News blog: Is the REF worth a quarter of a billion pounds? ?246 million is big money but it is probably much less than the hit the research budget would take if the REF did not exist, says Paul Jump By Paul Jump 14 July
Pressure on academics for grant income blamed for plummeting ESRC success rate Just 13 per cent of open call applications to social science funder were successful in 2014-15 By Paul Jump 14 July
Break down barriers between universities and industry, says report Complexity of government initiatives to help commercialise university research under scrutiny By John Elmes 2 July
Female success rate dips to 10 per cent in latest ERC grant round Women made only 13 per cent of applications to flagship scheme for senior research leaders, council points out By Paul Jump 30 June
Women scientists selected for career advancement scheme SUSTAIN programme includes year-long training programme By Jack Grove 28 June
Pub crawl and ‘zombie walk’ win funding to promote humanities The UK’s only national humanities research festival has announced funding awards to 41 universities and cultural organisations By Matthew Reisz 10 June
Science is Vital calls on new science minister to boost research budget Lobby group presses the case for UK science in the wake of BIS cuts of almost half a billion pounds By Paul Jump 5 June
Government urged to invest more in science The UK needs to stop using greater efficiency in research as justification for funding cuts, a vice-chancellor and ex-research council head has said. By Holly Else 3 June
Russell Group capital spending ‘comparable to 2012 Olympics’ The Russell Group will spend ?9 billion on capital projects over five years, “comparable” to the UK’s spend on hosting the Olympics, a report claims By John Morgan 20 May
Open-access policy scrapes the barrel A disastrous open-access policy lashes the promise of the digital age to an outmoded buggy of a model, laments Martin McQuillan 7 March
RCUK takes open-access green targets off fast track Policy continues to worry academics despite research councils’ concession By Paul Jump 7 February
Research councils' 'green' open-access policy 'will not be enforced' RCUK has announced it will not enforce its stated embargo periods for green open access during the first five years of its new open-access policy. By Paul Jump 30 January
Outside the triangle, it's not so golden Regions could be hurt by research concentration, conference told. Elizabeth Gibney reports By Elizabeth Gibney 13 December
Science ring-fence may be trampled as the Treasury hunts for savings The government’s drive for cuts in the next spending review could jeopardise the ring-fence for science funding, as well as putting additional pressure on student finance and numbers, the sector has been warned. By John Morgan 13 December
EPSRC grant: now no crystal ball required Council’s chair ditches ‘misleading’ wording on strategic importance of research. Paul Jump writes By Paul Jump 29 November
Not monkeys, so why the peanuts? Graphene discoverer takes aim at applied bias and short-term thinking. Paul Jump reports By Paul Jump 29 November
Research intelligence - Now she'll work by her own rules Astrid Wissenburg helped set the policies she will be bound by in her new OU role. Paul Jump writes By Paul Jump 29 November
Hard line pays dividends (but not hard cash) Grant awards success rates rise but income falls for some research-intensives. Elizabeth Gibney writes By Elizabeth Gibney 15 November
Is RCUK's open-access cash a 'reckless' road to ruin? Senior scientists critical of allocation rules and assumptions behind ?100m grant for ‘gold’ fees, writes Paul Jump By Paul Jump 15 November
Grant application success rates, 2012 Research councils benefit from external and internal pressures. Paul Jump reports By Paul Jump 15 November
Antarctic merger is frozen out Survey stays intact after politicians and scientists put proposal on ice. Paul Jump writes By Paul Jump 8 November
Long-term forecast: grey will go, leaving clear sky between elite and rest Research will be focused in just 25 universities by 2025 as the UK sector becomes increasingly stratified, higher education experts have predicted. By Jack Grove 25 October
