3 Accepted in Part

The Government should confirm its commitment to meet the 80% full economic costs of research,...

Recommendation
The Government should confirm its commitment to meet the 80% full economic costs of research, its timetable for when it expects to meet 80% full economic costs, and its assessment of the long-term sustainability of 109 this model given the reduction in cross-subsidy for home undergraduate students from other sources such as fee income from international students. (Recommendation, Paragraph 51)
Government Response Summary
The government confirms its commitment to meeting 80% of research's full economic costs and believes the model is sustainable, but cannot commit to a timeline for increasing cost recovery due to factors driven by independent institutions and other funders.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government Accepted in Part
PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE The government remains committed to the dual support model, including meeting 80% of the full economic costs (FEC) of research. We believe this model for research funding remains sustainable as the combination of unhypothecated quality-related (QR) funding and project grant funding at 80% FEC means government research funding as a whole has a net surplus position. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has already acted alongside UKRI to improve grant cost recovery, including changes to equipment funding, capital equipment thresholds, and increased clarity on matched-funding expectations. However, insights from UKRI research indicate that key drivers of low-cost recovery include applicant behaviour such as underbidding, and the difficulty some institutions may face in accurately costing multi-year research projects. UKRI funds the full 80% of the cost of the grant presented to it at the start of the cycle. Because the primary drivers of low cost-recovery are the decisions of independent and autonomous institutions, the government cannot commit to a timeline for increasing cost recovery to 80% across all research funders. Other research funders such as charities or businesses fund in a variety of ways and are independent of DSIT. DSIT remains determined to work with the sector and other funders to ensure their research practices recognise the true cost of research.
Addressee Bodies
Department for Education
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.2 yrs
Report published 12 May 2026