Research Councils UK (RCUK) today unveiled plans to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the peer review process for assessing the quality of research applications
and outputs. Their plans should benefit UK researchers by reducing the amount of
time spent writing applications and reports, leaving more time for research and
also saving money.
Over the last 18 months RCUK has looked at its peer review processes and consulted
the research community to establish how it can best improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
The review examined all the costs of the decision-making system, including time
spent by applicants, reviewers and higher education institution’s administration,
as well as Research Councils' administrative costs.
Their conclusions, available in a report published today, show that peer review
continues to be a vital part of the research process but there are areas where significant
improvements in efficiency could be made.
The consultation process found that the research community considered the peer
review process to be the only viable method for selecting between competing research
projects. It also established that the success of the UK research system was considered
to be due, in no small part, to the quality of the Research Councils' peer review
process. Respondents felt that peer review helped the reviewers keep up-to-date
with research in their field, helped academics to hone their ideas and that it led
to more effective teaching practices and staff development.
The report describes a complicated picture. The percentage of applications for
grants being funded has fallen. This means more time is spent preparing applications
and reviewing them, in relation to the actual amount of research done in the UK.
Unproductive use of academic time in this way was found to be the greatest avoidable
cost in the system.
The report considers how peer review can more effectively identify research with
potential economic impact through increasing the involvement of the end user. It
concludes that the Councils should continue to work with higher education institutions
to reduce numbers of low quality proposals and to sift proposals more stringently.
RCUK plans to improve the application process, redesign the reporting process
and introduce best practice measures.
Speaking on behalf of Research Councils UK, Professor Ian Diamond said, "Ensuring
peer review is capable of selecting the best research remains an over-arching priority.
We intend to improve the system - for example, by tailoring the final reporting
process to reduce the time spent by researchers in preparing their reports. This
should save around half of current costs of reporting during the Comprehensive Spending
Review period."
By making peer review more efficient the overall gain between 2008/2009 and 2010/2011
is estimated to be as much as £30 million.
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Notes
About peer review
The Research Councils fund research on a competitive basis employing independent
expert peer review. This system is regarded as an international benchmark of excellence
in research funding, and this provides a guarantee of the quality of UK research.
In peer review, proposals for research funding are considered and assessed for
scientific quality by a number of senior academics or "peers", from the UK and overseas,
who work within relevant areas of research. This assessment or "review" provides
the basis of the funding decision.
The peer review processes employed are designed to be sensitive to the different
needs and cultures that exist within the academic community and also reflect the
variety of mechanisms employed to support different types of research e.g. basic
or strategic research, or the need to encourage adventurous or multidisciplinary
research.
Whilst maintaining a commitment to use a variety of approaches to peer review,
Councils are keen to simplify and standardise the processes involved in applying
for research funding. Councils regularly review their policies and procedures as
their research communities evolve and continually strive to provide more effective
administrative services.
About Research Councils UK
The seven Research Councils are independent non-departmental public bodies, funded
by the Science Budget through the Office of Science and Innovation. They are incorporated
by Royal Charter and together manage a research budget of over £2.8 billion a year.
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the partnership between the UK's seven Research
Councils. Through RCUK, the Research Councils work together to champion the research,
training and innovation they support.
The seven UK Research Councils are:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC);
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
- Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
- Medical Research Council (MRC);
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Contact:
Julia Short
RCUK Media Officer, Tel 01793 444435