July 2007/17
Policy development
Report on survey

This report is for information

---

Higher education-business and community interaction survey
2004-05 and 2005-06

This report analyses the results of the 2006 higher education-business and community interaction survey for UK higher education institutions. For this year only we are publishing two years' data, for 2004-05 and 2005-06.

---

To:	Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions in the UK
Of interest to those responsible for:	Links with business and the community, Research, Continuing vocational education, Funding, Planning
Reference:	2007/17
Publication date:	July 2007
Enquiries to:	Adrian Day tel 0117 931 7428 e-mail a.day@hefce.ac.uk

---

Contents and executive summary (read on-line)

---

---

Contents

• Executive summary
• Background
• Outcomes and results
• Next steps
• Analysis
  • Strategy
  • Infrastructure
  • Research-based interactions and intellectual property exploitation
  • Social, community and cultural activities
  • Regeneration
  • Education and CPD

Annexes

• Annex A   Full data by region and nation
• Annex B   Questionnaire Part A (strategic/qualitative questions)
• Annex C   Questionnaire Part B (numeric/financial questions)
• Annex D   International comparisons, IP-related
• Annex E   List of abbreviations
• Annex F   HE-BCI Stakeholders group
• Annex G   List of respondents
• Annex H   Full data by institution

---

Executive summary

Purpose

1.   The higher education-business and community interaction (HE-BCI) survey is in its sixth year and is a useful source of information on knowledge exchange in the UK. The exchange of knowledge can take place between universities and colleges themselves and also between higher education institutions and the wider world of business and the community. Data reported here provide invaluable intelligence for knowledge exchange practitioners and policy-makers alike. The report also provides an in-depth commentary on the extent of and trends in knowledge exchange activity in the UK.

2.   This report builds on previously published HE-BCI surveys, the most recent of which analysed 2003-04 data and was launched in July 2006 (HEFCE 2006/25). In the survey, higher education institutions provided financial and output data for academic years 2004-05 and 2005-06 ¹. The data reported under 'capacity' and 'infrastructure' are a snapshot of the position at 29 January 2007 (note that a snapshot position was not taken for 2006).

3.   HE-BCI covers a range of activities: from the commercialisation of new knowledge, through the delivery of professional training, consultancy and services, to activities intended to have direct social benefits. 'Business' in this context refers to both public and private sector partners of all sizes and sectors, with which higher education institutions (HEIs) have a broad spectrum of interactions. 'Community' in this context is taken to mean society as a whole outside the HEI, including all social, civic and cultural organisations and individuals.

4.   The HE-BCI survey is carried out:

• to provide data regarding the continuing development and range of interactions between the higher education (HE) sector and business and the wider community
• to provide reliable and relevant information to support the continued public funding of the so-called 'third stream' of HEIs' activity - that is, enhancing the contribution of HE to the economy and society
• to give HEIs a consistent basis for benchmarking and information management
• to develop a suite of indicators at the level of the individual HEI, some of which will be appropriate to inform allocations of funding in the UK.

Key points

5.   Data from HE-BCI have been used by the UK funding councils and others to compare the UK’s performance with both North America and Europe in exchanging knowledge with business and the community. However, HE-BCI often captures more activity than other national and international data as it focuses on the whole contribution of the university or college rather than the performance of a single unit dedicated to knowledge exchange activity.

6.   The survey is managed by a stakeholders group which includes the UK HE funding bodies, sector representative groups and government departments. As such it has a high profile and formal agreements between the funding bodies and their respective HEIs ensure data are validated and corrected where needed.

7.   The survey is split into two parts to streamline the data collection process and minimise the administrative burden on all parties. Part A of the survey focuses on strategic aims and levels of infrastructure development such as the number of dedicated knowledge exchange staff and support mechanisms in place for both an HEI's staff and its business and community partners. These data are less time-bound than, for example, financial income; therefore we have provided an online database for HEIs to update as and when required. Data on the aggregated strategic development and capacity to respond to the needs of various external partners of HEIs are a valuable source of benchmarking information for HEIs, and provide evidence for public policy development and our submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

8.   The data in Figure 1 show an encouraging trend in the development of HEIs' capacity to respond to the needs of external partners.

9.   Part B of the questionnaire centres on numeric and financial outputs (this time for both academic years 2004-05 and 2005-06) such as income from knowledge exchange activities and the number of external business partners/clients. Figure 2 shows a time series of selected financial indicators from 2000-01 to 2005-06. Data are displayed in real terms so the overall increases shown reflect greater spending by HEIs' commercial and non-commercial partners on knowledge exchange activities and services (considered a useful proxy of final economic impact).

Action required

10.   This report is for information.

---

Notes

1.   Two years of data were collected under a single questionnaire allowing the survey cycle to 'catch up' with most recent data. HE-BCI will continue to be an annual survey process, see 'Background' section.