University Alliance

Driving forward excellence in research:institutional strategies and approaches

Professor Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor,Oxford Brookes University

Alliance universities: strengths & focus within diverse sector

• 4* and 3* departments with major impact and links with industry

• Research strengths in innovation, typically in areas of importance to the new economy

• Near-market solutions & large proportion of highly rated STEM departments

• Knowledge exchange with business built on genuine partnership and collaboration

• Focussed and strategic in how we invest resource in research strengths

Research excellence:what we know

1. Funding research on basis of quality achieves concentration of funding where quality exists

2. Funding research based on quality has driven up quality of UK research since introduction of RAE

3. No direct correlation between volume and excellence outside some of the physical sciences

Research excellence:what we know

4. Peaks of world-leading research excellence determine UK’s position as world leader

5. Association between research excellence and industrial innovation & application

6. Academics and industry know subject specialists within their area – basis of collaboration

Alliance publication:evidence based approach

Research excellence as a strategic driver

• Driving academic endeavour and collaboration

• Driving institutional strategy

• Driving government policy

• Driving a diverse sector built on strengths

Driving academic endeavour and collaboration

• Dr Rajat Gupta

• Low Carbon Building Group

• Department of Architecture

• Oxford Brookes University

Driving academic endeavour and collaboration

• Principal investigator on £1.14m ERSC funded project evaluating impact of low carbon communities (EVALOC)

• Interdisciplinary team brings together social science and building science based disciplines

• Co-investigator, Dr Nick Eyre, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

• Researchers from both universities• Selected international experts from USA, Sweden, Austria and

Germany• Consultants from Capacity Global and Dotted Eyes

Driving institutional strategy

Oxford Brookes University: focus on strengths

• Clear priorities and goals - 2 principles:• research excellence is the key to effective exploitation• success breeds success

• Leadership from the top and consistent strategic messages:

• clear distinction between ‘scholarship’ and ‘research’• ‘virtuous circle’ of research, knowledge exchange and teaching• central research fund steers research direction

• Results• RAE 2008: 75% + research international, 35% world leading• Increased commercialisation, KTPs, business enterprise

projects, business partnerships & consultancies

… areas of research strength

• Sustainable development (Planning and Architecture)• Sustainable transport (Engineering)• Computing• Business• Health and Nutrition• Global Studies• Law• History• English• Publishing and the Creative Industries• Psychology

Driving research funding policy

1. If you selectively fund research on the basis of quality you will achieve concentration of research funding where quality exists

2. This approach has been proven to maximise return from public funding - even more important when funding is limited

3. Ensures critical public investment to 4* & 3* departments in areas of strategic importance - this is not duplication

Driving broader policy

• Technology and innovation centres

• Collaboration

• HEIF

• KTPs

• Postgraduate and doctoral training centres

Driving a diverse sector built on excellence

• Supporting peaks of world-leading excellence across sector ensures highest quality research is funded

• Diverse research base important for encouraging a dynamic sector and progress in research

• Role of universities that specialise in near-market research and partnership with business - where innovation often emerges

• A position that can, and should, unite the sector