Universities will be punished if they fail to champion diversity
Under proposals to change the allocation of taxpayer funding for academic research, first reported in The Times, universities will have to show they are tackling inequalities and promoting diversity and inclusion.
The changes are being proposed as part of a package of reforms to the research excellence framework (REF) which determines how government funding is allocated between different institutions.
As part of the plans, universities will have to show the promotion success rate of underrepresented groups and the percentage of black, Asian and mixed-race academics eligible for funding.
They will also have to provide evidence that diversity initiatives are being 'appropriately recognised', The Times reported.
The REF is run by UK Research and Innovation, a quango of the department for science, innovation and technology.
Currently, the REF ranks institutions and departments based on their research output and impact, as well as the environment in which the research takes place.
Output and impact account for 85 per cent of marks whilst environment, which includes equality and diversity, account for 15 per cent.
But under the new plans, the 'environment' element will be replaced by a 'people, culture and environment' framework.
It would now make up 25 per cent of the assessment mark, as research output falls from 60 to 50 per cent.
Julius Grower, a professor of law at the University of Oxford, told The Times that the changes were causing a 'great deal of angst among people who care about academic freedom and freedom of speech'.
He said: 'The fear is the REF is becoming a portal to promoting compliance with a range of EDI policies with highly contestable content.
'People are increasingly concerned that it is losing sight of what it is supposed to be doing: promoting the pursuit of scholarly excellence.'
Ian Pace, a professor of music, culture and society at the University of London, said the changes might reduce the emphasis on academic rigour in universities in favour of 'ideological conformity'.
Research England, which runs the assessment on behalf of the UK's four higher education funding bodies, said the new scheme was intended to look beyond the 'narrow' focus on research alone when making funding decisions.
Rebecca Fairbairn, director of the REF, insisted that equality and diversity indicators remained a 'small part' of the overall assessment process.
She said: 'The aim is to change the narrow focus in the current REF on published output to look across the system at how you promote excellence using a much wider set of indicators.
'While people may feel nervous, our intention is to not to be prescriptive or impose a new system. We are working with the sector to create a framework that supports excellence across the broad range of high quality work being carried out in British universities.'
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