In British research policy, the Haldane principle is the idea that decisions about what to spend research funds on should be made by researchers rather than politicians. It is named after Richard Burdon Haldane, who in 1904 and from 1909 to 1918 chaired committees and commissions which recommended this policy, which has evolved over time since then.
The 1904 committee recommended the creation of the University Grants Committee which has evolved via the Universities Funding Council into the current higher education funding councils: UK Research and Innovation, Scottish Funding Council and Medr.
Haldane's idea arose in 1918 and was adhered to for several decades. However it was not formally defined until 1964 by Quintin Hogg MP. It was legally enacted in 2017.
History
1918 Haldane Report
In 1918 Haldane's committee produced the "Haldane Report". The report suggested that research required by government departments could be separated into that required by specific departments and that which was more general. It recommended that departments should oversee the specific research but the general research should be under the control of autonomous research councils, which would be free from political and administrative pressures that might discourage research in certain areas.
The principle of the autonomy of the research councils is now referred to as the Haldane Principle. The first research council to be created as a result of the Haldane Report was the Medical Research Council in 1920. the Minister for Universities and Science (David Willetts) further elaborated on the definition of the Haldane Principle. Broadly he defined the principle that the tactical implementation of government funding, i.e. which projects to fund should be a decision for academics using a process of peer review.
Willetts also gave a further definition of how this tactical implementation might be guided and that overall strategic budget setting was the responsibility of government.
2017 legislation
In 2017, there was a debate about the extent to which the principle is still applied in practice.
The Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which merged the research councils and the research part of the Higher Education Funding Council for England into UK Research and Innovation, enacted the Haldane principle as section 103(3):