As 2027 approaches, senior leaders are facing another year of uncertainty across the research enterprise. Steep declines in applications and admissions of international graduate students portend both short- and long-term gaps in the talent pipeline. Ongoing volatility regarding the terms and conditions of federal grants create budgetary landmines, while concerns about research integrity and public confidence are sharpening the need to protect trust in scholarly work. At the same time, researchers are adopting AI across the research process faster than institutions can establish shared expectations for its use.

These issues reveal a need for coordinated action across the sector to sustain the research workforce, strengthen the practices and relationships that make research trustworthy, and to build and socialize consensual norms and governance processes for AI. Last week, Ithaka S+R released a major new report, based on a survey of 4,003 US researchers, that provides timely, evidence-based, insights to support institutions as they navigate these challenges.

Key findings include:

  • AI creates both division and a shared baseline: Researchers disagree about AI’s role, but many see disclosure as essential; responsibility for oversight is spread across the research community.
  • Federal funding remains critical: Researchers’ access to resources varies, and institutions have limited capacity to offset a sustained reduction in federal support.
  • Libraries and collaboration provide stability: Researchers value institutional support, especially library services, while collaboration connects faculty, staff, and students.
  • Research contributions extend beyond publications: Peer-reviewed articles remain central, but teaching materials, mentoring, peer review, and other professional services also sustain scholarship.

The report’s recommendations for research offices translate into four practical actions:

  • Plan for funding disruptions: Set transparent criteria for bridge funding, internal grants, and shared resources, prioritizing researchers, teams, and facilities most exposed to interruptions.
  • Make collaboration easier: Simplify agreements and compliance processes, help researchers find collaborators, and reduce barriers for students, staff, and librarians—with clear expectations for roles, credit, compensation, and mentorship.
  • Bring libraries into research planning: Include library leaders in decisions about research strategy, scholarly communication, support services, and responses to funding changes.
  • Coordinate AI governance across campus: Lead shared policies for AI use throughout the research life cycle, involving faculty, libraries, IT, legal counsel, and research integrity staff.

Looking ahead

Later this fall, we will publish initial recommendations about supporting international research collaboration during a period of increased geopolitical competition and heightened concerns over national security, drawn from a recent two-day convening of experts funded by the Henry C. Luce Foundation. “Supporting International Values in the Research Enterprise” is a multi-year project focused on balancing shifting compliance requirements while sustaining an open, global, research enterprise.

We are developing several projects focused on governance of AI use in the conduct and presentation of research to protect the integrity of the scholarly record, and considering research and implementation work to strengthen community engaged research threatened by federal funding disruptions.