The University of Otago is not ''unduly concerned'' about a drop in external research funding of almost $1.3 million compared with last year.
The drop was revealed in a report tabled at a university council meeting this week, which also showed income from tuition fees had dropped in the wake of lower student numbers.
External funding for research, which included government grants and funding from charitable trusts, stood at $19.54 million in the year to March, which was $1.292 million (6.6%) lower than last year and $1.46 million (6.8%) less than predicted when the university set this year's budget.
The report said continued decline in research activity, mainly in the Division of Health Sciences, was to blame for the drop in income. The total number of research projects was down from 1107 last year to 1075 this year.
Otago University deputy vice-chancellor, research and enterprise, Prof Richard Blaikie said it was not ''unduly concerned'' about the drop in research income. The drop came amid a difficult time for getting research funding.
''We are in a highly competitive research environment. Many of our funders have been subject to severe constraints around their ability to fund as much research as they would like or at the levels they would like,'' Prof Blaikie said.
When it came to health sciences there had been increased calls from other research providers for funding, but he pointed out the university retained its position as the leading recipient of Health Research Council funding last year.
''Other health funders include ministries and charitable foundations, and their funding has also been tightly constrained due to national and global financial circumstances,'' he said.
The situation would likely improve, with research staff ''actively pursuing new opportunities for funding all the time''.
''The newly announced National Science Challenges, for example, will see $133.5 million of new funding go into areas of national importance where Otago researchers have leadership positions or are active collaborators in strong national and international teams,'' he said.
