January 2020 highlights

Package of announcements:

• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is set to remove the requirement for researchers to produce Pathways to Impact statements as part of grant applications. Over the next 12 months, UKRI will be piloting simpler, streamlined application and assessment processes for its research and innovation calls. These pilots will inform changes across UKRI to reduce the burden placed on researchers and innovators applying to UKRI whilst ensuring it continues to invest in the best ideas and people.

Read more on UKRI and in the Research Professional here.

• UKRI is also to lead on the new visa scheme for international researchers called Global Talent Visa: the new fast-track visa scheme that is to attract the world’s top scientists, researchers and mathematicians will open on 20 February. The bespoke Global Talent route will have no cap on the number of people able to come to the UK, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to supporting top talent.

Read more on this here and here.

• Related to these, Chris Skidmore dropped a hint on twitter about launching a major independent review into reducing paperwork and bureaucracy across the entire landscape in research, whether in academia or industry- freeing up time needed to conduct research.

Speech: Levelling up research and innovation right across the United Kingdom

This week Science Minister Chris Skidmore set out his vision for how to level up research and development so that it benefits every corner of the UK at the opening of the Durham University Teaching and Learning Centre.

Read speech in full here and related article in the YP here.

Report: Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) - points-based system and salary thresholds

A Migration Advisory Committee report has recommended reducing the minimum salary threshold for the employer sponsored Tier 2 (general) immigration route to around £25,600.

Read more here.

Data releases:

The Department for Education:

DfE published data on 2017-18 staff salaries by salary band and region - in a release linked to the Migration Advisory Council work detailed above.

UK Research and Innovation:

UKRI also released data on the regional distribution of funding for research and business.

Report: UUK - Supporting international graduate employability: making good on the promise

This report outlines current good practice within careers and employability services, within institutions and across the UK higher education sector, and recommends where further improvement and support is required to deliver future benefits and shape the policy agenda, in line with Action 5 of the Government’s International Education Strategy.

Read more and download the report here.

University Alliance Launches New Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network

(29 Jan) University Alliance launched a new network to bring together universities and businesses to create positive knowledge exchange in order to drive growth through enterprise. The network has been created as a forum for Alliance universities to not only respond to the newly launched Knowledge Exchange Framework, but a means to push its boundaries and encourage growth through greater collaboration.

Read more here.

Blog: Levelling up the economy post Brexit - by Andy Westwood

“Getting Brexit done” might have been the dominant theme in December’s General Election but ‘levelling up’ the economy across all parts of the UK has quickly become the most important domestic challenge for the new Conservative Government. Of course this is rather easier said than done."

Read more here.

Blog: Wicked problems: hard times in old England – LEO, life, love, and learning - by David Kernohan

"The relation between the idea of England and the idea of a university is a complex one. Universities themselves, of course, are a European innovation – tied closely with the history of the Church and the birth of geopolitics."

Read more here.

News from LCR: LEP Board “reluctantly” approves new governance arrangements to comply with Government requirements but stresses continued commitment to City Region partnership working

"At its Board meeting today (16 January) the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has reluctantly agreed to change its geography to comply with Government guidelines for local enterprise partnerships which come into force this year. From 1 April 2020 onwards, the LEP will formally cover the districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield, but with strong partnership arrangements in place to ensure that its work and investments continue to have maximum benefit for the wider region’s economy."

Read more here.

Report: The King's Fund - The economic influence of the NHS at the local level

Social determinants are a far larger factor in someone’s health than the quality and amount of health care they receive. An individual’s employment status, wellbeing, living conditions and income all have a greater impact on their health than the accessibility and quality of care provided by health services. As the biggest employer in England and a significant economic force in local communities, the NHS has a unique opportunity to use its resources to influence the wellbeing of the population it serves and reduce the health inequalities that exist in England.

Read more here.

Related news item: FE Weekly - Call for Treasury to invest £20m in FE research centre

The Social Mobility Commission has urged government to create a “what works” centre to advise on where the FE sector needs extra investment. The plan would cost £20 million over the next five years and the centre would be embedded within an existing organisation. It would “translate the best available evidence and test a variety of approaches to ensure resources for poorer students, who make up the bulk of students in FE, are targeted more effectively”.

Read more here.

Report: Sutton Trust - Elites in the UK: Pulling away?

"It’s clear that there is a growing anxiety about elites in the UK. The politics of Brexit has often been seen as a popular vote against the London ‘elite’, picking up on widespread popular concern in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. There is also a growing sensitivity to London’s role as a major international site for international elites. But are the UK’s elites getting further removed from the rest of the population? This report by Katharina Hecht, Daniel McArthur, Mike Savage and Sam Friedman from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), uses a number of datasets covering 40 years of census data, to assess whether the UK’s elites are pulling away from the rest of the population, not just economically but also socially, in terms of their attitudes and cultural distinctiveness, and geographically, in terms of where they live."

Read more here.

Report: Carnegie UK & RSA - Can good work solve the productivity puzzle? Collected essays

Data releases:

DfE - Graduate outcomes (LEO): region by provider 2016 to 2017

"Thousands of students can more accurately see their potential future earnings, as new data shows what graduates from each university earn in different regions of the UK today (23 January).

The new data, published for the first time, can help young people make better choices about whether to go to university, where they study and their graduate opportunities."

Read more here.

HESA - Higher Education Staff Statistics: UK, 2018/19

This bulletin provides details of staff employment at UK higher education (HE) providers on 1 December 2018. Detailed analysis of the HESA staff record will be available in the Higher Education Staff Data, 2018/19 open dataset due to be released on 27 February 2020.

Read more here.

Announcement on Devolution: Statement on devolution from Mayor Dan Jarvis, Cllr Julie Dore, Cllr Steve Houghton, Mayor Ros Jones and Cllr Chris Read

"We’re pleased to announce that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed he will be working with us to progress devolution.

Subject to the Sheffield City Region devolution deal being advanced to a positive conclusion, he has also agreed to progress discussions on the role and functions of a Committee of Leaders from across Yorkshire, based on the existing Yorkshire Leaders Board. All South Yorkshire councils will have the opportunity to join any full Yorkshire devolution arrangement if they choose to do so.

We will be considering a paper at the Mayoral Combined Authority meeting on Monday 27 January and, subject to final agreement at that meeting, we will be launching a public consultation on the proposals."

Read in full here.

Meanwhile in Scotland...

Report: Scotland's City Region and Growth Deals

"City deals have been positive for Scotland's economy, but the government does not have a plan to measure their overall long-term success, say public spending watchdogs. City Region and Growth Deals have enabled economic development projects across Scotland that may not otherwise have gone ahead and sparked increased collaboration between councils and their partners. Eight deals worth £5.2 billion, mostly around infrastructure improvements, have been signed or agreed in principle, with more in the pipeline. But the Scottish Government has not set out how it will measure the programme's value for money. It is also not clear why some deal projects were approved for funding over others, while local communities have had very little involvement in deals. These two factors have limited transparency around the process."

Read more here.

Legal Insights: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund FAQs

The 'United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund' ("UKSPF") is expected to be the major UK Government regeneration fund of the 2020s, replacing EU funds after Brexit. These FAQs provide information on the key points of the UKSPF and shall be updated by DWF as the fund develops.

Data release: HESA Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2018/19

• First degree courses remain the most popular type of higher education, as enrolments in other types of undergraduate courses continue to fall.
• Postgraduate taught courses have seen an increase in first year student numbers in recent years. In both 2017/18 and 2018/19, the rise was largely due to an increase in enrolments from non-European Union (non-EU) students (see figure 8 for details of these students).
• The number of postgraduate taught qualifications continues a rising trend. This follows the increase in enrolments on postgraduate taught courses from 2016/17.
• The number of first degree qualifications obtained has increased each year, with the exception of 2014/15 which is likely to be related to the drop in first year students in 2012/13.
• The number of other undergraduate qualifications continues to decline reflecting the decrease in first year other undergraduate student enrolment numbers.

Read in more detail here.

Press release: NAO - Government’s support to business

Government could be doing more to ensure that its activities to support businesses are aligned and well-co-ordinated, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The NAO has published two reports today (15 January 2020). The first, Business support schemes, looks at the management of the support government, particularly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), provides to businesses. The second, British Business Bank, examines the impact of the British Business Bank on small-medium enterprises’ (SMEs) access to finance and its preparedness to respond to future challenges.

Read more here.

House of Commons Library

Insight: The health and social care workforce gap

"There is a global shortage of healthcare workers. The World Health Organisation estimates there will be a healthcare workforce gap of around 14.5 million by 2030. The workforce crisis has been described as the worst problem currently facing the NHS, and the Care Quality Commission’s State of Care report for 2018/19 said it is having a direct impact on care.

As health and social care are devolved, this Insight sets out the numbers behind the workforce shortages in England and examines proposed plans to address them. How big is the shortage of healthcare workers?"

Read more here.

Research briefing & report: Mapping Places

This report sets out in visual form, and compares, currently existing ways in which England is divided up into smaller areas, for both analytical and administrative purposes. It is a counterpart to the House of Commons Library’s 2019 briefing paper Where do you draw the line?.

Read more and access full report here.

Report: Tech Nation - 2019: A record year for VC investment in the UK

"In what was another record-breaking year, investments in the UK tech sector soared to £10.1bn ($13.2 billion) in 2019 – a £3.1bn increase on 2018’s very strong figures and the highest level in UK history. Our research prepared with Dealroom for the Digital Economy Council shows that between January and December, UK companies secured a third of the £30.4bn raised in Europe during 2019, with UK-based tech firms receiving more VC investment than Germany (£5.4bn) and France (£3.4bn) combined."

Read more here.

Report: Wellcome - What researchers think about the culture they work in

Thousands of researchers have taken part in the largest ever survey into experiences of research culture. The results show it's time for change – everyone in the research community can help to reimagine research.

See the summary findings and full report here.

Blog: Why the geographical spread of R&D investment matters when trying to level-up the economy by Centre for Cities

Since the election there has been lots of discussion about using R&D as an instrument to level-up the country. The focus on innovation reflects two issues:

1. Too much government R&D money is spent in the GSE (46 per cent of the total) compared to other parts of the economy.
2. That innovation is critical to achieving regional economic growth. We hear lots of talk about the everyday economy, which is important, but it is innovation-related activities that drive productivity and prosperity.

The question is how can policy makers best support more innovation-led growth in the North and Midlands?

Read more here.

Blog: Urban Solutions: five early lessons from the URBACT Transfer Networks by Urbact

"Cities face similar challenges wherever they are in Europe. Climate change, affordable housing and ageing populations are on most City Hall agendas, for example. The good news is that cities are constantly designing and implementing new solutions. The bad news is that they’re still not so good at sharing these. Why is this – and what can we do about it? To answer these questions, URBACT launched 23 Good Practice Transfer Networks in January 2019. One year on, at the midway point, we’re reflecting on their progress. Here, we lift the lid on five important lessons from their work so far."

Read more here.

Blog: Five things smart cities will be doing in the next decade by Cities Today

"As a decade of change comes to an end, what will the 2020s bring for cities? Much of our work with city leaders and governments starts from an immediate pressing need–a housing crisis or a rise in knife crime–but so often moves onto preparing for the future trends that will change all of our lives, and cities as we know them."

Read more here.

Blog: R & D. We invest disproportionately in the first at the expense of the second. Here’s how to improve by Neil O’Brien

"Consider your smartphone. In one sense, a triumph of free market innovation. In another, a product of the US military-industrial complex."

Read more here.

Report: Introducing the YNYER Labour Market Analysis

"The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNYER) Labour Market Analysis represents the most comprehensive study of the skills landscape across the LEP area which we have commissioned in recent times. It looks in detail at the current supply of and demand for skills and explores our strengths and the challenges we face. The Analysis also makes a series of recommendations to help us meet our skills ambitions.

Whether you’re a front-line skills practitioner or key stakeholder – if you recognise the value of skills in boosting productivity and unleashing the potential of individual talent, this Analysis will be an invaluable resource to support your own planning and priorities.

Our Skills and Employability Board will be scrutinising the Analysis, taking into account its conclusions and recommendations when setting direction in 2020 and beyond."

You can access the Executive Summary here and the Full Report here.

Report: Academy of Medical Sciences - ‘Transforming health through innovation: Integrating the NHS and academia’

The Academy of Medical Sciences has launched its report exploring how the interface between academia and the NHS can be enhanced to improve the health and wealth of the UK.

The report calls for the support of leaders across the biomedical research landscape – both in academia, the NHS and beyond – to achieve six key outcomes that will be essential to enhance the interface between the NHS and the UK’s academic biomedical and health research sector:

1. Creating a healthcare system that truly values research.
2. Fully integrating research teams across academia and the NHS.
3. Providing dedicated research time for research-active NHS staff.
4. Ensuring undergraduate curricula equip healthcare staff with the skills to engage with research.
5. Incorporating flexibility into postgraduate training pathways.
6. Streamlining research through joint research and development offices.

Read more here.

Report: European Commission - The 2019 EU industrial R&D investment scoreboard

The 2019 edition of the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard (the Scoreboard) comprises the 2500 companies investing the largest sums in R&D in the world in 2018/19.

These companies, based in 44 countries, each invested over €30 million in R&D for a total of €823.4 billion which is approximately 90% of the world’s business-funded R&D. They include 551 EU companies accounting for 25% of the total, 769 US companies for 38%, 318 Japanese companies for 13%, 507 Chinese for 12% and 355 from the rest-of-the-world (RoW) for 12%.

This report analyses the main changes in companies' R&D and economic indicators over the past year and their performance over the past ten years. It also includes patent-based analyses aimed at characterising further the R&D efficiency of the business health sector and the activity of the Scoreboard companies in the field of environmental technologies.

Downloads:

• The 2019 EU industrial R&D investment scoreboard
• The 2019 EU survey on industrial R&D investment trends

Report: Government Office for Science - Government Science Capability Review

A Review which addresses the capability of government science and engineering, recommending actions to further embed government science into policymaking. You can read the full report on the GO Science website.

You can also read the related GO Science review of Government Science Capability by Assistant Director Daniel Rathbone, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE).

House of Commons Library:

Insight - UK trade in 2018: Trade deficit widens

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its ‘Pink Book’ at the end of October 2019. It looks at the UK’s balance of payments and allows us to see detailed statistics on UK trade in 2018. This Insight examines the UK’s trade in 2018 compared with recent historical trends, as well as its geographical pattern. Read more here.

Briefing: Room 151 - Bonds agency on verge of first bond launch

The UK Municipal Bonds Agency is poised to launch its long-awaited first bond within weeks, with a second issue set to follow before the end of the financial year. Councillor Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association resources board, revealed the news this week at his organisation’s annual local government finance conference in London. Read more here.

Article: RSA - Higher Education, Regional Development and Smart Specialisation

In this insights article, John Edwards and Maria Palladino explore the challenges faced by the European Commission in implementing smart specialisation policies with higher education institutes (HEIs). With reference to the Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) project, they present six lessons on how to create projects that align the aims of smart specialisation with those of HEIs. Read more here.

Programme: The Digital North Accelerator launched

Four Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) are working together to help digital SMEs increase spread and adoption of their innovations across the whole of the north of England.

Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, Health Innovation Manchester, Innovation Agency (AHSN for the North West Coast) and AHSN North East and North Cumbria have together launched the Digital North Accelerator Programme. This will deliver a range of supporting activity to facilitate adoption and spread of innovations for five companies from across the north of England. Read more here.

Event: YHealth for Growth conference - Exploring the role of health in economic and inclusive growth

If you missed #Yhealth4growth conference back in December you can read a quick round up of the key discussions here and you can also access the presentation slides!

Blog: 'Credits where they're due' by Nick Dagnall, Research & Innovation Project Manager, NCUB

"Tax Relief: two words not often found in apposition. Yet Research and Development (R&D) tax credits are just that, tax relief as an incentive for attempting innovation. Simply put, money spent on innovation can be used to reduce corporation tax and/or receive a cash payment. Around 50,000 claims are put in to HMRC each year, a remarkable success for a scheme which received little initial lobbying before introduction in April 2000. Needless to say, there have been many changes and additions to the idea (as illustrated) and there are more to come."

Read more here.

Blog: Leeds welcomes the world? How a textile heritage can be the cornerstone of innovation by A Leeds Revolution

"When you can point to a textile industry that is traceable back to the Middle Ages, and has developed through cottage industries and the mass production of cotton, linen and wool right up to the manufacture of clothes and fine tailoring, it may come as a surprise to today’s generation to know that, although the scale might be greatly reduced, the core of this industry survives. Innovation has always been the foundation of industrial revolutions."

Read more here.