Playing a supporting role
Universities will play a key part in leading the UK out of recession, with investment in research, development and higher-level education by government and private enterprise more important than ever, as Diana Warwick, Chief Executive, Universities UK, explains
The higher education sector in the UK is endeavoring – more than ever – to reach out to business, something we believe is particularly vital in a time of economic downturn. It has never been more important, or more timely, for businesses to look at what’s on offer on their doorstep, or for universities to show what they can do.
This is now a key campaigning strand for Universities UK as we face an increasingly difficult economic climate. We believe that during an economic downturn, investment in research, development and higherlevel education by government and private enterprise is more important than ever before.
Business-university collaboration brings much-needed added value to the economy, and enterprise is now firmly embedded into UK universities’ activities. UK Universities has been very successful in collaborating with business – particularly in the last six years following the publication of the Lambert Review in 2003 looking at business-university collaboration.
Universities in the UK now offer a range of services that are being increasingly utilized by industry. These include research facilities, research expertise, consultancy and CPD. Relationships between a business and a university often start from an initial contact in one area and develop in depth as each comes to understand the full range of the other’s needs and capacities. Much of this progress is evidenced in the Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey.
The most recent HE-BCI survey published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) highlighted that UK higher education institutions (HEIs) received £2.64 billion from business and community interaction in 2006-07 – a 17% rise from the last survey (for 2005-06).
Universities are also major businesses in their own right: they have an income of more than £17bn and with around 350,000 employees are one of the main employers in many UK cities. Universities play a key role in the UK economy, generating £43bn of output per year and creating 270,000 jobs in the wider economy. A recent report by Unico – the knowledge transfer association – also showed the UK to be actively involved in knowledge transfer activities and performing competitively compared with the US and Canada.
But this depends on our universities continuing to produce high quality research. It is becoming increasingly clear that the research performance of our university sector is closely linked to our country’s future economic and social prosperity. The recently published results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise – a review carried out every five years or so on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of university research – illustrated the continued strength of the UK in this area.
This strength, the results show, is present across a broad range of disciplines from engineering and physical sciences through to the social sciences and arts and humanities. This success has been underpinned by institutions from across the whole sector, and achieved with relatively lower investment than competitor countries.
It is worth repeating that the UK produces 9% of the world’s scientific papers with a citation share of 12% second only to the US, and has continued to strengthen its share of the world’s most influential papers. Much of the recent additional investment in university research has gone to support the financial sustainability of the research base. This agenda has been termed “full economic costing”. The basic principle has been to sustain the volume of project-based research funding through the Research Councils, but to ensure that more of the costs are covered to allow universities to reinvest in their infrastructure. To some, this might seem a mere accounting issue, but it has been fundamental in helping to turn around years of under-investment and set UK universities on a firm footing to take on the biggest challenges, with labs and facilities that are world-class and fit for purpose.
The success of the UK’s HEI research has also been underpinned by another seemingly arcane, but nonetheless essential, policy: the dual support system. Dual support provides public funds to institutions in two streams, one as part of their block grant provided by the devolved funding councils (known as ‘quality related’ or QR), and the other in the form of project-based grants provided by the UK-wide Research Councils.
A key strength of this system is that the funding council or grant is unhypothecated – that is, not restricted to a specific purpose – allowing university leaders the freedom to take strategic decisions about the research activities of their own institutions. This means that risky or more innovative research can be supported, when it might otherwise slip though the net.
A sustainable and dynamic university system will mean that we can also improve the attractiveness of the UK to inward investors and potential partners, draw the best mobile talent, and capitalize on international collaborations. New knowledge can arise anywhere and international research collaboration is a direct means of accessing it and increasing the UK’s strategic capability for innovation.
A recent report by Universities UK and the UK Higher Education International Unit shows that we are already doing well. UK researchers are hugely active in interna tional collaborations and their number is 50% higher than 10 years ago. We cannot, however, be complacent. China, India and South Korea are now significant players in global science and innovation networks that channel flows of people, ideas and technologies.
Research in UK universities is not only strong internationally, but also relevant to business and public sector users at regional and national levels. Strength in this area comes from the diversity of the sector, and universities have worked extremely hard to ensure that we do not miss opportunities to exchange knowledge that has the potential to underpin the development of innovative products and services that can benefit us all. The commitment to a permanent source of funding to help make this happen, through the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), has been successful in stimulating knowledge exchange, business links and other forms of employer engagement such as continuing professional education. HEIF is a partnership between the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
Also key is the development of dynamic clusters in the UK that provide a source of competitive advantage to firms and that promote economic growth. Universities are often at the heart of these groupings, providing research and skills to support business and innovation, with a ready supply of skilled graduates. The importance of clusters to economic development has long been recognized. Universities will be fundamentally important to the UK in the growth path out of recession. Working with the government, Universities UK has been leading the way in ensuring that we communicate the kind of support universities can offer employers, both in the current economic climate, and longer term.
There are numerous case studies highlighting the many ways business can engage with universities, whether it’s consultancy to help SMEs to become more productive and profitable, providing incubator space for start-up companies, or offering training designed to fit around company practices. Take the University of Leeds, for example. Through its leadership of six regional centers for industrial collaboration, the university has helped to create an estimated 968 jobs in the region, as well as several hundred elsewhere in the country. Through the centers, the university has developed over 50 projects with major international companies, 150 with larger regional firms and 200 projects with small firms in the area. Like many universities, Leeds is also directly creating “spin-out” companies, which provide further jobs and create wealth.
There is little doubt about the importance our universities will play in supporting business and the economy through the current downturn. The challenge will be to build on this momentum and to prepare for the economic upturn, when that happens. Universities are committed to excel in all that they do and play a leading role in meeting the needs and challenges of the UK in the 21st century.
For more information, visit: www.UniversitiesUK.ac.uk
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