Research Committee

15 October 2025          14.00 – 16.30      CBG 11.13

3 December 2025        14.00 – 16.30      CON 7.05

28 January 2026          14.00 – 16.00      CBG 11.13

18 March 2026             14.00 – 16.00      CBG 11.13

7 May 2026                   14.00 – 16.00       VAR

11 June 2026                14.00 – 16.00       VAR

Ex officio members:

Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Susana Mourato

Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Michael Bruter

Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor (Impact), Professor Elizabeth Stokoe

Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Jen Fensome

Chair of Research Degrees Sub-committee, Professor Joan Rosés

Director of the PhD Academy, Professor Bingchun Meng

Chairs of the Research Committee sub-committees:

Chair of the Research Ethics Review Board, Professor Kathy Hochstetler

Chair of REF Strategy Committee, Professor Michael Bruter

Chair of Research Development Panel, Professor Michael Bruter

Chair of Impact and Innovation Panel, Professor Elizabeth Stokoe

Associate Director, Digital Scholarship and Innovation, LSE Library, Beth Clark

There is no formal quorum; the Chair will decide on a case-by-case basis whether at any time representation on the Committee is insufficient for the business in hand.

The Research Committee is a sub-committee of the Academic Board and will report to Academic Board at least annually.

1.  The Committee shall develop the research strategy of the School, within the framework approved by Council and set out in the Strategic Plan, and shall keep under review the research activities of the School in order to encourage and facilitate research of the highest quality. 

2. The Committee shall have overall responsibility for ensuring that research undertaken by members of the School is conducted in an ethically sound manner, in accordance with the School’s policy on research ethics and research misconduct. 

3. The Committee shall oversee and promote the development and integration of the School’s knowledge exchange and impact strategy with its commitment to research excellence.

4. The Committee shall oversee the School's preparations for all government research assessment exercises and the work of the REF Strategy Committee.

5. The Committee shall encourage and facilitate the highest quality research and in particular shall seek to initiate and to secure means for the development of research.

6. The Committee shall be responsible for ensuring effective governance structures are in place for research and the use of all research funds and grants for which the School is accountable.  In particular it shall:

   (a) have the right to receive for assessment annual reports on the use of all research funds and grants for which the School is accountable,

   (b) refine research governance and quality measures to monitor school-wide research activities, including advising on and approving departmental peer review systems for research grant proposals;

   (c) undertake regular reviews of all Research Centres on behalf of the School, in conjunction with appropriate external assessors;

   (d)  receive and consider reports on Departmental Research Units (DRUs) undertaken by the relevant Departmental Research Committee on a three-yearly basis or more frequently as the Research Committee shall require;

   (e) have the right to conduct reviews of DRUs on its own initiative or as a result of a request from a HOD or Departmental Research Committee;

   (f) support HODs in their responsibility for managing Departmental Research Units;

   (g) approve the establishment of a new DRU or iDRU, or require the closure of a DRU or iDRU if it is no longer meeting its objectives, or if a closure is requested by the parent HoD(s), after all relevant individuals involved with the DRU/iDRU have been consulted;

   (h) can recommend to Academic Board and Council/Director, the establishment of a new Research Centre in line with the Council Scheme of Delegation, or that a Research Centre be disbanded if its governance structure and / or research is not meeting School expectations for accountability and research quality;

   (i)  receive and consider reports from, and liaise with, the Research and Policy Staff Committee on a regular basis;

   (j)  address any issues that the Research and Policy Staff Committee requests that Research Committee consider.

7. The Committee shall have overall responsibility for the development of the School’s strategy and policy in relation to postgraduate research student activity. This shall include:

   (a) developing the LSE PhD and considering its place within the School’s overall research strategy, the infrastructure for interdisciplinary research and the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion; 

   (b) overseeing the PhD Academy’s approach to skills training for research degree students, including the Doctoral Training Partnership;

   (c) developing the School’s strategic approach to PhD studentships including in response to Research Council initiatives – this may include submitting bids to the Research Councils and monitoring Research Council funded programmes if the bids are successful;

   (d) assuming overall responsibility for operating the LSE PhD programme, including determining the number of scholarships available in each Department/Institute;

   (e) considering proposals for PhD activity in collaboration with other institutions, including in response to Research Council or European Commission initiatives;

   (f) ensuring that research undertaken by research degree students is undertaken in an ethically sound manner, including with regard to integrity in data management and that research students receive adequate supervision;

   (f) overseeing the work of the PhD Academy in developing the status of research degree students within the School.

8. The Committee will comply with the School’s Ethics Code and the Committee Effective Behaviour Statement.

MODE OF OPERATION

Research Committee meets twice per term.  Working groups may be formed to undertake specific tasks under the Committee’s terms of reference and ad hoc items which may periodically arise.

All sub-committees and working groups shall operate under the strategic direction of the Research Committee to which they shall report on an annual basis or more frequently as the Research Committee requires and to which they can make recommendations.

The subcommittees of the Research Committee are:

• Research Ethics Committee

The working groups of the Research Committee are

• Knowledge Exchange Framework Strategy Committee 
• Research Development Panel
• REF Strategy Committee

Operational responsibility for research ethics will be discharged through a sub-committee, the Research Ethics Committee.

Operational responsibility for research development will be discharged through a working group, the Research Development Panel.

Operational responsibility for knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) will be discharged through a working group, the Knowledge Exchange Framework Strategy Committee.