The Impact Initiative

ESRC Festival of Social Science Seminar Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

12th March 2010

Ursula Kelly University of Strathclyde

Joint Coordinator, with Professor Peter McGregor, of the Impact of Higher Education Institutions on regional economies initiative

Outline• Introduction – importance of research on the economic and social role of higher education• Economic significance of Higher Education Institutions in Yorkshire and the Humber• Overview of the Impact Initiative

Importance of research on higher education’s social and economic role

• Research on aspects of the economic role of HE going back to the 1990s. •Increasing interest from policy makers and funders in how higher education can contribute to the economy and society , seeking evidence of ‘Impact’

- To evaluate return on public investment - To assist in resource allocation - To enable evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness

Higher Education Institutions in Yorkshire and the Humber

•11 Higher Education Institutions

•Around 192,000 HE students

•Providing 27,719 FTE ( full time equivalent) jobs

•Annual Turnover: £1.8 billion

•65% income from Public Sector 35% from the private sector and international sources

•HEI export earnings: £216 million

•Over 26,600 international students attracted, spending over £181 million outside the universities

•Source: Derived from HESA ‘Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2007/08’

Yorkshire & the Humber Higher Education Institutions: Income

Source: Derived from HESA ‘Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2007/08’’

Yorkshire & the Humber Higher Education Institutions Income 2007/08 ( Total £1.8 billion)

Core Public52%

Other Public13%

UKPrivate23%

International12%

Jobs (FTE) generated

Jobs (FTE) generated by Yorkshire and the Humber HEIs 2007/08 (Total 55,690)

HEIs49%

Rest of UK11%

Rest of Yorkshire &

Humber40%

Yorkshire & the Humber HEIs: Output generated

Total output generated by Yorkshire & the Humber HEIs 2007/08

Yorkshire & Humber HEIs own output

42%

Output in other Yorkshire &

Humber industries

42%

Output in Rest of UK16%

The ‘Impact’ Initiative – UK wide initiative lasting 3 years

•Jointly Funded & Peer Reviewed Research initiative

•Not commissioned consultancy

•9 different projects involving researchers from over 17 universities spread across the UK

•Coordinated by the University of Strathclyde

Initiative Objectives•To advance understanding of the social and economic impact of higher education institutions on their regions

•For research funded by the initiative to inform future policy formulation by range of stakeholders

• Seeking holistic approach, covering a range of different aspects of higher education and its contribution to both the economy and society. Four broad themes:

- Regional Competitiveness - Students and graduates - University-Business Links - Social and community engagement - Plus the overall impact project

Timescales

Six projects finished. Some still in ‘writing up’ stage.Investigating business-university innovation linkages (Simpson et al, IFS) The Impact of economics and quality of life on graduate flows (Cowling et al, IES)Students as Catalysts of City and Regional Growth (Munro et al, Glasgow) Impact of Research and Innovation Networks on regional competitiveness (Howells et al, Manchester) University-Industry Knowledge Exchange (Kitson et al Cambridge)

Three projects finishing Spring 2010 HE and regional transformation (the HEART) project (Brennan et al, Open University) HEI Knowledge and regional competitiveness (Huggins et al, Cardiff) Universities and community engagement (Benneworth et al, Newcastle)

One project finishing Summer 2010 The overall Impact of higher education institutions (McGregor et al, Strathclyde)

Where we are now •Outputs flowing from the projects•Today we are launching new ‘User-friendly’ research brief series - 4 today, many more to follow•Major Conference debating all of the issues surrounding HEIs and economic and social Impact to be held this November 16th and 17th in Edinburgh.•All welcome