UK research collaboration ‘hampered by poor transport links’

Poor transport links between major UK research centres often make it quicker for scientists to visit overseas laboratories than collaborators in British universities, according to a new report calling for improved connectivity between researchers.

A researcher flying from Manchester to Munich faces a comparable or shorter door-to-door journey than someone travelling by train from Manchester to Southampton, a Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) study notes. It says that such trips (about four hours each way) make same-day collaboration between many researchers “impractical rather than merely inconvenient”.

With Horizon Europe funding covering travel costs as well as support for secondment and coordination across international borders, UK research funding mechanisms often make it easier for UK-based researchers to work with international partners than those at other British institutions, explains the report by Sarah Chaytor, director of strategy and policy, and Geraint Rees, vice-provost (research, innovation and global engagement), both at UCL.

Drawing on international research showing that better transport links – such as new high-speed rail connections or cheaper flights between cities – lead to greater scientific collaboration between locations and significant innovation gains, the study recommends that transport connectivity should play a greater role in how the UK assesses research investment.

At a national level, the business case for transport infrastructure fails to adequately capture the impact on research and innovation capacity and instead has focused on commuting benefits or business travel, argues the report published on 18 June.

Major transport infrastructure should therefore assess the likely research and innovation impact, with the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology formally consulted when decisions are made, the study says.

That change could affect forthcoming decisions on the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which will upgrade links between Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and York, as well as Liverpool and Manchester, along with the long-awaited Oxford-Cambridge rail link, it states.

Stronger digital connectivity did not deliver the same research benefits, adds the report, which notes that in some cases it actually “reduce[s] the quality of interaction…when people can substitute shallow electronic contact for deeper engagement”.

Furthermore, UK Research and Innovation should also assess how major research facilities contribute to existing capability elsewhere in the UK, with applicants required to discuss their planned investment in physical connectivity when submitting their capital plans.

To this effect, UKRI should pilot a “network contribution score” alongside scientific criteria in their next round of major facility decisions, with those facilities that “enable distributed collaboration [scoring] higher than those designed for local use alone”, it says.

The funder should also establish a Connectivity Fund of at least £50 million annually, which would support researcher exchange programmes between institutions, shared equipment access schemes to make specialist facilities available across regions, and coordination bodies to encourage collaboration.

Starting in 2027-28, the fund should “prioritise proposals that connect institutions in different regions rather than strengthening existing local clusters”, it says.

At least 30 per cent of devolved research funding, overseen by metro mayors, should also be reserved for inter-regional bids, with assessment criteria covering contribution to national capability rather than simply local economic impact, the study says.

Stressing the importance of greater research collaboration between institutions, Chaytor said: “The UK has historically used competition between institutions and regions to drive research excellence to great effect.

“It is now time for us to think seriously about how we enable collaboration across the country to drive greater strategic coherence and to ensure that we are maximising the potential of our entire research and innovation ecosystem,” she added.

Hepi chief executive Nick Hillman said the long delays to a planned railway link between Oxford and Cambridge highlighted the need for “clearer strategic thinking” regarding transport and research.

“If we were to join up thinking on research, infrastructure and economic growth, there could be huge compound benefits. At the moment, we keep dropping the ball,” said Hillman.

“The plan to link Oxford and Cambridge via East West Rail was signed off 15 years ago. Building started six years ago and the section from Oxford to Milton Keynes was completed two years ago. Yet there are still no passenger trains whatsoever on the line,” said Hillman, who argued that the “UK has enormous advantages but needs clearer strategic thinking to connect them up better.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com