From: "Cliff Lynch cliff@cni.org" <CNI-ANNOUNCE@cni.org>
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Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2020 13:23:01 -0400
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Subject: Ithaka report on Impact of COVID-19 on the Research Enterprise
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Today, Jane Radecki and Roger Schoenfeld of Ithaka S+R released a very inte=
resting and wide-ranging study of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Research En=
terprise. I've reproduced the Executive Summary below. This report echos ma=
ny themes that we heard at our recent Executive Roundtables on Research Res=
tart and Research Continuity (see https://www.cni.org/go/research-continuit=
y-sept-2020-update) and goes into issues around funding and federal grants =
in depth. The report can be read online or downloaded as a PDF at:

https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-the-research-=
enterprise/

Ithaka will discuss aspects of this work at the Fall CNI member meeting=20

My thanks to Ithaka for helping us to better understand these developments.

Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI


---------------------
=46rom the Ithaka report:


The COVID-19 pandemic and associated disruptions have had a major impact on=
 the US academic research enterprise. This report provides a landscape revi=
ew of what is known about these impacts, from March through mid-October 202=
0, with an aim of identifying gaps that should be addressed. Our focus is o=
n externally funded research, and therefore we emphasize STEM fields almost=
 exclusively. As a result, we also focus on the largest research universiti=
es, which conduct an outsized share of this research and which are themselv=
es quite reliant on the intellectual activity and revenues associated with =
it.
Our key findings include:
=09=95=09The federal government provided substantial flexibility to univers=
ities in utilizing research funding at the beginning of the pandemic. In ad=
dition, there is little reason to anticipate substantial budget reductions =
among most major research funders. As a result of these factors, while univ=
ersities face substantial declines to some revenue sources and risks to mos=
t others, externally funded scientific research is likely to be relatively =
stable. That said, the ways in which the academic research enterprise is in=
terwoven with, and in some cases cross-subsidized by, instructional activit=
ies pose some risk to research support. There are substantial unanswered qu=
estions about how negative impacts to the business models of research unive=
rsities will affect scientific research.
=09=95=09Many traditional research activities were largely suspended in the=
 spring into summer, other than COVID-19-related and other essential resear=
ch. With federal flexibilities ending, universities scrambled to put in pla=
ce necessary protections to allow laboratories and other research groups to=
 safely resume their activities. Many but not all research activities have =
successfully restarted, even if not all are at full capacity. In parallel, =
the COVID-19 emergency led to substantial innovation in research collaborat=
ion and scholarly communication. It also demonstrated the limits of collabo=
ration and communication infrastructure and services in the face of widespr=
ead attention to scientific progress and its politicization. There are subs=
tantial unanswered questions about the resiliency of the research enterpris=
e and the permanence of the many adaptations to collaboration and scholarly=
 communication that we have seen.
=09=95=09The human impacts of the disruptions are vast. These include limit=
ations and impediments facing international students and disruptions to res=
earchers that differ by gender, caregiver status, and career level. There a=
re substantial unanswered questions about international talent flows, the d=
evelopment of early career researchers, and setbacks in achieving gender eq=
uity.
As we write, the research enterprise is coming back to life after an unplan=
ned and unprecedented stoppage. Given the uncertain nature of how the pande=
mic will proceed and what societal, economic, and educational changes will =
result, we expect other impacts to develop over the coming months and years=
.