Jessica Corner to step down from Research England

Research England’s executive chair Jessica Corner is stepping down at the end of her four-year term.

Announcing her departure in a Linkedin post on 22 May, Corner confirmed that she would not seek another term at the research council responsible to distributing about £2 billion in quality-related (QR) research funding annually via the Research Excellence Framework and a further £500 million in strategic and knowledge exchange-related support.

Corner, who has led Research England since October 2022, said she had agreed to stay on until spring 2027 as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) searches for her successor.

“It feels like the right moment to pause, reflect – and, as ever, look ahead with optimism,” said Corner on approaching the end of “four extraordinary years” leading Research England.

“What a privilege it has been to serve this remarkable community,” she wrote, adding: “I’ve had the chance to work alongside brilliant colleagues across universities, research institutes and government, all united by a shared commitment to the power of research and knowledge exchange.”

“Together, we’ve navigated uncertainty, championed the importance of place and a diverse research and innovation system, strengthened universities’ pivotal role in translating discoveries into commercial and societal benefit, and continued to support the foundations of England’s world-leading research system,” she said.

A nursing professor who was formerly pro vice-chancellor for research and knowledge exchange at the University of Nottingham, Corner was appointed under the leadership of former UKRI chief executive Ottoline Leyser.

With Leyser, Corner oversaw a bold attempt to revamp the REF that led to the total decoupling of outputs and individuals, ending the requirement for a researcher to submit a minimum number of outputs to the national research audit.

While that reform has gone ahead, with some modifications, other reforms were due to reduce the weighting for research excellence as measured by outputs to 50 per cent. At the same time the weighting for research environment was due to increase to 25 per cent – the same as impact.

Amid growing concern from research-intensive universities over the robustness and workability of proposed metrics for measuring research culture, in September science minister Patrick Vallance paused the REF for three months. In December, plans to downgrade research environment to 20 per cent and upgrade outputs to 55 per cent were announced.

Reflecting on her time in office, Corner said: “I’m hugely proud of what we’ve achieved – supporting institutional resilience, fostering collaboration, and backing ideas that will shape our future. None of this happens without brilliant people, and I’ve been continually inspired by the energy, creativity and determination across the sector.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com