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Postgraduate research funding from 2012-13
Board decisions and consultation outcomes have been published.
Research degree programmes
We support research degree programmes (RDPs) as part of our quality-related (QR) funding. RDP funding is designed to support the costs incurred by higher education institutions in supervising students in this area, and is one of a number of funding sources that institutions will draw on.
The current arrangements
Allocations from this funding are made by reference to numbers of home and EU postgraduate research students registered in units eligible for research funding following RAE 2008.
We calculated the initial value of RDP funding by reference to the other sources of funding that institutions draw upon and evidence of the costs and average length of RDPs. This evidence is set out in an independent study into the costs of training and supervising postgraduate research students by JM Consulting.
The current arrangements for funding RDPs follow proposals we set out in our 2003 review of research funding method (HEFCE 2003/38).
Funds available for institutions in 2011-12
The total value of the RDP supervision funding in 2011-12 is approximately £205 million.
Allocations within this total are made by reference to numbers of eligible research students reported to us in the 2010 Research Activity Survey and are cost-weighted according to subject area.
Cost weightings reflect the three subject cost bands we use in allocating mainstream QR funding, which were validated by the findings of the JM Consulting study.
Allocations in 2011-12 for full-time students in each of the three research cost bands are set out in the table below. Allocations for part-time students are made pro-rata. These figures exclude the extra contributions we make in recognition of the costs of provision in London. These are paid at our standard rate for research funding (an extra 8 per cent for institutions in outer London and 12 per cent for institutions in inner London).
Final institutional allocations are available in the 2011 grant letter to institutions.
| Band A | Band B | Band C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation per student, per annum | £5,515 | £4,481 | £3,447 |
The average length of postgraduate research programmes was found by JM Consulting to be 3.5 years for full-time students. To avoid undue administrative complications, we profile allocations (for the full programme) over a period of three years for full-time students or six years for part-time students.
Consultation on allocation method from 2012-13
We recently consulted on proposed changes to the allocation method for RDP supervision fund from 2012.
In this consultation we invited comments on proposals:
- to increase the value of the RDP supervision fund by up to £35 million
- for options to link the allocation of RDP supervision funding to quality
- that the value of an institution's RDP grant relative to its mainstream QR grant provides a useful indicator of the sustainability of postgraduate supervisory activity at whole-institution level.
Consultation on allocation method for postgraduate research funding
Consultation outcomes
We received just over 100 responses from higher education institutions (HEIs), professional, statutory and regulatory bodies, sector mission groups and others.
The consultation presented two approaches to link the funding to quality: setting a threshold below which departments would receive no funding; or using a quality score based on a department's RAE quality profile. Neither was felt to be ideal: the threshold approach had little support, and significant concerns were raised about our approach to calculating the quality score. However, a number of respondents suggested an alternative approach to calculation of a quality score which considered the amount of 3* and * activity as a proportion of total activity.
Read the complete summary of responses to the consultation
In October the Board considered the points raised and made in-principle decisions about how to allocate the RDP supervision fund from 2012-13; these are subject to a final decision after we receive our annual grant letter from the Secretary of State.
The Board's initial decisions are:
- for 2012-13 we will increase the value of the RDP supervision fund by £35 million
- the two options outlined in the consultation document will not be considered further as possible methods for allocating the fund
- the allocation method will take account of the amount of 3* and 4* activity as a proportion of total activity at 2* quality and above
- the maximum amount of funding per student full-time equivalent per annum will be capped at 30 per cent cash above the level in 2011-12.
The Board paper can be read in full (Item 7).
Worked example of the allocation method for RDP supervision funding
[ Download Worked example of the allocation method for RDP supervision funding as MS Excel 29K ]
Sector impact assessment
In developing the allocation method for postgraduate research funding within our broader approach to QR funding, we have formally assessed its impact on the higher education sector in terms of regulatory burden, equality and diversity, and sustainable development.
Sector impact assessment of QR research funding and RDP supervision funding
[ Download SIA of QR research funding and RDP supervision funding asAdobe PDF 81K | Download SIA of QR research funding and RDP supervision funding asMS Word 62K ]
Last updated 8 December 2011