Edinburgh and other research-intensives lose out in funding reshuffle A major reorganisation of quality-related funding in Scotland will take money away from the “ancient” universities and hand it to newer institutions By Chris Havergal 6 March
EPSRC funding shifts power up energy research Analysis reveals the winners and losers under ‘shaping capabilities’ programme By Paul Jump 5 March
How to cultivate the Commons touch Seeking impact? Undertake research that prepares the ground for key political debates, says ex-Westminster insider Meg Russell By Matthew Reisz 5 March
V-c-governor relationships make the stage Judith Ackroyd and Jill Robinson explain why they are dramatising material from confidential interviews with university leaders 5 March
Dementia care research becomes basis for touring play A play based on an academic study of the stresses and satisfactions of care work in dementia wards has now set off on a six-venue tour By Matthew Reisz 1 March
Reform of research funding formula will benefit elites, says REF critic Division as scholars analyse Hefce’s system for dividing ?1 billion QR pot By Holly Else 26 February
Is the journal ratings game good for researchers? The Association of Business Schools has released its latest ranking of periodicals, but not everyone welcomes it By Chris Havergal 26 February
Advisory board to help steer Nurse review of research councils Group will be made up of experts and prominent figures from across higher education By Paul Jump 26 February
Journal editor’s self-citation rate under scrutiny Oxford blogger publishes citation count for autism expert, who ran two Elsevier titles By Paul Jump 26 February
Research funding formula tweaked after REF 2014 results England’s funding council has changed the formula for distributing quality-related research funding following the research excellence framework By Holly Else 20 February
‘Macho’ university culture mirrors banks’ mistakes Professors issue warning over obsession with performance management and research excellence By Chris Havergal 19 February
Journal board in the dark over ?1m surplus Keele-based title applied for charitable status after audit revealed assets By Paul Jump 19 February
University of Manchester: Building an ‘arts lab’ fuelled by the appliance of science The John Rylands Research Institute pairs collections and curators with scholars and scientists By Paul Jump 19 February
Out of office: on research leave in Florence Poring over manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale prompts Nicholas Till to consider the benefits of studying original documents in a digital age 19 February
Nature to allow double-blind peer review Journal’s decision follows trial that found ‘no effect’ on quality of reviews, writes Holly Else By Holly Else 18 February
‘Less support’ for researchers who do not focus on key themes Glasgow Caledonian to reduce financial and other backing for work that falls outside three ‘societal challenges’ By Chris Havergal 12 February
Colleagues pay tribute to Sir David Watson’s career Academic’s ‘formidable expertise and knowledge’ and ‘unique voice’ remembered By Jack Grove 12 February
Research: the wrong priority for the arts and humanities? Public funding in these subjects would be better spent on teaching, argues David Oldfield 12 February
Academic estimates ‘real’ cost of REF exceeds ?1bn Sector challenged to share data on REF costs and come up with less ‘disingenuous’ figure than official estimates By Paul Jump 12 February
UK-Israel research boosted by ?3.2 million in funding Funding of ?3.2 million has been awarded to eight major new Anglo-Israeli research collaborations in regenerative medicine? By Matthew Reisz 11 February
Stop competition between research and teaching for funds, say academies A future government should avoid pitching ‘complementary’ teaching and research funding against each other if it wants to boost higher education By Holly Else 10 February
Sir David Watson dies aged 65 Tributes made to eminent professor of higher education, former Brighton v-c and head of Oxford college By Chris Parr 9 February
Must we sell our souls to make a bigger impact? Efforts to trumpet the value of social science can misrepresent important controversies and subtleties, says Martyn Hammersley 5 February
UCL scholar shocked that government overlooked one great technology Polina Bayvel of University College London says investment strategy missed the transformative potential of communications technologies By Holly Else 5 February
Penal critic warns of lockdown in progress Prison Service is stopping critics from accessing UK jails, scholar claims By Joe Sandler Clarke 5 February
Departments: the ideal units of quality assessment The standards of research and teaching would be best protected by department-based reviews, argues Roger Brown 5 February
The secret lives of child labourers of the Himalayas For 15 months, social geographer Jane Dyson lived in a mountain village with young Indian workers, bonding over ‘mountain ice cream’ By Matthew Reisz 5 February
Anne Glover criticises ‘push back’ in Brussels role The European Commission’s former chief scientific adviser has spoken out about the ‘push back’ she said she received against her role in Brussels By Holly Else 3 February
Medical research impact detailed in new report A selection of impact statements submitted by medical schools to the 2014 research excellence framework has been published in a new report By Holly Else 1 February
Fears about further research selectivity dampened by grant letter The government has effectively confirmed that England’s quality-related research budget will still be distributed on the basis on 3* and 4* research. By Paul Jump 30 January
Cambridge academics find history in their own home Apartment block may have had large role in the early Cambridge University Press By Matthew Reisz 29 January
Disaster City: where a catastrophe is a good day’s work Emergency services from around the world come to train at the small village with a unique connection to Texas A&M By Jon Marcus 29 January
REF’s diversity-boosters find fewer takers in the physical sciences Report finds new measures did make exercise more inclusive but panels differed in numbers of scholars submitted with reduced outputs By Holly Else 29 January
Rowan Williams on higher education's ‘inhuman and divisive’ jargon Jargon demanded by REF ‘risks isolating universities from rest of society’ By John Morgan 29 January
David Latchman in investigation into alleged research misconduct Papers from Birkbeck master’s research group among ‘an unspecified number’ being looked at by University College London By Paul Jump 27 January
Burns’ work translated by Chinese scholar As Burns Night is celebrated around the world, the work of Scotland’s national poet is being brought to a new audience By Chris Havergal 25 January
Horizon 2020 funding raid a ‘great concern’ Pan-Europe organisations attack Commission plans to move money for strategic investment fund By Holly Else 23 January
Russia’s universities: rebuilding ‘collapsed stars’ Jack Grove reports from Moscow on bold plans to revive the country’s ailing higher education sector By Jack Grove 22 January
The rise of the medical humanities Belinda Jack examines the growing field and considers the therapeutic effects of poetry 22 January
First shelf filled in Murty Classical Library of India Professor’s dream as a student is realised as library launches first five volumes in bilingual series By Matthew Reisz 22 January
Careers at risk after case studies ‘game playing’, REF study suggests Submission patterns reveal how institutions responded to rules By Paul Jump 22 January
Many universities ‘failing to address public health needs of world’s poor’ First global health research ranking suggests only five UK institutions make major investment ?? By Holly Else 21 January
Teach medical students to be critical, says Ernst Medical students must learn to think critically, an academic physician who became the first professor of complementary medicine has warned. By Harriet Line 20 January
Libraries urged to do more with unique collections to help academics Britain’s research libraries can do far more to help their “unique” collections serve the needs of scholars, their universities and communities By Matthew Reisz 18 January
Cultural guardian confronts the looters Donna Yates is tackling the illicit trade in antiquities, and although it can be dangerous, the archaeologist says it’s a world away from Lara Croft By Chris Havergal 15 January
The big grants, the big papers: are we missing something? A perverse focus on research cash and high-impact publications threatens academics’ careers and the aims of science itself, says Dorothy Bishop By Dorothy Bishop 15 January
British Library unveils eight-year plan The British Library has announced an ambitious “vision for its future development” over the next eight years By Matthew Reisz 12 January
Present research clearly to reach policymakers, academic says Jonathan Shepherd, Cardiff medical scholar and ‘What Works’ pioneer, urges researchers to keep it brief and abandon obfuscation By Chris Havergal 8 January
How was it for you? REF views coloured by rank, discipline Study finds variations by seniority, subject and institutional mission in scholars’ published opinions on the research excellence framework By Chris Havergal 8 January
ESRC’s block grant allocation is flawed, says academic REF analysis suggests that new system for allocating funds has ‘no correspondence with excellence in research impact’ By Paul Jump 8 January
School of Advanced Study reaffirms commitment to digital research New professors in digital history and digital humanities are examples of institution performing its ‘national role’ By Matthew Reisz 8 January
Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen to be focus of academic symposium The comedy of Borat and Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen is to be the subject of an in-depth study by university scholars By Jack Grove 4 January
Judging REF 2014 was ‘inspiring and humbling’ The exercise was robust and positive, says Willy Maley, who found work on the English subpanel to be like ‘a well-run exam board’ 1 January
Funding plea for humanities as life sciences crowned REF 2014 champion Uplift in research quality in main panel A raises fears that funding could be concentrated at a handful of universities By Holly Else 1 January
REF 2014 rerun: who are the 'game players'? How do rankings shift when institutions are compared on research intensity, which takes into account percentage of staff submitted, rather than on standard GPA alone? By Paul Jump 1 January
Research funders must club together to address grand challenges Paper from Science Europe says not enough done at EU level for fundamental interdisciplinary research By Holly Else 21 December
REF 2014: Is London now dominant? The results of the research excellence framework have triggered claims that London universities are challenging the longstanding dominance of Oxbridge By Chris Havergal 18 December
REF results reopen funding debate Rising quality leads to questions about future QR formula By Holly Else 18 December
UCL launches website on animal research A London university has created a website to give the public information about its research on animals By Holly Else 14 December
Science Europe warns over research funding The budget of the European Union’s flagship research and innovation programme should be ring fenced, an association of research funders has said. By Holly Else 13 December
