Research funding from overseas sources has also increased substantially to just under ?1 billion in 2011-12, up from just under ?0.5 billion in 2002-03, according to The Economic Significance of the UK Science Base.
The report, published by the Campaign for Science and Engineering, suggests that research council funding peaked at about ?1.6 billion in 2008-09 before falling to around ?1.5 billion in 2011-12. The overall rise in the amount of research council funding “reflects to a substantial degree” the introduction of full economic costing for research grants in September 2005, says the report.
Research funding from charities and the government’s mainstream quality-related mechanism has increased more slowly, whereas finance from industry has fallen slightly over the decade.