit the industrial strategy, it's not gonna happen

"There is still a job to be done in making sure that association works in the best interests of UK science—and that the UK community fully exploits all the potential funding routes available" - Adrian Smith's valedictory RS address UK due a rebate after not winning enough Horizon funding in 2024

“It would be improper of the University of Oxford to be applying for anonymity or restricted reporting orders in private while our leaders defend freedom of speech in public” Oxford's governing body to vote on banning restrictive orders in January, reports @francesjones.bsky.social

Plenty of analysis of yesterday's budget news from @chrisjparr.bsky.social in this morning's 8am Playbook, e.g. Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham, saying that although no one would welcome the levy, a flat-rate fee below £1,000 was the “least worst option available”

I KNEW Faisal Islam had something to do with it

This is quite a victory - universities (particularly research intensives) have been lobbying for real terms protection of QR for ages It's a classic government give with one hand (QR) and take with the other (international student levy)

Hang on, I got this wrong (catching up with being off yesterday) Breakdown of UKRI budget from 2026 is: - £14bn curiosity-driven R&D - £8bn national priorities - £7bn business - £7bn skills and infrastructure So actually appears curiosity-driven will account for a smaller share than before

Only half of UKRI's future budget going to curiosity-driven research could sound worrying to some, but it's not actually a change of tack Back in June, Patrick Vallance said that's how UKRI's budget already breaks down What's different is limiting the non-curiosity-driven part to named priorities

UK productivity looks set to tick up after 10am. Crazy start to the ashes

Breaking: British Library staff reject improved pay offer after strike. Union members unanimously dismiss 3.8 per cent pay increase and threaten to escalate industrial action. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...

Research-intensive universities in the UK and Germany are calling for "bilateral initiatives" which can "boost both countries’ participation in Horizon Europe" Germany doesn't need that (it's the biggest participant in Horizon), but the UK definitely does given it is currently over-paying to be in

UKRI gave PhD stipends a big 8% boost earlier this year, but the London weighting has stayed at £2k - where it's been since 2006 Student unions are saying this doesn't reflect the "economic reality" of living in the capital, and living costs mean the weighting should be £4.5k

Kathleen Fisher is the 2nd (of 2) Americans chosen to lead ARIA Both her and Ilan Gur were previously at US variations of the ARPA model which ARIA follows (Fisher at DARPA, the OG, Gur at ARPA-E) Interestingly, the original pick for ARIA was Peter Highnam, was also at DARPA but born in the UK

Oxford v-c Irene Tracey with some carefully phrased caution/criticism around REF people, culture and environment metric, plus govt's international student fee levy, in interview with @resprofnews.bsky.social @francesjones.bsky.social. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

“Silicon Valley has a particular attitude that is growing here [in the UK], but that’s still in its initial stages,” Lisa Flashner from the Ellison Institute said. “One of the things that I think is important, as an American…from the West Coast, is to have this go big, fail fast attitude.”

When getting your money back is a bad thing: UK expecting a rebate on £2bn paid to EU to join its research programme in 2024, @resprofnews.bsky.social reveals. UK fared worse than expected in winning Horizon Europe grants. By @annamckie.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

This was extremely prescient

In an interview with Research Europe, Austria's research minister @eviholz.bsky.social warned that some EU politicians want to copy Trump in taking a "chainsaw" to university funding www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Not sure this is very public info, but the head of Goalhanger (which produces The Rest Is History/Politics/Entertainment etc) told the Media Confidential podcast that in November they are launching The Rest Is Science Wonder who the presenters will be... www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/med...

Looks like a scaling back of the people, culture and environment element part of the REF is all but guaranteed, the question is really what it will look like after the pause If it's a radical departure from previous plans, that's pretty tough to swallow for anyone who spent time on the pilot

Another delay to the research culture metric planned for next REF - may raise more questions on its future. PCE pilot results were due for publication by end of October - now not coming until REF pause ends in December. By @robinbisson.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

£10bn over a decade is a huge sum by any standard - half the UK's entire annual public R&D budget...at one (new) institute Oxford uni had a research income of £778.9m in 23/24. Not directly comparable, but shows what scale the Ellison is aiming for

The numbers are pretty ludicrous If the UK didn't insist on the immigration health surcharge being paid upfront it would be a very different picture

Levy would undermine inflation boost to tuition fees, MPs told Taxing international student fees would “waste” efforts to “stop boiling the frog”, says UUK head www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Push for specialisation in university research; potential for a “more focused volume of research"; REF reforms to "better incentivise excellence" - @robinbisson.bsky.social pulls out key parts of govt's research plan in post-16 education white paper www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...