NCUB: university-business R&D funding focused on too few institutions
28 Apr 2025
The National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) has warned that R&D investment is over reliant on a small number of institutions.
Head of policy and engagement Rosalind Gill said university-business collaboration had risen impressively during the last two decades.
However, she warned that the stability of the system and the ability to build on that success could be threatened if more institutions and investors could not participate fully.
“We’ve only begun to tap into the full potential of these partnerships. A handful of institutions are currently responsible for a disproportionate share of the growth, and the system as a whole remains susceptible to external shocks and instability,” she cautioned.
“To unlock the next level of progress, we must ensure that all parts of the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem are empowered to collaborate, grow, and maximise their impact.”
This would mean reducing financial pressure on universities, implementing reforms that attract private sector investment, and widening access to resources, insisted Gill.
In its new report Unlocking Innovation, NCUB estimates income from academia and business collaboration increased 62% over 20 years.
In 2004 this stood at £900 million but had risen to £1.5 billion by 2023, suggesting universities played “an increasingly vital role” in driving innovation.
Contract services and intellectual property were the main drivers of this rise, says the report, accounting for 86% of the overall increase.
However, income returns were susceptible to dipping during economic downturns, with both the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic exerting a negative impact.
Another concern was the concentration of collaboration income amongst universities, with almost 80% of money generated by the leading 20% of universities.
Earlier in April, Gill cited Office of National Statistics data that revealed public funded R&D in the UK rose by nearly a third during the last decade, outstripping the US, Japan and Canada.
Despite this, cautioned Gill, the UK’s actual levels of investment trailed those of its key global competitors.
