University and business collaborations fell by a third in early days of the pandemic, NCUB’s new analysis shows

Dr Joe Marshall, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), said: “New analysis, published today, shows that the number of collaborations and partnerships between universities and businesses fell during the Covid-19 pandemic. Between 2018/19 and 2019/20 the number of interactions fell by nearly a third. University-business collaboration is vital to recover, grow and attract private research and development (R&D) investment. Collaboration is essential to achieve the Government’s target of spending 2.4% GDP in R&D by 2027, as well as developing the highly skilled workforce needed for the future.”

Marshall continued: “For the first time, our Collaboration Progress Monitor, which tracks business-university collaboration, revealed the worrying impact the pandemic had on university-business partnerships. Whilst this period saw high profile collaborations form, such as the work to create lifesaving vaccines, it also saw offices, labs and collaborative spaces close, and many activities delayed or halted. What’s more, alongside the pandemic, other barriers to collaboration were economic challenges such as skills shortages, with vacancies hitting an all-time high, and supply chain issues. In no uncertain terms, collaboration will be vital to the UK’s future success. To realise the UK’s ambition to become a more innovative, prosperous and highly skilled economy, ties between businesses and universities will need to be strengthened in the years to come.”

Marshall concluded: “However, it is not all doom and gloom. The new analysis also reveals exceptionally high levels of research commercialisation activity. Universities have put significant effort into supporting and maintaining their partnerships with their communities and businesses. Across a range of indicators, universities have ramped up activity and engagement in a clear sign of their centrality in combatting the crisis and leading recovery. Key research commercialisation indicators, including licenses, patents and spinouts, grew. The number of new licences granted by universities grew by a third over a single year. It’s hugely positive that the nation’s universities have continued to invest in, not away from, collaboration, research and innovation. Innovation is key if we are to become a science superpower: it is the silver bullet to help fuel our recovery.”

About the NCUB

The National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) represents a collective voice of leaders across higher education and business and aims to tackle issues of shared interest. The NCUB is an independent and not-for-profit membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports university-business collaboration across the UK. The organisation was originally established in 1986, and NCUB was formed in 2013.

About the State of the Relationship Report 2021

Published annually, the 2021 report is the eighth edition of the State of the Relationship. The report, which is commissioned by UK Research and Innovation, showcases the strength and diversity of collaborations across the UK and provides an updated assessment of the metrics on collaboration between universities and business.

The Collaboration Progress Monitor (CPM) forms part of the report, and is a bespoke tool tracking progress in UK university-business collaboration. It identifies emerging trends through 25 metrics. The CPM also compares data to a 5-year average to track trends.

Read the report here: https://bit.ly/3lrdANz and read a summary of the key findings here.