The news service for UK research
Research Agenda reports the money, machinery and politics of UK research – original news, working trackers and a morning briefing, for the people who make UK research happen.
Research is a promise: spend money today, make tomorrow better, and discover some brilliant things along the way. Everything else – the acronyms, the institutions, the processes – is machinery for keeping that promise. Too much coverage stops at whose income is up or down; the interesting debate is the political context, the impacts, and the long-term effect on the country. That debate is what Research Agenda is for – and our belief is that it belongs to everyone.
Research Agenda is a new publication from the team behind Wonkhe, part of the Thesis family – who share the same conviction that policy deserves proper reporting and analysis, brought to the whole research system: universities, funders, government, institutes and the industries that depend on them.
Who we are. Research Agenda is edited day to day by Michael Salmon, Editor, supported by James Coe, Associate Editor, Dr Debbie McVitty, Wonkhe’s Editor, and Mark Leach, Editor in Chief and Chief Executive of Thesis.
The advisory board
Senior figures from across the research system advise the editors on what the Agenda covers and how it serves the sector:
- Professor Maria Delgado Vice Principal (Research and Knowledge Exchange), Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Professor Ben Tatler Vice Principal (Research), University of Aberdeen
- Professor David Sweeney CBE Professor of Research Policy, University of Birmingham
- Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli President, Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Sarah Chaytor Director of Research Policy and Strategy, and Joint Chief of Staff, University College London
What we believe. The research policy debate is for everyone – those who need the rapid update, the deep dive, or the long-term view of who said what and why it matters. Vital questions should not fade because the news cycle moved on. Government and arm’s-length bodies should be held to account for their decisions, the community should be able to take part in the debate, and change in the system should happen in daylight.
Standards. We report facts we can source, we correct errors quickly and visibly, and where a story touches our own interests – as coverage of the research news market inevitably does – we declare them in the piece.
Questions, tips, pitches for essays or feedback: hello [at] researchagenda [dot] news. Follow along: LinkedIn.