The BBC is reporting that funding for a new Institute for Web Science, set up with a £30m grant from the department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has been cut.
The collaboration between the Universities of Oxford and Southampton, announced in March 2010, was led by web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt. Both are also leading the government’s open data project data.gov.uk. BIS said it was a “low priority” as it announced its efficiency savings.
These are interesting times, especially as we are just at the beginning of the cuts and if initiatives as high profile as the Institute for Web Science are cut then one wonders what is next…
See the full report on BBC News.