Higher Education Research and Innovation in Facts and Figures

New report underlines university research and innovation’s central role in delivering government ambitions on growth.

While setting out their new year ambitions for the country, both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition identified the critical role of research and innovation in addressing the challenges the country is facing.

Universities UK’s new report: Higher Education Research and Innovation in Facts and Figures published today underlines how university research and innovation activity can help deliver this ambition by attracting investment and talent, making world-leading discoveries, generating knowledge, and creating and nurturing new, innovative businesses and jobs across the UK. At a time of great economic pain, the need for research and innovation has never been greater.

The report found that:

• UK universities produce world-leading research. UK research is consistently judged to be exceeding its high expectations. The Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), which measures the academic impact of publications, ranked the UK as first among its G7 counterparts and higher than the OECD and EU totals.

• Research and innovation activity is well distributed across the UK, playing a vital role in the government’s levelling up agenda. High-quality research is happening throughout the UK, with more than 80% of research emerging from each nation and region of the UK rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘excellent’ by recent assessments. Universities in every part of the UK are supporting innovation through the creation of new businesses and partnering with large and small companies.    

• Investment in research and innovation delivers high returns on investment and creates economic benefit. Investment in the research and innovation ecosystem delivers value for money, with proven returns on investment on public funding – every £1 of public R&D spending stimulates between£1.96 and £2.34 of private spending.    

• Universities turn research into new businesses. In 2020–21 there were nearly 19,000 active spin-outs, start-ups and social enterprises that emerged from UK universities. In the same period businesses born at universities employed an estimated 96,000 people.

• Universities also license their research for businesses, not-for-profits, and the public sector to use. In 2020–21, universities had over 40,000 active licences with businesses and non-commercial organisations.    

• University research helps businesses and other organisations solve problems. Despite the pandemic, universities have had nearly 600,000 interactions with businesses and non-commercial partners over the last five years through contract research and consultancy.

• Universities also educate and develop the UK’s entrepreneurs. Nine out of 10 embed entrepreneurship within degree programmes, and the vast majority (98%) provide extra-curricular support for enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Professor Paul Boyle, Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University and Chair of the Universities UK Research and Innovation Policy Network said:

“This report underlines the clear role that university research and innovation can play in building an economy that delivers growth and opportunity for communities across the whole of the UK.

“Universities are rightly championed by government for their ability to generate national growth, boost local economies and improve lives. However, this ability is under threat from continued uncertainty over the UK’s association to Horizon Europe, and with many vital research and innovation projects at risk as EU Structural funding comes to an end.

“Now more than ever, it is vital that the government does all it can to support the UK’s researchers and innovators. Failure to support one of the UK’s most rewarding assets would have a devastating impact on its efforts to deliver growth, wellbeing and prosperity.”

Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive of Universities UK said:

“The UK higher education sector’s exceptional capability in research and innovation is a genuine national asset, for which the UK is famous around the world. It happens all over the UK, and in universities of many different types – from big universities with broad subject areas to small, specialist institutions.

“The UK can be proud of this strength and depth. This research makes a real difference to people’s lives. Health discoveries often make the headlines, but research brings so much more, including new technology, jobs, economic growth, and a better understanding of the world we live in.”