The research sector is in a “holding pattern” over ODA funding

The UK university funding crisis is damaging international development partnerships, the House of Commons International Development Committee heard yesterday – and the situation is being exacerbated by the recent turn in research and innovation policy towards frontier technologies and government priorities.

Universities UK International’s Harry Anderson made the case that universities ought to be viewed as “critical development infrastructure” – and that development-related research needs a long-term funding envelope, in part to allow universities to rebuild trust which has been “undermined” by recent cuts, as successive governments have reduced the proportion of GDP spent on official development assistance (ODA).

Liz Baggs, vice-principal for research and innovation at the University of Edinburgh, made a similar argument about the need for long-term funding, saying that the previous Global Challenges Research Fund had enabled universities to set up equitable partnerships and engage in capacity building, and that subsequent cuts had created “great instability.”

The committee is conducting an inquiry into the Foreign Office’s approach to higher education and research partnerships – written submissions were published in June.

UUKi’s written evidence describes the research sector as “effectively in a holding pattern” due to uncertainty about the future direction of ODA research and innovation policy and funding:

“Institutions are simultaneously trying to manage and repair relationships with partners in ODA‑eligible countries, however as financial pressures on UK institutions continue to grow, their capacity to self‑fund activities to sustain or rebuild these partnerships is becoming increasingly limited, placing further stress on long‑standing collaborations.”

The submission argues that ODA cuts have “reduced capacity and capability across the sector, and that the newer International Science Partnerships Fund – which is not focused solely on ODA – had priorities which were never publicly communicated “due to political and soft power sensitivities.”

Elsewhere, ResearchPlus’ submission argues that universities should be “more clearly referenced” within the government’s narrative about ODA, noting that then foreign secretary Yvette Cooper’s statement to Parliament in March contained little on the role of higher education institutions. The mission group also calls for the government to consider relaunching a UKRI-managed research fund dedicated to international development.

In its written evidence, Wellcome argues that reductions in ODA investment have had a “significant negative impact on the UK’s international research partnerships and reach.” The committee had asked those responding to its inquiry to comment on whether research partnerships can fill the gap left by reductions in government support – Wellcome’s submission warns that such partnerships “cannot fully replace the role played by large-scale, long-term international programmes.”