The Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) is one of many organisations to be keeping an active eye on members’ experiences of the sectors financial problems.

It does have a unique focus – and a recently published set of survey results (answered by members from 86 institutions over the spring of 2025) are examining the impact that the search for savings is having on research performance. And it makes for worrying reading.

On top of the measures that we have sadly come to expect – voluntary redundancies (67 per cent), recruitment freezes (73 per cent) and not reviewing fixed term contracts (49 per cent) – it appears that nearly half (48 per cent) of providers are actively choosing not to bid for certain research and collaboration activities.

You’ll be aware from OfS’ TRAC releases that external research contracts fall a long way short of breaking even: it generally costs institutions to perform research even if they “win” a funding competition. The issue is particularly acute when it comes to charitable funding and fellowships – areas where institutions take on a proportionally larger share of the costs, often via match funding or additional requirements. ARMA quotes one respondent as seeing a failure to support:

… any funding schemes where there is an expectation of match-funding or an expectation of a permanent post being made available is a problem [in the current climate]

If you are actively turning down funding opportunities, and cutting staff numbers, it should come as no surprise that morale and wellbeing will suffer – ARMA cites “a focus on short-termism” and “less collegiality”. Academic staff are being asked to take on more teaching, which adds to the pressure on activities like knowledge exchange. And it is a particularly bad time for new and emerging researchers, who are suffering from a lack of employment opportunities and chances to expand their networks.

We are not short of evidence that universities are struggling – and this year’s TRAC data made it clear that the sector is looking for greater and greater efficiencies in response. What’s notable in ARMAs work is the sense that even should the much heralded post-16 white paper achieve the impossible and set the sector on a firm financial footing, the damage to the future of research is already being done, day by day.