UK Researchers Claim Funding Freeze is Slowing Progress. (June 19, 2013)

The UK's  Science is Vital campaign in its Legacy of the 2010 science budget cash freeze: final report notes the consequences in its executive summary (below). Having read it you might think that Australia could take advantage of situation the current UK's government is visiting upon its scientific endeavour. No fear, clearly Australia's political leaders are quite disinterested in benefiting from the UK's Conservative - Liberal Democratic coalition's "austerity above all" approach in dealing with its economic straights.

Executive Summary

Science is vital for the UK economy, and its health in turn is clearly dependent on government investment. In the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2010, however, the science budget disbursed by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills was frozen, and since then, the cumulative effects of inflation and cuts to capital and departmental spends have significantly eroded science funding overall.

Science is Vital, a grassroots campaigning group with the aim of protecting and championing science in the UK, recently conducted a consultation amongst a wide range of scientists in the UK to determine whether their ability to do effective research had been affected by this decline in funding. We received 868 complete responses from a range of people: from postgraduate students and early-career researchers to fellows, senior professors and former researchers. In collaboration with the British Science Association, we also consulted a focus group of science and engineering students to gauge the mood of future researchers in the current climate.

This exercise uncovered the widespread view that the ability of UK scientists to perform excellent research has been significantly impaired since the 2010 announcement. Our respondents reported:

• a decrease in the number of grants funded

• a decrease in money awarded even when grants were funded

• difficulty in recruiting the necessary staff

• difficulty in recruiting PhD students

• difficulty in obtaining necessary equipment or consumables to
  perform research to modern standards

• a lack of confidence in the trajectory and promise of UK science
  which has led some scientists to abandon their research careers

• a recognition that higher levels of investment among major UK
  competitors is inducing some researchers to leave the UK.

If the current funding decline is not soon reversed, we risk seriously damaging our research base, with all the knock-on effects to the economy and to industrial interests that this could induce. Therefore we make two recommendations to redress the situation:

1. A long-term commitment of scientific support by Government, eventually reaching a level of support
   comparable to 0.8% of GDP – the current G8 average. Such a commitment will allow for the long-term planning that is essential for strategic and intelligent scientific research.
   

2. In the short term, and with particular regard to the 26 June 2013 budget decision, a reversal of the decline in the UK science budget. A modest increase will be an important signal to the research and business communities that the UK is determined to remain an internationally competitive, knowledge-based economy.