Dear All,
This has just been sent to Royal Astronomical Society members. I have
forwarded it on to the list (a) to catch any RAS members whose email addresses
are not in the RAS' own list, and (b) so that members of the British
Geophysical Association (and of the UK geophysics research community as
a whole) who are not members of the RAS can see it. The BGA had some input
into the RAS' submission to the Royal Society's "Fruits of Curiosity"
enquiry and into a similar enquiry by the House of Lords Science and
Technology Committee, in which the RAS/BGA expressed the same opinion.
Regards,
Sheila Peacock
(BGA Secretary)
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Subject: FW: Message to RAS Fellows [Scanned]
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:12:12 -0000
From: Ronald Wiltshire <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
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Dear Colleagues
We have been asked to enlist the support of the Society’s members for a
campaign spear-headed by the UK University and College Union ( UCU)
regarding the Research Excellence Framework (REF) . In particular the
proposal that 25% of research funding assessment will be dependent on
its economic and social impact.
The Council of the RAS has stated many times that it is
counterproductive to make funding for the best research conditional on
its perceived economic and social benefits. This was elaborated most
recently in its evidence to the Royal Society’s ‘Fruits of Curiosity’
study viz /The RAS explicitly acknowledges that it is right for central
Government to set a framework of priorities for science investment and
that those should respond to public concerns. However, we do not believe
that an overly prescriptive top down approach to governance will
necessarily be effective in identifying research that will meet
immediate economic goals. Funding scientific research is not like
investing to win Olympic medals, where specific short-term objectives
can be set and achieved. In contrast, science advances on a broad front
and has indefinite horizons that require a long-term vision. The Society
believes that it is better to concentrate on funding excellence and on
ensuring that the funding is sufficient to achieve the ambitious
scientific goals that should be set. We also draw the attention ...to
the economic impact of curiosity-driven research, where serendipitous
discoveries are made that cannot be foreseen at the outset of these
research programmes. /
Accordingly the Officers of the RAS have asked me to draw your attention
to the on-line petition addressed to the UK Higher Education Funding
Councils which calls on them ‘/to withdraw the current REF proposals and
to work with academics and researchers on creating a funding regime
which supports and fosters basic research in our universities and
colleges rather than discourages it’. /
If you are so minded you can sign the petition here :
http://www.ucu.org.uk/standupforresearch
David Elliott
Executive Secretary
Royal Astronomical Society
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BQ
020 7734 3307
www.ras.org.uk
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