In ‘World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England’ we have said that ‘business-facing’ should be a description with which any higher education institution feels comfortable. An increasing number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) already seem comfortable being recognised as responsive to the needs of employers and their workforces, in ways that are consistent with their mission.
A group of five universities are being supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as ‘third stream as second mission’ institutions (Brighton, Central England in Birmingham, DeMontfort, Sheffield Hallam, and Hertfordshire Universities) and these are exploring how such institutions can address issues relating to the country’s productivity and competitiveness, in addition to pursuing their widely-recognised teaching activity.
Beyond this, currently a further seven HEIs are funded under HEFCE’s ‘employer engagement pilots’ initiative and exploring links with work force development. The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF)—£238 million for 2006/07—is an important source of support for all HEIs, helping the sector to engage in a broad range of knowledge transfer activities with business, public sector and community partners, for direct or indirect economic benefit.
HEFCE’s latest annual HE Business Community Interaction survey illustrates the wide range of HEIs forging links with business and the community (including via the Skills for Business Network) and raising income from various activities, such as business-funded research, consultancy contracts and continuing professional development courses.
Individual higher education institutions (HEIs) will decide whether they should best be described as 'business-facing', and in which contexts. However, several have undertaken action that should make them more clearly 'business-facing'. The university of Hertfordshire is one that has recently done so. Government wishes to see many more institutions becoming comfortable with this term, or alternative ones, that accurately describe their significant level of collaboration with business and their wider communities and the value that they and their partners perceive in such links.
A group of five universities are being supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as 'third stream as second mission' institutions (Brighton, Central England in Birmingham, DeMontfort, Sheffield Hallam, and Hertfordshire universities) and these are exploring how such institutions can address issues relating to the country's productivity and competitiveness, in addition to pursuing their widely-recognised teaching missions.
The Department has a policy of encouraging universities to increase their interaction with business. The Higher Education Innovation Fund, which provides funding to all Higher Education Institutions in England, is a key incentive. The funding for this programme has increased from £187 million for the two academic years 2004/05-2005/06 to £238 million for 2006/07-2007/08. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has allocated £60 million of its research funding (QR) in 2007/08 by reference to research grants and contracts from business. And HEFCE fund a range of projects that respond to, and increase, employer demand for workforce development. Future funding allocations will be announced at the appropriate time.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and officials will continue to monitor the levels of interaction between higher education institutions (HEIs) and employers as indicated by HEFCE’s annual ‘HE: Business and Community Interaction’ survey of HEIs (HE-BCIS).
What is important is that HEIs recognise the value of, scope for, and ways to establish, more and better ways to collaborate with this wider community for their mutual benefit.
Although many HEIs are playing a significant role in fostering productivity and economic growth, through activities as diverse as contracted research for businesses and the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) courses, numerous ones are in receipt of specific funds from HEFCE to support projects, which in itself gives some recognition of progress and achievements in this area.
This funding includes £238 million for the third round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund. One portion of this was allocated by competition to large-scale collaborative initiatives including partners from business and community organisations and another recognised the extent of HEIs’ existing business interactions as indicated by the HE-BCIS survey.
HEFCE supports a range of project activity exploring ways to grow and respond to employer demand for HE-level skills within their work forces, notably three regional ‘Higher level Skills Pathfinders’ and, currently, eight single-institution ‘employer engagement pilot’ projects. There are also five ‘third stream’ HEI projects to demonstrate the potential economic benefits of such a focus by institutions.
The council also funds 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) that recognise and reward excellent teaching practice, and several involve HEIs, or substantial parts of them, working closely with business in areas such as work-based learning.