We write to express our strong support for the views put forward by Donald Braben et al. regarding Research Councils UK's Pathways to Impact process ("Corrosive impact merits only dismissal", Letters, 14 April). In particular, we endorse the call for academics to respond to requests to peer-review the Pathways to Impact component of grant applications by stating that they are not competent to assess future socio-economic impact.
We ourselves will respond to the research councils in this way and encourage our colleagues to adopt a similar stance. As Braben et al. point out, the Pathways to Impact initiative undermines the fundamental purpose of university research and will permanently damage UK academia.
Ross Adamson, School of Humanities, University of Brighton
Patrick Ainley, School of Education, University of Greenwich
Daniel Allington, lecturer in English language studies and applied linguistics, Centre for Language and Communication, The Open University
Phil Allport, head of particle physics, director of the Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre, University of Liverpool
J. Ambrose, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Rita Astuti, department of anthropology, London School of Economics
Paul Bagguley, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds
Sorin Baiasu, philosophy programme director, secretary of the UK Kant Society, Keele University
David Bain, lecturer in philosophy, University of Glasgow
Anew Balmer, department of sociological studies, University of Sheffield
Maud Anne Bracke, history, University of Glasgow
Bob Brecher, professor of moral philosophy, University of Brighton
Robin Briggs, FBA, emeritus senior research Fellow, All Souls College, University of Oxford
Michael Burden, Faculty of Music, University of Oxford
Michael Carley, department of mechanical engineering, University of Bath
Timothy Chappell, director, The Open University Ethics Centre
Hugo Christenson, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds
Paul A. Clarke, FRSC, department of chemistry, University of York
Stephen R.L. Clark, emeritus professor of philosophy, University of Liverpool
John Collins, head of school, philosophy, University of East Anglia
Juan-Carlos Conde, faculty lecturer in medieval Spanish literature, University of Oxford
Paul Coones, supernumerary Fellow and tutor in geography, University of Oxford
Julie Curtis, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Isabelle Darmon, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester
Graham Dawson, reader in cultural history, University of Brighton
Karl Dayson, director of Sociology and Criminology Directorate, University of Salford
Alex Dennis, lecturer in sociology, University of Salford
Luis Diaz, School of Architecture and Design, University of Brighton
Giuseppina D’Oro, School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Keele University
Hormoz Ebrahimnejad, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southampton
R. Evans, FRS, H.O. Wills professor of physics, University of Bristol
John Finney, emeritus professor of physics, department of physics and astronomy, University College London
Ian Forrest, Fellow and tutor in history, Oriel College, Oxford
Carlos Frade, School of English, Sociology, Politics and Cultural History, Centre for Social Research, University of Salford
Steven French, department of philosophy, University of Leeds
Wolf-Gerrit Früh, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences – Mechanical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University
Maria Fusco, director of art writing, Goldsmiths, University of London
Jerome Gauntlett, head of theoretical physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London
Michael Glazer, department of physics, University of Oxford
Sara Gonzalez, department for continuing education, University of Oxford
Simon Glendinning, reader in European philosophy, European Institute, LSE
Michael J. C. Gordon, FRS, professor of computer-assisted reasoning, University of Cambridge
Jonathan Gorman MRIA, emeritus professor of moral philosophy, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, Queen’s University Belfast
Victor Goryunov, department of mathematical sciences, University of Liverpool
Iain Grant, history, philosophy and politics, University of the West of England
Clive Griffin, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages and Literature, University of Oxford
Richard Hall, reader in education and technology, De Montfort University
Sudhir Hazareesingh, Fellow in politics, University of Oxford
Jeff Hearn, human and health science, University of Huddersfield
K Hannah Holtschneider, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
Tim Horder, department of human anatomy, University of Oxford
Muir Houston, School of Education, University of Glasgow
Simon Huxtable, department of history, Birkbeck, University of London
Christopher Janaway, professor of philosophy, University of Southampton
Simon Jarvis, Gorley Putt professor of poetry and poetics, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
Eileen John, department of philosophy, University of Warwick
Justine Johnstone, science and technology policy research, University of Sussex
Nicholas Joll, philosophy, The Open University and University of Hertfordshire
Anew Jones, reader in prehistoric archaeology, University of Southampton
P.J.E. Kail, university lecturer in the history of modern philosophy, University of Oxford
Lev Kantorovich, department of physics, King’s College London
David Karlin, department of zoology, University of Oxford
Anna Kemp, lecturer in French literature, University of Southampton
Peter Keevash, reader in pure mathematics, Queen Mary, University of London
Catriona Kelly, FBA, professor of Russian, University of Oxford
Ian James Kidd, department of philosophy, Durham University
Simon Kirchin, senior lecturer in philosophy, University of Kent, and president, British Society for Ethical Theory
Johannes Knapp, head of high-energy astrophysics, University of Leeds
Katrin Kohl, medieval and modern languages and literatures, University of Oxford
Susanne Kord, department of German, University College London
Vasileios Koutsos, Institute for Materials and Processes, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh
Marc Lauxtermann, Bywater and Sotheby professor of Byzantine and modern Greek language and literature, Exeter College, Oxford
Catherine Laws, department of music, University of York
David Lee, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford
Mark Levene, history, School of Humanities, University of Southampton
David Lewis, department of social policy, LSE
Guy Longworth, department of philosophy, University of Warwick
Christine Lopes, visiting Fellow in philosophy, University of London
Michael Luntley, department of philosophy, University of Warwick
Stefano Luzzatto, reader in mathematics, Imperial College London
Ian Maclachlan, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Aurélien Madouasse, research Fellow, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham
Hans Maes, School of Arts, University of Kent
Shahn Majid, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London
Muireann Maguire, department of Slavonic studies, University of Oxford
Sophie Marnette, lecturer in medieval French, University of Oxford
Thibaut Maus de Rolley, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Martin R.S. McCoustra FRAS, FRSC, department of chemistry, Heriot-Watt University
Patrick McGuinness, department of modern languages, University of Oxford
Esther McIntosh, theology and religious studies, York St John University
Monica McLean, School of Education, University of Nottingham
Denis McManus, reader in philosophy, University of Southampton
Patricia McManus, senior lecturer in media and cultural history, University of Brighton
John McTague, Faculty of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford
Saladin Meckled-Garcia, director, Institute for Human Rights, University College London
Katrina Miller, School of Education, University of Brighton
Barbara A. Misztal, department of sociology, University of Leicester
Liz Morrish, linguistics, Nottingham Trent University
Thomas Mueller, professor of mathematics, Queen Mary, University of London
Katrina Myrvang Brown, Socio-Economic Research Group, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen
Karma Nabulsi, department of politics and international relations, University of Oxford
Daniel Nehring, department of criminology and sociology, Middlesex University
Michael A. Nicholson, dean and emeritus Fellow, modern languages, University College, Oxford
Charlotte Nicklas, Centre for Research and Development, University of Brighton
Viacheslav V. Nikulin, professor of pure mathematics, University of Liverpool
Josselin Noirel, The Chemical Engineering at the Life Sciences Interface Institute, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield
Christopher Norris, distinguished research professor in philosophy, Cardiff University
Kathleen O’Donnell, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton
William Outhwaite, professor of sociology, Newcastle University
Sarah Pearsall, senior lecturer in non-European history, Oxford Brookes University
Steve Phillipps, professor of astrophysics, University of Bristol
Aian M.S. Piper, APRA Foundation, Berlin
Bob Plant, department of philosophy, University of Aberdeen
Anthony Price, department of philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London
Dwijen Rangnekar, School of Law, University of Warwick
Cyril Rauch, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham
Aian Rifkin, professor of art writing, Goldsmiths, University of London
Fiona Roxburgh, School of Philosophy, UEA
Srila Roy, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham
Paul Ruffle, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
Selina Sadat, president of the British Postgraduate Philosophy Association; PhD student, department of philosophy, University of Edinburgh
Johan Siebers, affiliated Fellow, Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies,
School of Advanced Study, University of London
Hilary Smith, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Giuseppe Stellardi, Fellow and tutor in Italian, University of Oxford
Bernard Sufrin, emeritus Fellow and tutor in computation, Worcester College, Oxford
Helen Swift, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Richard Thomas, professor of pure mathematics, Imperial College London
Rowan Tomlinson, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Kate E. Tunstall, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford
Kees van der Pijl, professor of international relations, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex
Rosa Vasilaki, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol
Klaus von Haeften, department of physics and astronomy, University of Leicester
Jonathan Way, department of philosophy, University of Southampton
Ian Watson, university lecturer in French language and linguistics, University of Oxford
David Webb, department of philosophy, Staffordshire University
Alan Weir, professor of philosophy, University of Glasgow
Gavin Williams, emeritus Fellow and tutor in politics, University of Oxford
Lesley Whitworth, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton
Luke Yates, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester
Sarah J. Young, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London
Michael Zaiser, professor of mechanics of materials, head of the Institute for Materials and Processes, University of Edinburgh
Anei V. Zvelindovsky, computational and theoretical physics, University of Central Lancashire