Conclusion 113

According to Audit Scotland, the formula-based funding models for the core grants for teaching and research are “widely accepted” by the sector because they provide “transparency, understanding and are perceived by the sector to be fair.”253 However, when the Scottish Funding Council carried out a review with Scotland’s universities to determine the most pressing financial issues facing the sector, some argued that “maintaining the world-leading position of Scotland’s more research-intensive institutions will need to be explicitly recognised and supported as a strategic priority if we are to continue to make such a huge impact for our relative size as a country”.254 Professor Tim Bedford, University of Strathclyde, told us that the standard practice is that universities get 80% of full economic costs on UKRI-funded research.255 On whether this figure should increase, especially in light of covid-19, he told us that: I think most universities would certainly say that it should increase beyond 80%, because it is so difficult to fill the other part of that. I do not think any of us would be particularly comfortable if it were to be 100%, full economic costs, because that would effectively make us consulting organisations for the Government. I think the academic freedom, the freedom of the universities to decide their research agendas and to follow those agendas, is a great strength, not only for the universities but for the UK as a whole.256 Effect of covid-19 on research funding