| 22 October 2007 |  |
| To | Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions Heads of universities in Northern Ireland |
| Direct Line | 0117 931 7300 |
| Direct Fax | 0117 931 7203 |
Circular letter number 29/2007
For further information contact Adrian Day, tel 0117 931 7428, e-mail a.day@hefce.ac.uk
Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal
HE-Business and community interaction survey 2006-07
1. I am writing to let you know the arrangements for the 2007 annual survey of interactions between higher education institutions (HEIs) and business and the wider community, and to ask for your help in ensuring that the survey is completed fully and on time. The survey will be available online from 26 October 2007, and responses are due by Monday 14 January 2008.
2. This is the seventh such survey conducted on behalf of all UK higher education funding bodies, and the fourth using the improved format. HE-BCI data from 2003-04 were used in calculating the formula allocation of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), and providing such data is a condition of grant between HEIs and HEFCE.
3. The questionnaire remains largely unchanged from last year, apart from minor improvements to the guidance and some additional frequently asked questions.
4. The survey will be available on the HEFCE extranet, in two parts. Part A is an online database with questions relating to institutional strategy and capacity. These data are relatively stable and need be updated only where changes have taken place - thus minimising the administrative burden. We will extract the information for publication at the same time as Part B, so it is important that all updates are made by Monday 14 January 2008.
5. Numerical and financial data, based on academic year 2006-07, should be returned in Part B, a Microsoft Excel document. We expect to have these data available to inform further allocations from the HEIF. It is vital that the deadline for responses is met and that all HEIs are able to respond swiftly to any validation queries following submission, as any delay in submission and validation will have a knock-on affect for the whole sector and all users of HE-BCI data.
6. Details and access codes for the HEFCE extranet are at Annex A, which will be of primary interest to your institution's HE-BCI contact (to whom this letter is copied). The most recent report (for data from academic years 2004-05 and 2005-06) is HEFCE 2007/17.
7. If you have any queries about the survey, please contact Adrian Day (a.day@hefce.ac.uk).
Thank you for your support and co-operation.
Yours sincerely
Professor David Eastwood
Chief Executive
cc: HE-BCI Contact
Download
Annex A
[ MS Word 62K | Zipped Word 15K | Adobe PDF 31K | Zipped PDF 21K ]