Russell Group urges creation of UK research security fund

The UK government should create a £25 million-a-year “research security fund” to help universities fend off attempts to steal their intellectual property (IP), the Russell Group has said.

In a letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt published on 17 October, the group representing 24 research-intensive universities urges the ministers to set aside resources to help institutions build specialist security teams to “to disrupt hostile attempts to interfere in the UK’s world-leading university research”.

This will help realise “a central aim of the Integrated Review Refresh and Defending Democracy Taskforce”, says the letter, referring to the recently updated review of national security, which identified the need to “increase protections for academic freedom and university research” against threats from China.

In its letter to the Treasury ahead of the Autumn statement, the Russell Group called on Mr Hunt to “create a UK Research Security Fund similar to that introduced by the Canadian government in recognition of the security challenges facing its universities”.

“This Canadian fund, worth C$125 million [£75 million] over five years, has enabled institutions to start building specialist security teams,” it explains, adding that “scaling to reflect UK research volumes suggests we could deliver similar benefits here for around £25 million a year”.

“A UK fund could also be used to invest in upgrading physical security, accessing commercial due diligence tools, enhancing cybersecurity protections for IP, and replacing university technology and infrastructure made by companies on the US Entity List,” it says, of which the most high-profile is Huawei.

The proposal is one of several ideas due to be published in a Russell Group “manifesto” for the next government in the coming weeks, says the letter signed by the group’s chair Chris Day, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, and its chief executive Tim Bradshaw.

“Unfortunately, the strength of UK research also makes us a target of activity from hostile state actors. This Autumn statement is an opportunity to build on the steps universities have taken in recent years to assess and manage security risks by enhancing the capacity of universities to protect this important national asset,” it says.

The letter also urges the UK government to take “several simple actions” that could not only “avoid a potential R&D underspend for this financial year but also secure millions of pounds for the UK economy”.

These include extra investment to “ensure high rates of participation in Horizon Europe”, investment to “leverage university capability to drive AUKUS pillar 2”, referring to the R&D component of the trilateral UK-US-Australian defence pact, and more money to “strengthen UK-Germany research”.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com