R & D: A KEY FOR THE FUTURE?

Research and development: P ‘I . a view Worn academia

Roger Wardman

Over the last decade the conditions for carrying out reserach and development within British academic institutions have changed dramatically. Increased efficiency standards set by central government have meant that funding for R & D projects has become more and more limited. Roger Wardman presents a view from academia.

In the UK the research effort in support of textiles and coloration has been traditionally carried out by the universities, notably in the long- established specialised departments of Leeds, Bradford and UMIST. Additionally, a small amount of research has been carried out at colleges and polytechnics by enthusiastic staff, though such research has usually been industrially based. The last fifteen years have already seen significant change in higher education and changes are set to continue towards the end of the century. These developments will have a significant influence on the level to which higher education will be able to support research programmes.

support from government to universities and colleges has fallen significantly in real terms. For example, at the Scottish College of Textiles (SCOT) in Galashiels the unit cost per Full-Time Equivalent student in 1981/82 was €3,106, whereas by 1991/92 the sum was €4,942. Had funding kept pace with inflation the value should have been in excess of €8,000 per student. The challenge laid down by government was that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should become more efficient. Consequently departments with low student numbers were put under close scrutiny with the result that some courses in textiles and in colour chemistry and colour technology at Bradford University were discontinued. The irony of this situation was the excellent research record of these schools of study.

Whilst the colleges and polytechnics have reacted positively to the efficiency challenge, the universities have

During the last decade the financial

generally responded less enthusiastically. Another change during the 1970s and 1980s was the increasing number of degree courses (Council for National Academic Awards validated) developed by the colleges and polytechnics and the accompanying increase in supporting research activity from these institutions. Thus institutions such as SCOT, Leicester Polytechnic and Bolton Institute of Higher Education were all keen to support their textiles and coloration degree courses with research projects, primarily supported by industry. The funding of colleges and polytechnics by local authorities (the Scottish Office Education Department for Central Institutions in

11.. .the greatest implication for the future fundingfor research in textiles and coloration is the distinction between the cate- gories of applied and of basic/ strategic research. If

Scotland) and of universities by the University Grants Committee gave rise to what became known as the binary line. Whereas the university funding included an element for research, that for colleges/polytechnics on the other side of the binary line did not. The research component of the funding for universities was intended to support them in carrying out basic and strategic research work. This enabled them to provide, in Science and Engineering

Research Council (SERC) parlance, the ’well-found laboratory’, for their research programmes. In contrast, the physical resources available to colleges/ polytechnics in support of research programmes were limited, much of it needing to be carried out in teaching laboratories. The grants available from research councils such as the SERC would only provide for specialised equipment and research staff.

Having drawn attention to the binary line and the different funding mechanisms of colleges/polytechnics and the university it should be stressed that, in terms of the nature of the research carried out, there has been a considerable degree of overlap between the two sectors. As has already been mentioned, both sectors also provide courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Thus the binary line towards the end of the 1980s, became increasingly artificial, a fact recognised by the government in its White Paper of 1991. Thus in legislation enacted in April 1992, the binary line was abolished and the polytechnics became free to call themselves universities and award their own degrees. However, to achieve this status the institutions must meet specified requirements on criteria such as overall size (i.e. student population), range of courses offered, etc. In Scotland, where the educational structure is slightly different from that in England, special provision had to be made for the larger central institutions which met the criteria, but which were not called polytechnics, such as Paisley College of Technology. The Scottish College of Textiles has already formed an academic association with Heriot- Watt University in Edinburgh resulting in it being the faculty of textiles of the

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university. As was wryly pointed out by a university principal recently, using a Gilbert and Sullivan quote 'now everyone's somebody, no-one's anybody'.

The April 1992 legislation has made provision for three new higher education funding councils (HEFCs): one each for England and Wales, and a corresponding body for Scotland (SHEFC). Each of these will operate independently with the SHEFC being financed from the Scottish Office budget.

The problems facing the HEIs in support of their teaching and research programmes are probably now as difficult as they ever have been. They stem from two developments. Firstly there is the requirement of government that one-third of all school leavers will enter higher education by 1995. For many university and college departments already with over crowded classroom and laboratory space, this target is likely to be very difficult to meet without significant capital injection for new buildings. It would appear that government expects the target to be met mainly by increases in efficiency.

The second problem relates to the funding for research in HEIs. The 1991 White Paper expressed the government's wish to see increased selectivity on the basis of research quality in the allocation of research resources. The University Funding Council in late 1991 initiated a research assessment exercise, open to all HEIs, the purpose of which will be to produce research ratings of institutions. The ratings will be made on a five point scale, based on an assessment of the volume and quality of the research carried out in the period 1 January 1989 to 30 June 1992. It is almost certain that the HEFCs will use the ratings in the determination of grant for research, with effect from 1993/94. Further, in line with the government's policy of selectivity and concentration, it can be expected that no funding for research will be allocated to a department which receives the lowest rating.

implication for the future funding for research in textiles and coloration is the distinction, in the University Funding Council's research assessment exercise, between the categories of applied and of basidstrategic research. It is the government's policy that applied research should be self-financing and it is likely that only a small proportion of funds will be allocated on the basis of

What is potentially the greatest

Melt spinning high tenacity polypropylene fibres: a SERC funded project at The Scottish College of Textiles

applied research undertaken. Thus the excellent record of colleges and universities, with their specialist textile and colour chemistry departments, in carrying out industrially sponsored research work could have only limited influence in their research ratings and therefore their future funding levels. In his Rede lecture in May 1991 Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer noted, 'There seems to be a systematic bias against departments that do very applied work, which I do not know how to cure'. The problem is now recognised beyond complaining universities. It seems to have arisen from two perceptions:

the proposition that industrially sponsored applied research carries its own overheads and is therefore not eligible for public infrastructure support the fact that it is not 'peer-reviewed' and, therefore, perhaps of lower quality.

With reference to the first of these points there is no doubt that industry has received excellent value for money from HEI-based research, cheaper often than in-house research. The second perception is especially not justified.

Competition amongst HEIs for

funding from other sources, for example research councils such as SERC, is intense (applications to the SERC have approximately a 20% success rate), and from non-dual funding sources such as the EC the competition is even fiercer. Against this background, the winning of awards from the SERC of grants of €58,000 by the Scottish College of Textiles for its research into the production of high- tenacity fibres based on polypropylene, and of €184,000 by Leeds University (in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University) for its research into the computer modelling of batch dyeing processes are significant achievements. Equally meritorious was the winning of BRITEEURAM funding for the establishment of the Computer Integrated Manufacture (CIM) Centre at Leicester Polytechnic. The situation with regard to the research councils will be alleviated to a small extent in the years to come by transfers from higher education funding to the research councils of €18 million in 1992J93, €125 million in 1993194 and €154 million in 1994/95. However the Research Councils will not be responsible for the full economic costs of research on grants. The very substantial costs of premises and

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academic salaries will still have to be met by the HEIs from their HEFC allocation.

/ / I t is certain that the ability of HEIs to provide the ’well found laboratory’ to enable them to perform applied research programmes for industry will come under severe strain. ff

In the USA, four university programmes constitute approximately 90% of the funded research activity. These are the constituent institutions forming the National Textile Centre: Auburn University, Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and North Carolina State University. Funding for research for these universities totalled in 1989/90 $7.514 million, 15% provided by the textile industry, 53% by the state, 30% from Federal sources and 2% from other sources. There are many other colleges and universities, particularly of the home economics variety, in the USA that have some funded research activity, though they exert only a minor influence on the total situation.

The research support which can be given to the textile and coloration industry by HEIs in the UK is likely to be severely limited in the future without more realistic financial backing from the industry itself. The 1991 White Paper clearly indicated that commercially sponsored near-market research is expected to be fully self- financing. Just before the last general election the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Chemistry in Britain invited the major political parties to outline their policies for science, with reference to R & D funding. The Conservative Central Office referred to an increase in overall funding to universities of 10% for two consecutive years and noted that spending on civil R & D in the UK is greater than in either the US or Japan. Additionally, they noted that international studies have shown that increased tax incentives to companies for R & D would be ineffective and wasteful. Beyond a certain point tax incentives only increase industrial R & D by an amount that is roughly half of the value of the revenue foregone by the

government. Therefore, against this background industry can expect little in terms of support through tax incentives.

government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) serve a useful function in the support of research activities for the textile and coloration industries. From industry’s point of view, however, DTI schemes require a financial commitment from them, usually of the order of at least 50% of project costs. Fortunately there is a broad degree of flexibility in the form in which the commitment can be made and the DTI does not seek to impose unnecessary restrictions which might otherwise jeopardise the initiation of a good project. Schemes in the past whereby the DTI funded 50% of equipment purchased by an HE1 if a company would fund the other 50% have proved helpful to HEIs, though there is a limit to the support industry can be expected to give.

The DTI’s proposed initiative on providing funding for projects in its ’Advanced Coloration Technology’ scheme is to be welcomed. The scheme, which is currently being coordinated through the Textile Research Council, is aimed at supporting innovative research projects in the general field of coloration. Again, industrial support, in the general terms referred to above, is required in the projects and there would appear to be a desire by the DTI to involve in a research programme more than one company, so that ’club projects are established. Whilst in theory this approach is attractive, with different companies contributing towards the 50% project costs, in practice club projects are very difficult to establish. Understandably, any company contributing to a research programme is bound to expect the fruits of the project for commercial advantage. Unless the companies involved are active in different, though perhaps complementary fields, such as in the computer-aided design of three- dimensional engineering preforms programme at SCOT involving Coats Viyella and British Aerospace, they are unlikely to collaborate. Nevertheless, the amount of money being made available for the initiative by the DTI is significant and the opportunity is available for industry, in collaboration with the HEIs, to research and develop innovative ideas for their future prosperity.

for the support of industrially based

On a more positive front

Other schemes exist through the DTI

T A & D textile awciliaries and dyestuff conference An international exhibition and conference on textile auxiliaries and dyestuffs will be held from 22 - 24 September in Milan, Italy. Organised by the Dutch company Expoconsult, the conference will focus on the latest developments in the fields of dye and auxiliary production, and will place an emphasis on environmental considerations.

be a small exhibition where companies involved in textile chemistry and dyes will exhibit their products. The conference is expected to provide the industry with a meeting point where new business contacts can be established. Znfo = Ms Annelies Hofman (010) 31 3465 73777 or fax (010) 31 3465 73811

Next to the conference there will

research, such as the Teaching Company Scheme, LINK (programme of UK industries oblique higher education collaborative research) and information technology grants. It is likely that these will continue as the main vehicle for government asssistance to industrial research in the years to come.

For industry therefore the high costs of research can be moderated by the schemes referred to above but companies themselves must be prepared to make a financial commitment. Since the textile industry in total is the fourth largest in the UK it is in the government’s best interests to support it and it is to be hoped that the DTI will continue with its initiatives in the future. For the HEIs the changes in higher education are occurring at such a fast rate it is difficult to predict the state it will be in by the end of the century. It is certain that the ability of HEIs to provide the ‘well found laboratory’ to enable them to perform applied research programmes for industry will come under severe strain, given their need to expand undergraduate student numbers and the uncertainty of the levels and mechanisms of future funding.

Dr Roger H Wardman is acting head of the Department of Technology, The Scottish College of Textiles, Netherdale, Galashiels, Selkirkshire TDl 3HF, Scotland.

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