Recommendation 108

The University of Glasgow argues that Scottish universities’ global reputation for excellent research is evidenced through ‘Research Excellence Framework’ exercises and the percentage of funding won from UK research funders compared to the relative size of the research base.240 As Edinburgh University points out, Scotland gains roughly 11% of total UKRI research funding for just over 8% of the population, and Edinburgh was fifth in the Russell Group for winning EU funding.241 Professor Rebecca Lunn, University of Strathclyde, told us that Scotland is 63% ahead of the UK average in academic citations.242 Endorsing the benefits of Scottish academic research, the Scottish Funding Council told us that: [Universities] provide Scotland with a hugely important pipeline of skilled people. They also make the research breakthroughs that will solve some of the big health, social and economic challenges of our time, including covid-19. They are also very important anchor institutions in their local communities. They employ almost 60,000 staff. They generate £11 for every £1 of public investment we make, and their international reputation attracts talent and investment. They are going to help us survive and thrive through a global pandemic and help our economic recovery.243