Brexit led UK scholars to seek funding from China, study finds

UK research is receiving less recognition than it did before Brexit, while more British scholars are looking to China for funding amid uncertainty over relations with Europe, a new paper suggests.

The study, published in Higher Education journal, examined almost 90,000 papers produced by a UK-based author and one or more international collaborator between 2010 and 2022 in the Web of Science database to determine what effect the UK leaving Europe had on research.  

Prior to 2016, when the Brexit referendum was held, the study found that a high proportion of papers were led by authors from the UK (36 per cent) or the European Union (28 per cent), reflecting their “dominant leadership roles” at the time.

But both figures fell by 2022. The study’s authors said this suggests a shift in research leadership dynamics, where non-UK collaborators, particularly those from rising research powers, are increasingly taking the initiative and leading collaborative projects.

“Although in 2022 the UK-based authors still have the larger share of first authorship, the trend indicates that this situation could change if everything else stays constant,” the paper says.

Researchers based in Latin America and the Caribbean, and North Africa saw increasing patterns of first authorship, as did those in East Asia, where the figure rose from 6 per cent to 10 per cent.

The new research also shows that UK co-authored papers have experienced a decreasing trend in citation recognition since 2016.

“The noticeable decline may highlight the broader implications of Brexit on the global perception and impact of UK research outputs,” the paper says.

Meanwhile, there was a sixfold increase in the number of collaborative papers with reported funding from China, which the paper said illustrates Beijing’s growing influence in global research funding and the UK’s increasing reliance on non-EU sources for international collaborations.

The findings also show a “reconfiguration of the UK’s global research collaborations” – significantly shifting away from prominent ties with European research systems towards Asia.

China is unique among the UK’s global research partners because of its increasing role as a source of research funding, it added.

“The uncertainty surrounding the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe, which has historically been a crucial source of support for British research, seems to have prompted researchers to look for alternative funding sources,” said author Yusuf Oldac, assistant professor of education policy at the Education University of Hong Kong.

“I see this as a sign of resilience by UK researchers, but it also reflects a shift in influence dynamics. Funding often shapes research priorities, and as Chinese institutions contribute more financially, their influence on collaborative projects is likely to grow.”

But Oldac told Times Higher Education that Brexit has not permanently altered the UK’s scientific relationship with Europe.

“There is always a possibility of restoration. This restoration process will depend strongly on the future geopolitical developments with European partners and others. For example, the UK’s reassociation with Horizon Europe is a positive development for collaborations with EU researchers.”