Merging the Arts and Humanities Research Council with the Economic and Social Research Council would bring no advantage, the British Academy has claimed in its evidence to the triennial review of the research councils.
A single body for the research funded by AHRC and ESRC would be “unwieldy” and would “struggle to reflect the needs of such a varied and diverse research community, which risks undermining the UK’s highly successful track record of research in these disciplines”, the academy said.
“The British Academy does not believe that there would be any advantages to be gained in merging the two councils into one.”
A call for evidence to the review launched in February, sought input on whether the number of research councils is correct, among other things.
The academy said that while the research councils had increased their collaborations, “there remains scope to increase joint working and co-ordinated activities”. Its evidence also recommended a review of the councils’ existing mechanisms to support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and high-risk innovative research.
Story by: Adam Smith
Source: Research Fortnight