HUMANE: Barcelona 2006

Present UK Trends in Research Policy and Management

Jonathan NichollsRegistrar and Secretary

University of Birmingham

UK International Impact in Science

• UK is punching well above its weight - second only to the United States on most of the measures

• UK gives excellent value for money from its research budget - we are number one in the G8 on efficiency measures.

• For more detail see: David A King, “The Scientific Impact of Nations”, Nature 430, pp. 311 -316 (http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/budget/uk_research_base/page29207.html)

Impact of UK Research Relative to World Average

Rebased average impact (world = 1.0) for G8 nations

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Re

bas

ed

Im

pa

ct

UK

USA

CANADA

FRANCE

GERMANY

ITALY

JAPAN

RUSSIA

EUROPEAN UNION

Data: Thomson ISI® National Science Indicators

Distribution of Citation Impact for Total UK Research 1995-2004

source: HEPI [www.hepi.ac.uk]

0

5

10

15

20

25

RBI = 0 RBI >0 - 0.125 RBI 0.125 - 0.25 RBI 0.25 - 0.5 RBI 0.5 - 1 RBI 1 - 2 RBI 2 - 4 RBI 4 - 8 RBI > 8

Per

cen

tag

e o

f o

utp

ut

1995

-200

4

% of UK output over decade

UK published 680,000 paper with a 10-year average rebased impact (RBI) of 1.24

2006 Shanghai Jiao Tong World League Table

     

Rank Institution Score

1 Harvard 100

2 Cambridge 72.6

3 Stanford 72.5

4 Berkeley 72.1

5 MIT 69.6

6 CalTech 66

7 Columbia 61.8

8 Princeton 58.6

9 Chicago 58.6

10 Oxford 57.6

11 Yale 55.9

12 Cornell 54.1

13 San Diego 50.5

14 UCLA 50.4

15 Pennsylvania 50.1

Trends in Gross Domestic Expenditure on R and D

Gross Expenditure on R and D by Sector 2003

UK Science Budget

£M 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08

Science

Budget2734 3087

+13%

3235

+5%

3451

+7%Of which

Resource 2519 2883 3001 3197

Capital 215 204 234 254

HEI research incomeExpenditure by Funding Councils and other funders

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

88-89 89-90 90-91 91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03

£ m

illio

n

FCs

Total project funders

Trends in UK Research Policy

• The Future of the Research Assessment Exercise

• Full Economic Costing of Research• Serving National Economic and Social Priorities• Serving the Needs of Industry• The Regional Agenda• Exploitation of Intellectual Property• How is Management Evolving to Face these

Challenges?

UK Universities’ Sources of Research

Income 2004/05 Source: HESA [www.hesa.ac.uk]

Source by Type Amount in £m Percentage

OSI Research Councils 927 32%

UK-based Charities 700 24%

UK Government Bodies (incl.Health)

566 20%

UK Industry 243 8%

EU Government 202 7%

EU Other Sources 34 1%

Other Overseas 151 5%

Other Sources 61 2%

TOTAL 2,884

Advantages of RAE in UK• Has provided a benchmark of quality accepted across the HE sector• Major influence in improving quality and output• Provides a lexicon for basing quality decisions between universities• Provides data to assist universities in internal decision-making• Is independent in its judgements from government and interest

groups in the sector• Has assisted in promoting the idea of a diverse sector (except for

the English “genius” of creating a hierarchy out of a difference!)• Has provided a largely reliable method of concentrating £1bn a year

selectively in departments and universities where there is demonstrable excellence

Change in research active staff

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 2 3b 3a 4 5 5*

Rating

Re

se

arc

h a

cti

ve

sta

ff

1996

2001

Disadvantages of RAE in UK

• Has become bureaucratic and beset by gamesmanship that distorts the process and outcomes

• Causes unnatural cyclical behaviour in writing papers, hiring staff which is sometimes inimical to long-term planning

• Induces non-linear behaviour in universities• Has distracted from the core business of teaching and

education (particularly at a time of new fees)• It deters certain forms of research because of (mis?)-

conceptions about their value in the peer-review process• The business of selectivity has now taken place – there

is little significant movement in the top twenty universities after each exercise

The Debate about RAE Reform

• Has the RAE served its purpose – if so, what will replace it and when?

• Can the distribution of funding (currently >£1bn per year) be based on metrics?

• Would such an approach disadvantage the Arts and Social Sciences?

• To move to a sustainable, world class research base over the next few years– Quality is high– But finances not sustainable

• Government expects HEIs to recover FEC for research “taking one year with another”– Knowing the Full Economic Cost– Pricing for sustainability– Adequate re-investment

Full Economic Costing [FEC]:The Government’s Vision

What is Full Economic Costing in the UK?• Directly Incurred Costs

– Research Assistants– Technicians– Equipment, consumables etc.

• Directly Allocated Costs– Principal and Co-Investigators (estimate of time)– Estates costs (£ per FTE)– Specialist facilities, pooled support staff (usage)

• Indirect Costs (£ per FTE)

Who will pay the Full Economic Cost?

• fEC only determines COST not PRICE• From September 2005, all Research Council

applications must be based on fEC.• Research Councils’ price will be 80 % of the

fEC• Charities unlikely to meet full cost• Prices to other sponsors to be fEC or more• We will need to make choices about what we

do if we are to be sustainable

Pricing StrategiesType of work Pricing

Research of high academic value and prestige (RAE benefits, IPR etc.) [Core Teaching]

At least all directly incurred and directly allocated costs

(loss-leader)

Applied research (little addition to HE knowledge base or IPR), short courses, PG students, T contracts (discretionary T)

fEC

(sustainable)

Consultancy (knowledge activity, but no IPR), overseas students

fEC plus (never below)

(makes a contribution above costs)

Commercial (minimal academic benefit) Market price informed by fEC

(surplus for subsidy and investment)

Serving National Economic and Social Needs

• Powerful thrust of policy that university research must be focused on national priorities since 1980s but gathering force again

• Already changes in medical research to reflect this.

• Possible that the amount of state funding for each subject will be altered in consequence

• Greater prominence given to so-called applied research or the application of research

• May have serious consequences for subject balance in universities

Serving the Needs of Industry

• In its response to the review of the RAE, the employers’ federation (CBI) has pressed hard for greater prominence to be given to indicators directly related to work that is valuable to industry

• Government believes that industry should have a greater say on what is funded and what work universities undertake

• This has problems, particularly in the SME sector and in balancing short-term focus with longer-term research with no immediate benefit

• How well does industry serve the needs of universties?

Regional Development Agency Budgets

Total RDA Allocations by Region £ million £ million £ million

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Advantage West Midlands 272 284 291

East of England Development Agency 129 134 138

East Midlands Development Agency 156 163 167

London Development Agency 373 391 400

North West Development Agency 382 400 409

One NorthEast 240 251 258

South East England Development Agency 157 163 167

South West of England Development Agency 153 159 164

Yorkshire Forward 295 310 316

Totals 2,157 2,256 2,309

What do the RDAs Do?

• To further economic development and regeneration

• To promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness

• To promote employment

• To enhance development and application of skill relevant to employment

• To contribute to sustainable development

Extension of the Role of RDAs

• Each has a body often called an Innovation and Technology Council.

• A view is forming that RDAs should have more control over public research funding in the UK to ensure it is meeting regional priorities

Exploitation of IP

• Improved performance in recent years• Stimulated by government policy and by

the provision of new funding to launch projects, appoint specialist staff, etc.

• Key feature of Government policy in terms of serving the needs of the economy and society

• Increasingly valuable to universities but not to be over-stated

Total Revenue and Costs of IP Activities in UK HE (real terms)

IP Income by Source in UK HE (real terms)

Number of Disclosures made by UK Universities

Number of FTE Staff engage in Business and Community Activity in

UK Universities

Income from Collaborative Research in UK Universities

The Management Challenge

• Research is a business and has developed commercial characteristics

• Different specialists now needed to support research:– Networkers (internally and externally)– Financial experts (FEC)– Commercial experts (Pricing research and selling it)– Contract specialists (protecting interests/compliance)– Business developers (sources of funds/new partners)– IP exploiters (straddling the university and industry)– Research park managers– Partnership brokers (managing strategic partnerships)– Lobbyists (making the case with government/agencies)

The Management Response

• Find structural solutions that integrate the specialists and integrate them where research is conducted and funded

• Establish a one-stop shop or portal for potential funders and partners and for your own staff

• Recruit or develop staff with the new skills required to succeed

• Improve governance arrangements to set boundaries not to impede

• Learn to manage entrepreneurs (The New Cowboy - Google Video)

Thank You for Listening

Any Questions?

Jonathan Nicholls

University of Birmingham