... and getting better at Staffordshire

Geography: Staffordshire Unversity, 1992 rating: 1, 1996 rating: 2

Scoring low in the RAE would be enough to make some departments pack up their microscopes and go home, but the division of geography at Staffordshire University decided to fight for a higher grade.

Gordon Walker, the deputy head, said the last exercise took place during a major structural reorganisation and was particularly disappointing. However, much has been done since to give research a higher profile and win funding.

He said that local authorities and Government departments in particular had been attracted by the division's expertise. Some of the income from the projects, worth between Pounds 20,000 and Pounds 40,000, had pump-primed others. Despite the one rating, a staff member recently obtained an EPSRC grant.

Dr Walker said the research had become more focused. There were now four research groups: sustainability and environmental policy; local and regional economic development; culture and place; and hydrological domains.

While the number of staff had increased from 22 to 24, the need for a better quality submission meant that only half were assessed.

To lighten workloads and allow some to concentrate on research, Dr Walker said an internal sabbatical system had been extended. Links with other universities had been developed and a new professor, Alan Hallsworth from Portsmouth University, was appointed last year.

The submission also recognised that postgraduate student numbers needed to rise and new targets were set. Staffordshire has implemented a clearer research policy to target areas of expertise more closely and has started establishing a graduate school. Dr Walker said geography had won about Pounds 25,000 in research funding from the university.

He hoped a higher grade would attract more basic research money. He argued that the system was loaded against new universities.