Transcript Dual Support Reform

The Future of
University Research
Professor Adrian Smith
Director General of Science and Research
Higher Education Policy Institute Conference
14th October 2009
The Research Base in BIS
….works with delivery partners
• Research Councils & HEFCE
• National Academies
• HEIs
….within the Government’s 3 year funding settlement
• BIS sets overall strategy
• But arm’s length from scientific judgements (the Haldane principle)
….to sustain a world-class research base which demonstrates impact and
relevance
Strength of UK Research Base
Second in the G8 for excellence
“International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base” Evidence Ltd, 2009
The most productive country for research in the G8
“International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base” Evidence Ltd, 2009
Ahead of both the USA and Canada in assessing economic
impact
Metrics for the Evaluation of Knowledge Transfer Activities at Universities, Library House 2008
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
2001-02
2000-01
1999-00
Research councils
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1994-95
1993-94
1992-93
1991-92
1990-91
1989-90
1988-89
1987-88
1986-87
£million (real terms, 04-05 base year)
Research Expenditure
Funding councils
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
A time of change
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•
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A decade of growth
Economic downturn
Holding the line
Must demonstrate the
value of research
GDP growth
UK Policy drivers
10 Year Science and Innovation Investment Framework
(2004-14)
• sustain strong research base
• grow higher-level skills
• stimulate university / business interaction
together with a Research Assessment Framework
• university funding linked directly to research excellence
Next stage:
• funding linked to excellence and impact
• stimulation of university / business staff mobility
The Impacts of Research
Improving the performance of
existing businesses
Delivering highly skilled people
to the labour market
Economic
Impact
Improving public policy and
public services
Creating new businesses
Attracting R&D investment from
global business
The Value of Highly Skilled People
A review of postgraduate provision in the UK will:
• assess the competitiveness of UK institutions in the global market for
postgraduate education
• assess the benefits of postgraduate study for all relevant stakeholders
• assess the evidence about the needs of business and other employers
for postgraduates
• examine levels of participation, in terms of who undertakes postgraduate
study, and whether there are barriers affecting the diversity of
participation and any associated reduction in the availability of highquality entrants
www.bis.gov.uk/pgreview
The Value of Highly Skilled People
Supported by external advisers from the university and
business worlds:
• Professor Keith Burnett, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sheffield
• Dr David Docherty, Chief Executive of the Council for Industry and
Higher Education
• Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Plymouth
• Dr Tim Bradshaw, Head of Science, Technology and Innovation, CBI
• Professor Sarah Worthington, Pro Director for Research and External
Relations, London School of Economics
www.bis.gov.uk/pgreview
Attracting R&D investment
from global businesses
During 2008-09, over 200
R&D projects were
attracted to the UK
Source: UK Trade and Investment
Annual Report 08-09
Creating new businesses
Since 2003 UK universities have
floated and sold companies
worth almost £3.5billion
Software company attracts
$30million investment before
being sold to IBM in December
2008.
Floated on AIM in February
2009, with an IPO value of
£40 million.
Improving the performance of existing businesses
UTCs
Research
centres
Electrical Power Systems
Strathclyde
Control & Systems Engineering
Sheffield
Manufacturing Technology
Nottingham
Solid Mechanics
Oxford
Electrical Systems for Extreme Environments
Manchester
University Gas Turbine Partnership (UGTP)
Cambridge
Gas Turbine Transmission
Systems
Nottingham
Advanced Electrical Machines and Drives
Sheffield
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre
Sheffield AMRC
Performance
Cranfield
Combustion Aerodynamics
Loughborough
Materials Partnership
Cambridge, Birmingham & Swansea
Heat Transfer and Aerodynamics
Oxford (Osney lab)
Composites
Bristol
Computational Engineering
Southampton
Vibration
Imperial College
Noise
Southampton
Aero-Thermal Systems
Sussex
Thermo-Fluid Systems
Surrey
Sept 2009
Rolls-Royce proprietary information
Rolls-Royce proprietary information
Improving national policy
and public services
NERC informs decisions to raise or lower the Thames
Barrier. The cost of getting this wrong would be £30
billion, not counting the cost of human lives.
How do we ensure that
research delivers benefits to the UK?
• HEIF (Higher Education Innovation Fund) - rising to £150
million per annum
• HEFCE - QR for research engaged with business £62
million per annum
• TSB – interface with business, £300m funding matched
with £120m from RCs & £180m from RDAs
• RCUK Cross Council Programmes value £1.4bn
Do we have the right balance?
Providing solutions to
global challenges
RCUK Cross Council Programmes
• Planned expenditure over CSR: £1.4bn
• Major response to strategic challenges for the nation
– and the world
• Not managed programmes – but a way of focusing
efforts
• Coordinated impact greater than sum of the parts
Living With Environmental
Change
Global Uncertainties
Ageing
Nanoscience
Digital Economy
Energy
Research
Excellence Framework
• The primary focus of the REF will be to identify excellent research of all
kinds
• Government has indicated that HEFCE also should take account of the
following priorities:
– take better account of the impact research makes on the economy
and society
– continue to incentivise research excellence
– reflect the quality of researchers’ contribution to public policy
making and to public engagement, and
– not create disincentives to researchers moving between academia
and the private sector
• HEFCE Consultation will run until 16 December 2009
Significant culture change
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
-8
20
07
-7
20
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-6
20
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-5
20
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-4
20
03
-3
20
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-2
20
01
20
00
-1
0
Knowledge Transfer staff as a proportion of full time staff in UK HEIs
International collaboration
• The big issues are global
• International collaboration between the best research groups in the UK
and the best worldwide is essential to produce the best research
• the impact of research papers measured by citations for international
collaboration with the US, France and Germany is around 50% higher
than for the domestic average
(International comparative performance of the UK research base, 2008)
What BIS will do
Influencing
– winning support from other Government Departments
– persuading the Treasury and that investment in university research
delivers results
Methodology
– developing robust methodologies for assessing economic impact
– making international comparisons to benchmark existing Research
Council and university practices.
Capability
– building stronger professional capability in Research Councils,
universities and public laboratories to drive up the economic impact of
research, assess it robustly and describe it attractively.
Challenges
Culture: winning support from academe and business for new ways of
working together
Careers: providing opportunities for the new generation of researchers to
move freely between universities and business
Collaboration: supporting the development of longer-term, strategic
collaborations between the research base and business
Communication: recognising and describing the impact of research on the
economy and society
Critical Mass: understanding the need for critical mass to tackle major
interdisciplinary research challenges and compete internationally