An independent review of how the UK can cut research bureaucracy will report back later this year.

The sector-wide review will examine why research red tape has increased in recent years and make recommendations about how universities, in particular, can become ¡°more streamlined, dynamic, diverse and transparent¡±, according to Amanda Solloway, the science minister, who announced the initiative on 22?March.

The assessment will be led by Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex, who said he wanted to get a ¡°complete picture of the issues from all perspectives and [come up] with ways to improve the way our systems work¡±.

The review is set to conclude in early 2022, but it will publish its interim findings this autumn.

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It comes after Boris Johnson¡¯s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings used a parliamentary committee hearing last week to criticise the ¡°horrendous bureaucracy¡± he saw within UK research, urging the sector to ¡°wage war on process¡±.

¡°Universities are a massive source of bureaucracy,¡± Mr?Cummings told MPs on 17?March, adding that ministers should ¡°get aggressive¡± on red tape because higher education institutions ¡°add another layer of¡­process horror¡± on researchers.

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He called for the country¡¯s main research funder, UK?Research and Innovation, to launch a drive to ¡°de-bureaucratise¡± research, saying that its chief executive, Dame Ottoline Leyser, should report to Parliament annually on her efforts in this area.

Welcoming the independent, system-wide review, Dame Ottoline said it would ¡°enable a reduction in unnecessary research bureaucracy, wherever it is found¡±.

¡°The goal is to free up time for researchers and innovators to devote to their many vital roles at work and outside?it,¡± said Dame Ottoline, who added that her organisation was already ¡°making strides within our Simpler and Better Funding programme, which aims to make the funding process as user-friendly as possible for applicants, peer reviewers and awardees, as well as those who work with them¡±.

Adam Clarke, policy manager for the Russell Group, which represents research-intensive universities, said the review would be an ¡°opportunity to learn lessons from the pandemic and look at the wider system to remove unnecessary barriers that make it more difficult for researchers to turn world-changing ideas into life-changing advances¡±.

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¡°Slashing red tape is an essential part of this picture, but we also need to see the government¡¯s very welcome words on the value of science and research being backed up with investment, not?cuts,¡± he added, following reports that the country¡¯s research councils could lose as much as ?1?billion annually to help fund the UK¡¯s association with Horizon Europe.

Ms Solloway said the pandemic had demonstrated the ability of UK researchers to work effectively to deliver vaccines and other important medical interventions.

¡°As we build back better by unleashing innovation, it¡¯s crucial that we create a research environment that harnesses this same scientific speed and endeavour,¡± said Ms Solloway, adding that the review would ¡°identify how we can free up our brightest minds from unnecessary red tape so they can continue making cutting-edge discoveries, while cementing the UK¡¯s status as a science superpower¡±.

The review also delivered on a commitment to further reduce research tape that was made in the government¡¯s R&D Roadmap, published in July 2020, she added.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com