Environment submissions database

1. Background The effect of the pandemic on research capacity, resource and the conduct of research between the suspension of non-essential travel (16/03/2020) and the REF census date was marked. An Incident Management Group (IMG) met from January 2020, on 12th March the University advised trial working from home and staff in high risk groups discussed arrangements with line managers. From 20th March the Sheppard Library moved to online only access. For some research staff, therefore, alternative working arrangements pre-dated national lockdown. From 25th March the University convened a Research/KE Sub Group of IMG (RKESG) to manage the effects of covid on research activity. It triaged research facilities access and requests for equipment loan and testing services. 2. Issues Middlesex’s REF Strategy Panel commissioned a detailed ‘REF covid survey’ of research staff (hereafter RCS) in January/February 2021 to discover, beyond evidence collated by the RKESG, specific impacts of the pandemic on research activity from 12th March 2020 onwards. (a) Diversion of research staff time and project ‘pivoting’ Middlesex submitted 48 covid-related grant applications (March to December 2020), more than half before July 2020, but devoted much academic time to repurposing grants/projects to address covid by project redevelopment or case-making. RCS data suggest 31.9% of researchers were required to redirect resources/efforts in this way. This particularly affected grants and projects in UoA3 and UoA20. (b) Interruptions to research RCS reported sources of interruption (beyond workload) including no access to specialist facilities (30.2% of research staff), access to materials/data (21.8%), access to participants (31.0%) and collaborators (29.0%). Other sources of interruption sprang directly from non-work roles, such as caring responsibilities (14.1%, but markedly higher for non-white staff), home schooling children, etc. (34.3%, but 50.0% for non-white staff). No cost extensions to grant-funded and commercially supported research were allowed, but negotiation took time away from research activity. (c) Equalities issues RCS data suggests women felt their research work had been impacted more than men (80.9%, 72%), and that the effect was greater (10.7% felt they had been unable to undertake any research, 5.3% for men). Effects on research were felt more keenly by younger researchers: 25% of staff aged 26-35 reported they could not undertake research for covid-related reasons, compared to 7.5% (56-65) and 11.7% (46-55). RCS found no statistically significant difference in effects by ethnicity save, as noted above, non-white staff were more impacted by the effects of the pandemic on households. (d) Hypothecation of space, access restrictions and partner institution research resource access (including NHS policy) Space utilised for research (notably for UoA 32) was hypothecated to covid-related uses, and access restrictions were placed on some off-campus partner facilities – at other universities ‘covid work only’ policies for use of facilities used in collaborative projects were imposed, and in the NHS a ‘covid only’ policy affected funded projects in UoA3. In aggregate RCS reported the greatest impacts in UoAs 3, 4, 14, 18 and 33 (on the conduct research) and additionally in UoAs 20 and 24 (on time to undertake research).