New data reveals rise in the value of collaborations between UK universities and businesses

According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the total value of university-business partnerships was £4.18 billion in 2014-15, up from £3.93bn in 2013-14.

The data takes account of different types of collaborations between universities and businesses, including collaborative research projects, contract research, consultancy arrangements, provision of facilities and equipment related services, tie-ups supporting professional training and development and income generated from intellectual property (IP), including from the sale of spin-off companies.

"At a time of growth in the economy following a prolonged period of economic difficulty, growth in knowledge exchange income and activity provides an excellent case for continued public investment in higher education and specifically in knowledge exchange funding streams," the HEFCE said.

David Sweeney, HEFCE director for research, education and knowledge exchange, said interactions between businesses and universities "have impacts that benefit the UK beyond immediate innovation and productivity gains".

Sweeney said: "They instil a more entrepreneurial culture in staff and students and generate new avenues for research. This process of engagement strengthens our learning and teaching, making UK graduate talent even more desirable. The cycle of knowledge exchange benefits all partners and demonstrates the value of the government’s long-term commitment to knowledge exchange funding."

Universities minister Jo Johnson said the report shows that the UK's "world leading universities have a clear impact on discovery and driving growth in our economy"

"By bringing Innovate UK, Research England and the Research Councils into the single research and innovation funding body we are creating – UK Research and Innovation – we will help strengthen these links further," Johnson said. "Our reforms will help businesses identify potential research partners that can meet their commercial needs as well as improving researchers’ exposure to commercialisation expertise so they can achieve more impact."

A report last year into business-university research collaborations, commissioned by the UK government, found that the UK is not making the most of the opportunity to link businesses and universities in research programmes. Among her recommendations, Dame Ann Dowling, the person behind the review, called for simplification of the UK's "research and innovation support system", which she said has "become excessively complex". Dowling also said "funding models" should be amended to encourage universities to make their IP available for wider use

On the back of the Dowling review, a UK parliamentary committee recently opened an inquiry into how universities can be encouraged to adopt a longer term approach to the commercialisation of their IP.

Expert in technology and universities law Chris Martin of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said at the time that he does not think universities in the UK do prioritise short-term returns on investment from IP commercialisation over the wider public benefits that could be gained from its use. However, he said some universities could take a more "strategic approach" to technology and knowledge transfers.

"Developing long-term strategic partnerships with industry, including SMEs, can be powerful and deliver significant benefits to all of the participants," Martin said. "We have seen a number of examples of this in recent years. In such arrangements, a university may elect to offer access to IP to its partners on favourable terms and still generate significant 'up-side' in the longer term through investment by its commercial partners in research, research facilities and graduate programmes. Those strategic partnerships might be more beneficial than one-off IP licensing agreements for all concerned. However, there can be no 'one size fits all' approach."

"It must be remembered as well that most universities are charities and, as such, they need to ensure that their assets, including intellectual property that they own, are deployed and used in a way which furthers their charitable objectives, both in the short and longer term. That may involve ensuring that an appropriate commercial return, which can be re-invested in research and education, is generated when intellectual property is made available to commercial partners.” Martin said.