The first recipients of a shared services “collaboration fund” have been announced in Scotland, with a project that responds to threats to research from “hostile states” among those being funded.

As part of its efforts to address financial sustainability issues in the sector, the Scottish Funding Council launched the new fund in April, with an initial £3 million available across the next two academic years.

Four projects will receive between £250,000 and £750,000 each in the first tranche of funding, the SFC announced on 4 December.

One successful proposal, being led by Heriot-Watt University, involves 11 other Scottish universities.

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It aims to respond to risks to UK research and innovation from hostile state actors in line with recent changes to legislation.

Universities have been told they must actively manage risks to protect research as part of government initiatives such as the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which came into force in July.

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Institutions have however highlighted the regulatory burden of such schemes and the challenges of complying with them with limited resources.

The project aims to create tools that can be used by all participating institutions to better help identify and manage high-risk areas.

Under-fire University of Dundee will also receive funding for its “Tay-Forth catalyst” project that aims to address low levels of business creation in the region.

Dundee, which came close to insolvency earlier this year, will work with the universities of Stirling and St Andrews to develop training programmes, advisory services, funding mechanisms and collaborative infrastructure that can help with research commercialisation.

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Another project being funded is a partnership led by Queen Margaret University that aims to develop, test and evaluate a sustainable model for a shared commercialisation and knowledge exchange service. 

Glasgow Caledonian University will also partner with neighbouring University of Glasgow to create an innovation exchange function.

Helen Cross, director of research and innovation at the SFC, said the new fund was a “way of supporting Scottish universities to work together for efficiency and sustainability”.

“The fund has been specially created to address the challenges of the current difficult financial climate, and the response from universities has clearly demonstrated the sector’s capacity for collaboration and innovation. 

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“The four projects receiving funding today all have the potential to make a real difference, and I look forward to following their progress towards success.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com