19 September 2005
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants' (CIMA) is today leading the call for recognition to be given to the value of business research and the practical application of research, or risk widening the gulf between academia and business. The warning from CIMA comes in its response to today's deadline for the Higher Education Funding Council's (HEFCE) consultation on the Research and Assessment (RAE) Criteria, as universities and researchers compete for an estimated £10 billion of university research funding over the next six years.
As part of the RAE, all active researchers in the UK will have their work assessed in 2008 by 900 fellow academics, sitting in 67 subject panels and 15 co-ordinating panels to ensure consistency. The outcome of the process will determine an estimated £10 billion of university research funding over the next six years. CIMA's response to the consultation process has been informed by an eminent forum of business people and academics with experience in business - the CIMA RAE Forum ' including chairman and former CIMA President Professor Roland Kaye, Professor Falconer Mitchell (University of Edinburgh) and Brian Peel, a CIMA Member in business (Coors Brewers).
Commenting on CIMA's response to HEFCE, Professor Roland Kaye said: 'It is important for business and our investment in UK plc that research does not become a purely academic exercise. The fact that the RAE process has the potential for research to become driven by the publishing agenda, which addresses an academic peer group, rather than practitioners, is a real concern for business because in doing so it will lose relevance to practitioners.
'Research is about improving practice and the development of the next generation of business managers is vital to both employers and the profession. Our concern is that by primarily rewarding academic research that is divorced from its practical application, we risk having entrants to the profession taught and trained by people who have never qualified or practised it themselves. Applied to other professions, such as medicine, that would clearly be unacceptable.'
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For interviews, photographs and further information please contact:
Lynda Hardy Maskell, CIMA
020 8849 2347
lynda.hardymaskell@cimaglobal.com
Notes to editors
1. CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is a leading professional body that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focussing on accounting in business. It is the fastest growing UK based membership body, in terms of members, in both the UK and worldwide and is the voice of over 150,000 members and students in 156 countries. CIMA is responsible for the education and training of management accountants who work in industry, commerce and not-for-profit and has more members in the public sector than any other UK based body. CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is in tune with the activities of high performance organisations, and evolves continually reflecting the latest developments in global business. It is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of members and students, and to maintaining public confidence in management accountancy. For more information about CIMA, please visit www.cimaglobal.com
2. Each academic will submit four 'outputs' ' usually articles in learned journals or books. In addition to the research outputs, each department will be judged on its 'research environment' ' including the number of students, research income and its plans for the next five years. Also added to the mix is 'esteem', gauged by factors such as editing learned journals, delivering keynote speeches at conferences, and international collaborations. For more information about the RAE, please visit the Hefce website at: www.hefce.ac.uk
3. The terms of reference of the CIMA RAE Forum were to focus on a range of topics related to the RAE including:
- The impact of the RAE on academic outputs
- The RAE assessment criteria
- The value of research output for business /industry in the RAE
- Best methods for the design and conduct of research relevant to business with a high academic quality
- The development of careers that span both academic and business/industry sectors
4. For a full copy of CIMA's response to the RAE consultation, visit: http://www.cimaglobal.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0AAAC544-534A1D97/live/root.xsl/consultationsearch_visitorviewconsultation.htm?consultationid=183
19 September 2005050919