October 2019 highlights

CORE CITIES UK AND SCOTTISH CITIES PUBLISH RESEARCH ON EU FUNDING REPLACEMENT

Core Cities UK and Scottish Cities have published major new reports into the proposed Shared Prosperity Fund, which will replace EU Structural Funds once we leave the European Union.

Recommendations Include:

1. SPF should use a transparent, needs-based allocation system, linked to the objectives of the Industrial Strategy and reducing economic inequalities between communities.
2. SPF budget should not be determined by previous levels of Structural Funds and should be significantly increased. As a minimum, UKSPF should be funded at a level of circa £4bn per annum for seven years, reflecting its importance in delivering UK policy objectives.
3. Flexible, Single Pot funding should be provided with as few restrictions as possible. There should be no restrictions on capital/revenue, or prescriptive allocations by theme, and reduced restrictions on eligible activities, for example land remediation.
4. Government’s default position should be to devolve management and delivery to sub-regions and Core City Regions with sufficient capacity, with co-delivery used for other areas as a transition to introducing full local delivery.

Download reports here.

ONS data release: Human capital estimates in the UK: 2004 to 2018

National estimates of human capital (measure of the “knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being”. It plays an important role in productivity and sustainability, and it is one of the main resources that may affect individual well-being) and lifetime earnings for the economically active population in the UK. One of the main points:

• There are now more economically active people with a Master’s or PhD degree, at 4.5 million, than those without any formal academic qualifications, at 3.4 million.

Evaluation of innovation loans - interim report

The innovation loans pilot programme is delivered by Innovate UK and this evaluation covers 5 competitions for applications, from November 2017.

NCOP: end of phase one report for the national formative and impact evaluations

The OfS-funded National Collaborative Outreach Programme is having a positive impact, according to an independent evaluation.

Inequality now extends to people’s DNA

"It’s well known that some areas of the UK are poorer than others. These include Wales and northern Britain, which used to be coal-mining areas. Now we have discovered that these regional economic inequalities are in line with regional differences in DNA as well – with people becoming increasingly clustered by certain types of genetics."

New research published in Nature highlighting how entrenched inequalities are between regions:

“Rich and poor areas in Britain are not only divided by wealth, income or access to public services. The differences now extend into the very DNA of people living there. In some ways, this new inequality reaches deeper than before. As a society, we have not yet come to terms with this, or thought seriously enough about how to deal with it. It’s time we start.” Read in full here.

BLOGS on the student vote:

Nick Hillman (HEPI): The student vote: does it matter in 2019? Which seats could it affect? How is Corbyn faring among students?

David Kernohan (WonkHE): Will the student vote swing a December election?

Press release: Government backs next generation of scientists to transform healthcare and tackle climate change

Government sponsors new PhDs and researchers as part of £370 million investment to transform healthcare, improve mental health diagnosis and build more sustainable transport.

• 1,700 PhDs will advance discoveries in bioscience, tackle challenges like feeding the world’s growing population while helping people stay healthier, for longer
• the investment is helping solve the UK’s Grand Challenges, by attracting and retaining the best talent and building a workforce fit for the future

Read it in full here.

HE-BCI major review

As announced in 2019 at the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) Annual Conference and the PraxisAuril conference, HESA are pleased to confirm that we will be conducting a major review of the Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction Collection (HE-BCI).

Consultation phase one: aims to gather the experiences of people who are both submitting and using the data, providing an opportunity to express views on how HE-BCI data might be adapted to changing needs and requirements. Through this consultation we will be able to determine the direction of the HE-BCI collection and highlight areas which need extensive review and future-proofing. Consultation deadline is Friday 29 November. Read more here.

ERC Report: Understanding value added per employee in six UK sectors: The insiders’ view

The UK’s productivity puzzle has attracted much attention which has focused on the growing gap in productivity between the UK and its key international competitors. Often denominated in terms of ‘value added per employee’ or ‘value added per hour worked’ – both measures of labour productivity - the UK’s productivity slowdown has been longstanding but has been particularly notable during the post-recession period.

Statistical analyses have emphasised that ‘the vast majority of labour productivity growth weakness arises due to changes in productivity growth within detailed industry groups’. These variations in sectoral productivity trends since the recession provide the starting point and rationale for this report. What are the origins of these diverse trends? Are these the consequence of intra-firm issues linked to leadership and management or technology? Or, sector specific factors such as regulatory regimes or market competition? Read the executive summary here or download full report here.

NCUB blog: The people helping to make ideas have impact

Knowledge exchange is so much more than its stereotyped model of science-industry specific projects between large corporates and research-intensive universities. Its methods and impacts are varied in both scale and nature, as are the people who drive the collaboration. Ultimately, knowledge exchange is based on relationships between diverse stakeholders who are likely to have differing expectations and work under different business cultures.

NCUB’s annual State of the Relationship report is a welcome celebration of successful university-business collaborations. It is inspiring to read about the range of research breakthroughs and industry innovation happening in the UK with partners at home and overseas, funded by the public and private sectors, for economic, social and creative impact. But how do these collaborations come about in the first place? Read in full here.

GuildHE blog: Building blocks

Government attempts to transform vocational education must capitalise on what already exists. At the Conservative Party conference at the start of the month, education secretary Gavin Williamson said he wanted to make technical and vocational education “the first choice for anybody with the aptitude, desire and interest to pursue it”. He promised “to supercharge further education” and “to overtake Germany in the opportunities we offer to those studying technical routes by 2029”. And he pledged £120 million to ensure there would be an Institute of Technology “in each major city”.

Previous governments, he said, had tried to transform vocational education—but “deeds…have rarely matched the words”. True. Finding examples of failed or abandoned reforms of further education is like shooting fish in a barrel. Why should it be any different this time? Read in full here.

The Queen's speech and the associated background briefing

On the occasions of the opening of parliament on Monday, 14 October 2019. This briefing sets out government’s legislative proposals, among many other things in relation to devolution, R&D/innovation, skills. Read in full here. (Note that some of the titles and page numbers may not correspond).

NLGN blog: Not enough revolution in government's devolution plans

So, Her Majesty told us yesterday that her counsellors will be launching another round of devolution. It won’t happen of course unless Boris Johnson marches back into Downing Street with something like a workable majority. But it shows that there is still appetite in Westminster for a policy that appeared to have lost its sheen. Unfortunately, this supposedly radical administration has plumped for precisely the wrong kind of devo. Read in full here.

Centre for cities blog: Using evidence-based policy to fix problems in disadvantaged places

Cuts have hit places with the most impoverished populations hardest. How might already stretched councils apply evidence-based policy to fix the wicked problems that some of their residents are facing. Read in full here.

Richard Jones blog: The challenge of deep decarbonisation

This is roughly the talk I gave in the neighbouring village of Grindleford about a month ago, as part of a well-attended community event organised by Grindleford Climate Action. Read in full here.

IPPR report: Inclusive growth - future challenges: How mayors can build inclusive economies for the future

Inclusive growth is a priority for national and local economic policy. ‘Inclusive growth’ has become a relatively catch-all term to describe a political desire to see the benefits of economic growth shared more equally between people and places. Read in full here.

Cambridge Econometrics: Inclusive growth: local winners and losers revealed by new analysis

Anthony Barker has crunched some numbers to reveal that measures of relative inclusion and prosperity at Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) level in England can mask important local variations. Using the Inclusive Growth Monitor methodology at local level. Read more here.

BEIS Research paper: The impact of business accelerators and incubators in the UK

The number of business incubators and accelerators in the UK has grown rapidly over the last few years. This growth has been facilitated by public funding; in this study we estimate that between £20-30 million of public funding (UK and EU) is being spent on UK incubators and accelerators per year. Despite this, relatively little robust evidence exists regarding their impact.

Updates from Party Conferences

The key issues and policy ideas driving agendas within the parties. Normally party conference season provides a clear platform for political parties to set out eye-catching new policy proposals, with the hope of grabbing headlines and enthusing their party faithful. This year, however, all parties have struggled to get their policy announcements heard above the general din of political crises and Brexit-related news. Read more here.

£88 million to help unleash the productive power of the UK economy

Productivity of UK businesses is set to be supercharged with £88 million in new government investment through the Strategic Priorities Fund.

New productivity institute

£43 million in government investment will support top researchers and analysts to explore how to turbocharge UK productivity levels through a new ambitious productivity institute; tackling barriers such as productivity imbalances between sectors and regions, poor management practices and skills investment. The new institute will be delivered by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Read more here.

Productivity Insights Network (PIN): Making sense of productivity research across sectors and scales

Slides from the 1 October event held at The Shard - London, including presentations on:

• Perceptions of Regional Inequality and the Geography of Discontent by Philip McCann
• Productivity and inward investment by Nigel Driffield
• The individual perspective on productivity by Katy Jones among many others.

IFS Green Budget 2019

The IFS Green Budget 2019, in association with Citi and the Nuffield Foundation, is edited by Carl Emmerson, Christine Farquharson and Paul Johnson, and copy-edited by Judith Payne. The report looks at the issues and challenges facing Chancellor Sajid Javid as he prepares for his first Budget.

• Download full report
• Download executive summary

HEPI: It’s not (yet?) true that half of young people go to university

There was much excitement at the end of September as the latest Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) data apparently showed that Tony Blair’s ambitious target for “50 per cent of young adults going into higher education” by 2010 had finally been achieved, seven years behind schedule. Opinions were mixed about whether or not this was a good or a bad thing, but there was almost unanimous consensus that the target had finally been achieved and that half of young people were now going to university. Read in full here.

Letter from Universities Minister to Research England

Research England has published a letter from Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore, to Research England’s Executive Chair, David Sweeney.

Speech: The future of international research collaboration

Science Minister Chris Skidmore speaks about international collaboration after Brexit. Read speech in full here.

British Council: A Great British export

The UK Government has announced a major reform to post-study work visas for international students studying in the UK. From next year, students graduating from British higher education institutions with at least an undergraduate degree can apply to stay for two years to work or seek work. If they find skilled work, they can switch into the skilled workers immigration route, which can lead to permanent settlement in the UK. Read more.

NESTA: More R&D spend should be mission-led

Are we on the cusp of a big increase in public investment in research and innovation? To the surprise of some, Boris Johnson’s government has continued to support the target his predecessors set to raise public and private research and development (R&D) investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. Reaching it will require a big injection of public money. Some projections suggest public spending on R&D might need to rise to £20 billion per year, roughly double current levels. Read more here.

CITYLAB: The Inclusive Growth Problem

Can left-behind Rust Belt cities in the U.S. catch up to booming tech hubs without magnifying local economic disparities? So far, the evidence is mixed. The concept of inclusive growth is center stage in policy circles, and for good reason: America isn’t inclusive. Gaps in economic security and physical and mental well-being are growing, particularly along race and class lines. But saying cities aren’t inclusive is the easy part. Knowing why, a bit harder. Knowing what to do about it? That’s where things fall apart. Read in full here.

BBC News: UK productivity suffers worst drop in five years

Productivity in the UK fell at its fastest annual pace in five years in the April-to-June quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure - measured by output per hour - fell by 0.5%, after two previous quarters of zero growth. Both services and manufacturing saw a fall from April to June, the ONS said. It added: "This sustained period of declining labour productivity represents a continuation of the UK's 'productivity puzzle'." The ONS added that productivity since the economic downturn in 2008 was "growing more slowly than during the long period prior to downturn". Read more here.

Centre for cities: Future of work - Self-employment in cities

Changes in the labour market and the gig economy are playing out differently across the country. It is important that employment legislation develops accordingly. Since the financial crisis, Britain’s urban areas are experiencing a self-employment boom. But too many people working for themselves lack access to training — raising concerns about their long-term security and many cities’ future economic strength. This report finds that self-employment in cities has risen by 44 per cent since 2008, outpacing the national average by almost 25 per cent. But nearly 80 per cent of urban self-employment is mid and lower skilled in industries. Read more here.

Of these, only four belong to the Russell Group of (self-declared) research-intensive universities. This is slightly misleading, as Russell Group universities had relatively large REF submissions averaging 115 case studies, accounting for just over 40 per cent of all those submitted. Overall, 36 per cent of submissions from Russell Group institutions named their home city.

Just right?

To refine this crude estimate, we read 10 per cent, 179, of the case studies identified as showing local impact, chosen at random. This revealed false positives, such as references to city names that did not refer to impact. To look for false negatives, such as local impacts not picked up by the search, we read 179 case studies that had not been captured in the initial search.

This revealed 67 false positives and 15 false negatives, suggesting that a crude search is largely reliable, but overestimates local impact. Adjusting for search-term errors, a reasonable estimate is that just under one in five case studies submitted to REF 2014 demonstrate local research impact.

Judged by REF submissions, university research already has local impact. The question is whether an average of about 20 per cent is too high, too low or about right. This is very difficult to answer, but given the current policy focus on place, perhaps we should expect the proportion of local case studies to increase in REF 2021.

A related issue raised by the Civic University Commission is whether REF criteria should change to support policy. Currently, research that is “recognised nationally” is only rated 1*, and thus does not attract any financial reward. “World leading research”, on the other hand, is rated 4* and attracts significant resources.

The criteria for assessing impact in REF 2014 were slightly different, based on the “reach” and “significance” of the research. In other words, local impact is not by definition inferior to international impact, but is treated similarly in the assessment and rating of impact sub-profiles.

The priority, then, seems not to be amending the REF evaluation criteria, but having a debate as to what proportion of a university’s research impact we, as tax payers, should expect to occur locally. To be fair, this was the commission’s primary call to action.

Jonathan Grant is vice-president and vice principal for service, and Kirstie Hewlett is a research associate in the Policy Institute at King’s College London

This article also appeared in Research Fortnight

Rachel Woolf: Political action

"On research, immigration and funding Boris Johnson’s government offers much for universities. Now they must be proactive too. The government could be forgiven for not having higher education reform at the top of its agenda as it commutes back and forth from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this week.

But behind the drama of current debates on Brexit, the pressures that dictate the attitudes of the different political parties to universities and to their funding and regulation, remain. The instinct that drove the Labour Party to announce that only 7 per cent of people from private schools should go to university (each university or all of them? It’s unclear) won’t change."

Read in full here.

Rachel Wolf is a founding partner at the consultancy Public First and a former higher education policy adviser to Boris Johnson.

Enterprise Research Centre: Exploring the link between training and innovation using the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. Research Paper No 80

This paper explores the link between different types of training and innovation outcomes using the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. Much of the evidence on innovation and the link to the capabilities of the workforce is based on evidence from the Community Innovation Surveys and as a result emphasis is on larger businesses and on formal skills acquired in Higher Education Institutions. Read more here.

Download:

• Policy briefing
• Full paper
• Executive Summary

Funding for local growth what we've learned in phase 1.

Just over two months ago we (ODI Leeds) started our project to figure out how we could track local funding. Key questions they seek to answer:

Whose spending were we interested in? Whose definition of local funding were we going to use? Had we thought through the complexities and difficulties of the project? What even is local funding?

Read more here.

Research England: Independent Advice of Mike Rees on University-Investor Links

On 29th July 2019, NCUB played host to a launch event for a review of university-investor links, commissioned by Research England from Mike Rees, former deputy group CEO of Standard Chartered, start-up commercialisation expert and angel investor. In this blog, he lays out some of his high-level findings and sets them in their national policy context. See related reports below:

Financing inclusive climate action in the UK: An investor roadmap for the just transition

The transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions needs to be an inclusive process, delivering social justice for workers, communities and consumers: this is the agenda of the just transition. This report sets out the role that investors can play in delivering a just transition in the UK. It seeks to understand the growing momentum in favour of a just transition and to illustrate the implications through a set of place-based examples from Yorkshire and the Humber, before setting out recommendations for investor action. Please see full report and policy brief below: