Universities that fail to champion diversity could face funding cuts Universities could be penalised if they fail to promote diversity and inclusion under new proposals to change the way taxpayer funding is allocated.
Research England, however, said the scheme intends to look beyond the “narrow” focus on research alone when making decisions about funding.
This means it would make up 25 per cent of the assessment mark, as research output would fall from 60 to 50 per cent.
Concerns have also been raised about the REF, which currently ranks institutions based on their output and impact, as well as the environment where the research takes place.
The changes are being proposed as part of a package of reforms to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) which determines how funding is allocated.
