Russell Group response to allocation of £20m investment in HEIF

03 November 2022

In response to the Research England allocation of £20 million of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) to higher education providers to support business and commercialisation activity, Douglas Dowell, Policy Manager at the Russell Group, said:

“Investing in HEIF has a proven record of delivering returns, helping universities build links with businesses and nurturing innovation, and boosting it will help increase those returns. Investment like this also draws in jobs and investment to towns and cities across the country and helps UK-based spinouts.

“Public investment in R&D is one of the most effective forms of seed funding to grow the economy, with every £1 of public money spent on R&D at a Russell Group university returning an average of £9 to the wider economy.

“The Autumn Statement is an opportunity to put science and innovation at the heart of a long-term strategy for growth and productivity. The Government should retain plans to invest at least £20bn per year in R&D by 2024/25 and be ambitious in continuing to boost funding to remain globally competitive.”

The Russell Group's proposals for science and innovation-led growth ahead of the Autumn Statement can be found here.