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, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Patrick Ainley, School of Education, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Greenwich

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Daniel Allington, lecturer in English language studies and applied linguistics, Centre for Language and Communication, The Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Phil Allport, head of particle physics, director of the Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Liverpool

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J. Ambrose, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Rita Astuti, department of anthropology, London School of Economics

Paul Bagguley, School of Sociology and Social Policy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leeds

Sorin Baiasu, philosophy programme director, secretary of the UK Kant Society, Keele 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

David Bain, lecturer in philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow

Anew Balmer, department of sociological studies, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sheffield

Maud Anne Bracke, history, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow

Bob Brecher, professor of moral philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Robin Briggs, FBA, emeritus senior research Fellow, All Souls College, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

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Michael Burden, Faculty of Music, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Michael Carley, department of mechanical engineering, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Bath

Timothy Chappell, director, The Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Ethics Centre

Hugo Christenson, School of Physics and Astronomy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leeds

Paul A. Clarke, FRSC, department of chemistry, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of York

Stephen R.L. Clark, emeritus professor of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Liverpool

John Collins, head of school, philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of East Anglia

Juan-Carlos Conde, faculty lecturer in medieval Spanish literature, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Paul Coones, supernumerary Fellow and tutor in geography, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Julie Curtis, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Isabelle Darmon, School of Social Sciences, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester

Graham Dawson, reader in cultural history, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Karl Dayson, director of Sociology and Criminology Directorate, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford

Alex Dennis, lecturer in sociology, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford

Luis Diaz, School of Architecture and Design, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Giuseppina D¡¯Oro, School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Keele 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Hormoz Ebrahimnejad, Faculty of Humanities, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

R. Evans, FRS, H.O. Wills professor of physics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Bristol

John Finney, emeritus professor of physics, department of physics and astronomy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 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, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Salford

Steven French, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leeds

Wolf-Gerrit Fr¨¹h, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences ¨C Mechanical Engineering, Heriot-Watt 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Maria Fusco, director of art writing, Goldsmiths, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Jerome Gauntlett, head of theoretical physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London

Michael Glazer, department of physics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Sara Gonzalez, department for continuing education, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Simon Glendinning, reader in European philosophy, European Institute, LSE

Michael J. C. Gordon, FRS, professor of computer-assisted reasoning, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Cambridge

Jonathan Gorman MRIA, emeritus professor of moral philosophy, School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy, Queen¡¯s 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Belfast

Victor Goryunov, department of mathematical sciences, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Liverpool

Iain Grant, history, philosophy and politics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of the West of England

Clive Griffin, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages and Literature, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Richard Hall, reader in education and technology, De Montfort 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Sudhir Hazareesingh, Fellow in politics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Jeff Hearn, human and health science, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Huddersfield

K Hannah Holtschneider, School of Divinity, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Edinburgh

Tim Horder, department of human anatomy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Muir Houston, School of Education, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow

Simon Huxtable, department of history, Birkbeck, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Christopher Janaway, professor of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

Simon Jarvis, Gorley Putt professor of poetry and poetics, Faculty of English, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Cambridge

Eileen John, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Warwick

Justine Johnstone, science and technology policy research, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sussex

Nicholas Joll, philosophy, The Open 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Hertfordshire

Anew Jones, reader in prehistoric archaeology, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

P.J.E. Kail, university lecturer in the history of modern philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Lev Kantorovich, department of physics, King¡¯s College London

David Karlin, department of zoology, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Anna Kemp, lecturer in French literature, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

Peter Keevash, reader in pure mathematics, Queen Mary, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Catriona Kelly, FBA, professor of Russian, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Ian James Kidd, department of philosophy, Durham 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Simon Kirchin, senior lecturer in philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Kent, and president, British Society for Ethical Theory

Johannes Knapp, head of high-energy astrophysics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leeds

Katrin Kohl, medieval and modern languages and literatures, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Susanne Kord, department of German, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College London

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Vasileios Koutsos, Institute for Materials and Processes, School of Engineering, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Edinburgh

Marc Lauxtermann, Bywater and Sotheby professor of Byzantine and modern Greek language and literature, Exeter College, Oxford

Catherine Laws, department of music, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of York

David Lee, Faculty of Philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Mark Levene, history, School of Humanities, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

David Lewis, department of social policy, LSE

Guy Longworth, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Warwick

Christine Lopes, visiting Fellow in philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Michael Luntley, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Warwick

Stefano Luzzatto, reader in mathematics, Imperial College London

Ian Maclachlan, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Aur¨¦lien Madouasse, research Fellow, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham

Hans Maes, School of Arts, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Kent

Shahn Majid, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Muireann Maguire, department of Slavonic studies, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Sophie Marnette, lecturer in medieval French, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Thibaut Maus de Rolley, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Martin R.S. McCoustra FRAS, FRSC, department of chemistry, Heriot-Watt 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Patrick McGuinness, department of modern languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Esther McIntosh, theology and religious studies, York St John 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Monica McLean, School of Education, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham

Denis McManus, reader in philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

Patricia McManus, senior lecturer in media and cultural history, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

John McTague, Faculty of English Language and Literature, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Saladin Meckled-Garcia, director, Institute for Human Rights, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College London

Katrina Miller, School of Education, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Barbara A. Misztal, department of sociology, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leicester

Liz Morrish, linguistics, Nottingham Trent 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Thomas Mueller, professor of mathematics, Queen Mary, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Katrina Myrvang Brown, Socio-Economic Research Group, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen

Karma Nabulsi, department of politics and international relations, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Daniel Nehring, department of criminology and sociology, Middlesex 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Michael A. Nicholson, dean and emeritus Fellow, modern languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College, Oxford

Charlotte Nicklas, Centre for Research and Development, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Viacheslav V. Nikulin, professor of pure mathematics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Liverpool

Josselin Noirel, The Chemical Engineering at the Life Sciences Interface Institute, Chemical and Biological Engineering, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sheffield

Christopher Norris, distinguished research professor in philosophy, Cardiff 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Kathleen O¡¯Donnell, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

William Outhwaite, professor of sociology, Newcastle 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Sarah Pearsall, senior lecturer in non-European history, Oxford Brookes 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Steve Phillipps, professor of astrophysics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Bristol

Aian M.S. Piper, APRA Foundation, Berlin

Bob Plant, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Aberdeen

Anthony Price, department of philosophy, Birkbeck, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Dwijen Rangnekar, School of Law, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Warwick

Cyril Rauch, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham

Aian Rifkin, professor of art writing, Goldsmiths, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Fiona Roxburgh, School of Philosophy, UEA

Srila Roy, School of Sociology and Social Policy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Nottingham

Paul Ruffle, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester

Selina Sadat, president of the British Postgraduate Philosophy Association; PhD student, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Edinburgh

Johan Siebers, affiliated Fellow, Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies,

School of Advanced Study, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of London

Hilary Smith, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Giuseppe Stellardi, Fellow and tutor in Italian, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Bernard Sufrin, emeritus Fellow and tutor in computation, Worcester College, Oxford

Helen Swift, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Richard Thomas, professor of pure mathematics, Imperial College London

Rowan Tomlinson, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Kate E. Tunstall, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Kees van der Pijl, professor of international relations, School of Global Studies, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sussex

Rosa Vasilaki, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Bristol

Klaus von Haeften, department of physics and astronomy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Leicester

Jonathan Way, department of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Southampton

Ian Watson, university lecturer in French language and linguistics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

David Webb, department of philosophy, Staffordshire 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Alan Weir, professor of philosophy, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Glasgow

Gavin Williams, emeritus Fellow and tutor in politics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Oxford

Lesley Whitworth, Centre for Research and Development, Faculty of Arts, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Brighton

Luke Yates, School of Social Sciences, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Manchester

Sarah J. Young, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ College London

Michael Zaiser, professor of mechanics of materials, head of the Institute for Materials and Processes, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Edinburgh

Anei V. Zvelindovsky, computational and theoretical physics, 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Central Lancashire

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