The government may need to intervene to ensure a more strategic “consolidation” of research activity takes place across the UK’s higher education system, the outgoing chief executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has suggested.

Speaking to the House of Commons’ science and technology committee, Ottoline Leyser told MPs on 17 June that she recognised UK universities are facing “significant financial challenges at the moment”, which is “a matter of concern from the point of view of their teaching and training roles, but also their research roles”.

Discussing the “underpinning causes” of this financial stress, Leyser explained that “universities have been strongly incentivised to increase the volume of their research” and have funded it by expanding “surplus-generating” activities –��mainly the education of international students.

Thanks to this funding, “there is a significant amount of university money invested in research and innovation”, she continued, but added that this income stream is now declining “for a whole variety of reasons”, including changes to visa policies for overseas students, which has led to a fall in international applicants.

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“That creates a challenge in the system,” explained Leyser, who was ��about her five years at the helm of Britain’s £9 billion a year research funder prior to her departure this month.

“As a result of the really quite sudden financial pressures facing universities, they are making local unilateral decisions [regarding funding cuts] – I would like to find a way to do that in a more coordinated way across the country,” she said.

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“There will inevitably need to be some kind of consolidation across the university landscape...and that will not necessarily be a huge negative for the UK’s research and innovation endeavour,” added Leyser.

“But it needs to happen in a more coordinated way so that universities lean into their unique strengths,” she continued, arguing that more universities should develop a “unique strategy linked to where they are in the country” by working with nearby institutions on their research strengths.��

Given the current financial climate, it does not make sense for some universities to be research active in all fields, Leyser continued.��

“If universities are trying to compete by relatively unstrategic expansion of research activity across a wide range of topics, it might be more sensible to focus on a smaller number of topics,” she added.

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Asked by committee chair Chi Onwurah if this would mean the closure of certain university departments across the country, Leyser replied: “Potentially…or within departments. You can think about this on multiple different scales [of research activity reduction].”

On who might lead this coordinated “consolidation” of research activity, Leyser said it was important that all government departments responsible for higher education are involved.

“The huge strength of our system is this marriage of teaching and research,” she said, noting the “dual responsibility” for the sector held by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Education.

“They are working together to think about this challenge – that is really important and we can supply information of where there is critical infrastructure and capabilities,” she said.

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��jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com