The Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Chemistry have questioned whether universities in an independent Scotland would be able to access research council, charitable and EU funding.
In their responses to a request by the Scottish Science Advisory Council, both societies emphasise that Scotland does particularly well in securing funding from Research Councils UK. They point out that, although Scotland only accounts for around 8.5 per cent of the UK’s population, Scottish universities were awarded 15.2 per cent of RCUK funding in 2011-12.
The RSC questions whether it would be feasible to maintain a UK-wide research council framework should Scotland become independent, and whether UK-wide assessments of university research would still be carried out.
Similarly, the RSE asks whether an arrangement is possible that would allow Scotland’s science and engineering base to continue to access UK funding of the kind that it currently receives from the research councils.
The RSC notes that Scotland secured 14.1 per cent of the total competitive funding from UK charities in 2011-12, and both societies ask whether Scotland’s science base would still be able to access research funding from charities registered outside Scotland.
The UK’s major research charities and trusts are registered and operated in England, the RSE points out, asking whether their constitutions would allow them to fund research in an independent Scotland.
The RSE also questions how research funding in an independent Scotland would be organised, prioritised and allocated, and what alternative funding sources would be available should Scotland no longer be able to receive funds from UK research councils and English charities.
Another RSE question is what the effects of independence would be on the ability of Scotland to attract top researchers and participate in UK-wide collaborative research programmes.
The societies also ask what Scottish independence would mean for accessing EU funds, such as through Horizon 2020, and acquiring information about international science opportunities if this were no longer available from science attachés in UK embassies.