Despite losing US$2 million in research funding due to the abrupt suspension of USAID projects, officials at The University of the West Indies (UWI) insist that the university’s research agenda will not be derailed.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles and UWI Principal Professor Clive Landis acknowledged the financial impact but assured that the institution remains resilient, with alternative funding sources cushioning the blow.
“Yes, there will be an impact, but we do not imagine that this is going to place the university’s research in a crisis condition,” Beckles said firmly during a press conference following UWI’s University Report presentation and council meeting.
“We are watching this very closely, but it will not derail anything,” he added.
UWI was among several institutions affected when the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) froze all its financing on January 26.
The cut disrupted the final phase of a $6 million grant allocated to the Caribbean Educational Research Centre, a programme designed to strengthen education systems across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Barbados.
Landis noted that while most of the funding had already been utilised, there were outstanding expenses and contracts left in limbo.
“We received the letter on January 26, the same letter that everyone else received, that all USAID activity had stopped immediately. And we did so,” he said.
He further revealed that the grant supported doctoral students—many of them teachers—who were conducting research at UWI’s School of Education. The funding covered living expenses for these students while they studied in Barbados.
“These are our students. We can’t just leave them in the lurch. They still have until May to go, and we will support them out of our own funds so that they can live and continue their studies, despite the interruption from USAID,” he said, further estimating that the institution lost approximately $2 million in research funding due to the suspension.
Chiming in, Beckles was clear that while the USAID cut was a blow, UWI has spent years diversifying its research funding streams to avoid dependence on a single source.
“Our policy has always been to diversify the sources of research grants available,” he said.
“The European Union has probably become the majority source of research funding for the university, through various EU projects.”
He also pointed to strong partnerships with Canadian research institutions and agreements with other universities, which often include funding opportunities.
“When you read in the newspaper that UWI has just signed an MOU with another university, quite often, there are resources involved that benefit our institution,” Beckles said.
He told reporters that one of the most significant partnerships UWI has secured in recent years is the UWI-University of Glasgow Reparatory Justice Programme, through which the University of Glasgow has committed £20 million over 20 years to fund research.
Beckles revealed that though confident that UWI’s research will continue uninterrupted, officials are currently conducting a detailed impact analysis to assess the full extent of the funding suspension.
He shared that the university will continue to monitor developments closely and seek alternative funding to further mitigate any long-term effects.
“We recognise that these are challenging times for international funding, and we remain proactive. But let me be clear—this will not place the research agenda of this university in jeopardy,” he reiterated.
(SM)
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