Small research groups hit by GR funding axe

Small research groups will be hit hard by the proposed abolition of generic research (GR) funding, which aims to encourage collaborative research that has no single beneficiary, a report warned this week.

Consultants KPMG noted: "It is difficult to argue that GR funding, as currently constituted, forms an effective part of the council's research funding programme" but added that for small research groups, the abolition of GR funding "may hit such institutions harder than might otherwise be envisaged".