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HEFCE today confirmed the distribution of nearly £400 million from the Higher Education Innovation Fund round four (HEIF 4) to universities following approval of their strategies ^{(Note 1)}.

All universities and higher education (HE) colleges in England have been assessed as having robust strategies for their work to engage and support businesses and the wider community, and effective plans to use the £396 million of funding provided by HEFCE and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) for 2008-2011.

At the same time as announcing the distribution of funding for HEIF 4, HEFCE is publishing an overview report highlighting the significant progress that the HE sector has made in supporting economic and social development:

• Universities and colleges are increasingly a source of knowledge and expertise for a very wide range of economic and social activities. Some of the top sectors to benefit are: Creative and Cultural; Energy and Environment; Health; Advanced Engineering; and Financial Services - as well as the third sector (charities and community/cultural organisations) and the wider community.
• Institutions are developing a wide variety of offers to business, reflecting their own diverse missions. This 'knowledge exchange' or 'knowledge transfer' activity includes consultancy, educational courses tailored to employers' needs and community-based projects. In 79 per cent of higher education institutions (HEIs), working with businesses and the community is fully integrated into their mission; and in the rest, integration has begun.
• Universities and colleges are taking up the challenge set by the Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation of working with small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - 83 per cent plan to offer their services to SMEs.

In its report, HEFCE highlights eight institutions for their particularly innovative strategies:

• University College London - for commitment to a step-change in performance through integration of its economic and social contributions with its mission.
• Durham University - for linking together its local, regional, national and international engagement.
• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance - for developing an integrated strategy across knowledge transfer and public engagement.
• Coventry University - for its innovative approach to developing and maintaining strategic partnerships.
• Imperial College London - for its commitment to two-way dialogue: disseminating good practice and gaining feedback.
• University of Hertfordshire - for its ambitious plans to engage academic staff in working with business and the community.
• Brunel University - for its approach to developing its strategy through dialogue and feedback.
• London South Bank University - for its commitment to measuring economic and social impact to inform its strategy and actions.

The overview report of HEIF 4 commits the Council to new areas of work to further HE's economic and social impact.

HEFCE is working with Cambridge-MIT partnership ^{(Note 6)} to support a series of seminars on new approaches to assessing the value created by HE in businesses, public services and the community and cultural sectors. These events will showcase best practices from universities and colleges, home and overseas, and private and public sectors. HEFCE is also working with the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement to analyse the community and public-engagement aspects of strategies.

John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said:

'The Higher Education Innovation Fund was set up by this Government under the leadership of Lord Sainsbury. Our aim was to support greater collaboration between universities and the outside world in a way that brought economic and social benefits to the country.

'The Strategies being published today show that our increased investment was more than justified. Today's report shows that 80 per cent of universities have working with businesses and the community as a key part of their mission, and that a similar number are offering their services to small and medium-sized enterprises.

'What pleases me is not just the depth of the interaction but the breadth and diversity of the approaches being employed by different institutions. This is because the fund gives universities flexibility to play to their own special strengths'.

David Sweeney, HEFCE Director (Research, Innovation and Skills) said:

'The strategies that universities and colleges have given us to increase their economic and social impact are truly exciting. They fully justify the funds we and the Government have been able to provide for HEIF 4, and our sustained public investment since 2000. Institutions say in their strategies that they welcome the innovative approach we have taken to support them, through the development of HEIF as a formula-based fund released against institutions' own strategic intentions.

We want to do more to emphasise the sector's substantial achievements, particularly to embed work to support the economy and society into core activities, to explore novel ways to measure value and to ensure we support the full spectrum of business and community contributions.'

Notes

1.   The £396 million was originally announced in March 2008, subject to approval of HEIs' strategies, which have now all been confirmed.

2.   The report HEFCE 2008/34 outlines the assessment system for HEIF 4 strategies and confirms final funding allocations. HEFCE 2008/35 is an overview of institutional strategies for business and community engagement. PACEC consultants, who also support HEFCE in the assessment of strategies, wrote the overview, and HEFCE provided an accompanying commentary. Both reports are published today and are available on the HEFCE web-site.

3.   All 129 institutional strategies are available and searchable at www.ikt.org.uk under HEIF 4 institutional strategies.

4.   Lord Sainsbury's review 'The race to the top: a review of Government's science and innovation policies' was published in October 2007, and its recommendations were accepted by the Government. The review included recommendations on main features of HEIF round 4 funding.

5.   The Higher Education Innovation Fund was created in 1999 to help higher education institutions work with businesses, the public and third sectors. The aim is to avoid an 'ivory tower' mentality and to get universities and colleges engaged with, and responsive to, the needs of the economy and society. The fund is allocated by formula based on an institution's past business income and released against individual strategies created by each university or college.

6.   Full title, the Cambridge-MIT Partnership Programme and the R&D Interfaces Programme.