APPENDIX 54
Memorandum from the Regional Developments
Agencies (RDAs)
1. The RDAs welcome the opportunity to respond
to this inquiry. The English RDAs share the concerns of the Science
and Technology Committee about critical subject shortages, particularly
in the sciences, which potentially have both national and regional
impact.
The RDAs can contribute to developing internationally
regional and national knowledge economists, based on a sustainable
and responsive SET base through:
— International benchmarking with the
most dynamic competitive regions to evaluate our future business
needs for science provision.
— Brokering collaboration between businesses
and between business and the science base to stimulate innovation,
enterprise and increase business research and development.
— Brokering greater university and
college collaboration where needed, for capacity retention of
disciplines of strategic significance for the economy of the region,
for both research and teaching
— Recognising the different types of
skills needed by the SET-based employees and facilitating coherent
learning and skills solutions to meet these needs to increase
the "supply chain" of scientists and technicians at
regional level.
2. The Regional Developments Agencies Act
1998 gives the RDAs five statutory objectives:
I. To further economic development and regeneration;
II. To promote business efficiency, investment
and competitiveness;
III. To promote employment;
IV. To enhance the development and application
of skills; and
V. To contribute to the achievement of sustainable
development in the UK.
RDAs are business-led and recognise the importance
of a strong science, engineering and technology (SET) base to
developing and maintaining a healthy, dynamic and sustainable
economy through their statutory objectives. This is increasingly
reflected in Regional Economic Strategies (RES), and all RDAs
have initiated Science and Industry Councils to provide strategic
advice from business leaders, vice-chancellors and other key partners
such as research councils. The RES focus on delivering sustainable
economic development, including increasing productivity through
developing competitive, knowledge based economies. Strategic science
provision in the universities has a direct impact on the all these
objectives. The skills supply is one of the five key drivers of
productivity (along with investment, competition, enterprise and
innovation), and the regions are fully aware of the importance
of a strong and responsive SET base in supporting knowledge-driven
economies that promote economic and sustainable development, regeneration,
business competitiveness, and high value-added employment.
In the five years since their establishment,
the RDAs have made an increasing strategic and financial commitment
to the science base. The RDAs currently spend around £0.25
billion per annum on the Science and Technology base. [House
of Lords Inquiry "SETting the Regional Agenda". 2003].
The primary focus of this support is to stimulate business-driven
research, knowledge transfer, enterprise and innovation. The new
2005 tasking framework for the RDAs will include targets for knowledge
transfer (KT) through increasing the number of businesses collaborating
with the knowledge base (including HEIs, and PSREs), and also
increasing innovation in businesses. This will assist the government's
10-year target of increasing Business Expenditure on R&D (from
1.24% GDP to 1.9% GDP). To meet this target business expenditure
on R&D needs to increase by some £12 billion pa, stimulated
by the increase in government spending on the SET base. RDAs are
taking on the new "Lambert" role to articulate business
need for closer working with the knowledge base in their corporate
plans for 2005-2008 through specifically refocused and targeted
resources.
The RDAs have a long-term perspective, working
on 10 to 20 year forecasting frameworks through their Regional
Economic Strategies, and are concerned about the projected shortages
of scientists and the implications for employers. While some welcome
initiatives to address the shortage of scientists have been introduced
by the government in the 10-year investment framework, more needs
to be done, and greater regional participation is needed.
3. Data and intelligence available on the
supply of scientists has led to growing concerns. Royal Society
of Chemistry data shows that there are only around. 3,000 students
pa starting Chemistry degrees, with some marked regional variations.
The Functional Sustainability sub-group of the Funders' Forum
has expressed concerns in a study of the sustainability of the
research base this month. This highlights the need for a parallel
study of business and industry research, where less information
is available. Forecasts of SET teacher recruitment and retention
are raising concerns at regional level. Many large and multi-national
employers that RDAs engage with refer to SET skills provision
as a key factor in their location in the UK and particular regions.
These companies are responsible for much of the R&D spend
in the UK, so if the SET skills supply dries up then much R&D
could move elsewhere, with significant consequences for the 2.5%
GVA target for R&D. The supply of PhD students in SET subjects
may be at least as critical as the supply of graduates where we
do not compare well with major competitors for researchers in
employment. To reach the 2.5% R&D target, an estimated 50,000
additional UK researchers are needed.
4. Where UK recruitment is difficult, multi-national
employers (and University research departments) can attract high
quality graduates and postgraduates from other countries, but
this raises concerns about long-term sustainability. At the same
time UK graduates without first class degrees may find employment
opportunities difficult to find in science based industries and
may look for employment elsewhere. This suggests the problem at
least currently, is as much one of graduate quality as of quantity,
and the fit between employer needs and course provision.
THE IMPACT
OF HEFCE'S
RESEARCH FUNDING
FORMULA, AS
APPLIED TO
RAE RATINGS, ON
THE FINANCIAL
VIABILITY OF
UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
DEPARTMENTS
5. The HEFCE research funding formula as
applied to the RAE ratings appears to have a negative impact for
science departments, through the low weightings for departments
with grade 4 (or less) and for laboratory based science research.
The allocation formula could benefit from a rethink as it does
not reflect the full cost of these subjects or take account of
the potential impact of these subjects on economic development
and international competitiveness.
The cross-subsidy of research funding to teaching
outputs by eg postgraduate demonstrators, use of research equipment
and project work alongside research groups will impact on the
ability of science departments to survive. Universities that do
not have significant research income may find it difficult to
deliver quality teaching. This may be more starkly apparent in
the light of the transparency review which draws attention to
the high Full Economic Cost of sciences.
6. The research and teaching factors can
reinforce each other, since undergraduate recruitment to departments
with grade 4 or lower RAE ratings may be adversely affected, leading
to applications with lower A-level point scores, which will impact
on the universities Performance Indicators.
THE DESIRABILITY
OF INCREASING
THE CONCENTRATION
OF RESEARCH
IN A
SMALL NUMBER
OF UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENTS, AND
THE CONSEQUENCES
OF SUCH
A TREND
7. Positive effects of research concentration
may result if this leads to remaining departments being more likely
to have a stronger international profile, as top scientists concentrate
in fewer departments. Against this there may be some reduction
in breadth and flexibility of the system. A good geographical
distribution of research-led departments is important for good
business (especially SME)—HE collaboration across all regions,
as well (see below) as access for students who wish or need to
study near to home.
8. All universities should carry out research
but not all universities should do research in every subject.
There is a case for ensuring that all universities have baseline
research funding (cf PCFC funds) to allow excellence to be nurtured
wherever it occurs alongside baseline third leg funding (eg HEIF)
to allow responsiveness to businesses to be developed in all universities.
There is also potential for more university collaboration at regional
and cross-regional levels, perhaps through hub and spokes models,
focussed around a small number of globally competitive departments.
This could increase the visibility, accessibility and responsiveness
of the research base to business needs and near market research.
The possibilities for staff in the spokes to carry out research
in the hubs transfer could have a beneficial effect in raising
aspirations.
THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR UNIVERSITY
SCIENCE TEACHING
OF CHANGES
IN WEIGHTINGS
GIVEN TO
SCIENCE SUBJECTS
IN THE
TEACHING FUNDING
FORMULA:
9. The impact of weightings of teaching
allocations for science subjects should be addressed in the context
of:
— How many students and what type of
degrees are needed?
— How Science Research Infrastructure
Funding (SRIF) allocations can be more coherently linked to sustainability?
— The extent to which research and
teaching funding mutually reinforce and cross-subsidise.
A more detailed regional perspective is given
below (paragraph 10). However well-found laboratories are important
and necessary for undergraduate science teaching, to produce research-oriented
graduates, advanced technicians able to meet the needs of cutting
edge technologies, schoolteachers and scientific entrepreneurs
also need to understand and be exposed to the excitement of the
subject at the forefront of developments if they are to communicate
this to school students or identify advances leading to new products.
Consequently it is essential that the teaching allocation weightings
for such economically important laboratory-based sciences as physics,
chemistry and biology need to be high enough to meet these needs.
THE
OPTIMAL BALANCE
BETWEEN TEACHING
AND RESEARCH
PROVISION IN
UNIVERSITIES, GIVING
PARTICULAR CONSIDERATION
TO THE
DESIRABILITY AND
FINANCIAL VIABILITY
OF TEACHING-ONLY
SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS
10. Research/teaching balance and teaching
only science departments. There are some outstanding teachers
who are not active researchers and in principle such departments
could exist, but they would struggle with market perceptions of
quality, and would not have the funding and infrastructure to
expose students to modern equipment and laboratory techniques.
The hub and spokes model referred to above may help, and we would
prefer to regard the "spokes" as "less research-intensive"
departments. These departments might be suitable to teach advanced
technical skills, where there are significant shortages in some
regions (see below), but partnership with the hubs and businesses
would be necessary. For example pairing "spokes" with
research-intensive departments or companies to provide "laboratory
summer schools" might deal with some of the practical costs.
The Importance of Maintaining a Regional Capacity
in University Science Teaching and research:
11. Regional capacity—there are several
issues to be considered:
— Regions attach importance to economic
development through spin-off and licensing activities of universities,
and technology transfer is often most effective at a regional
level. Increasing support by universities to provide solutions
for local SMEs will be promoted and brokered by the RDAs in their
new knowledge transfer role. The retention of capacity in regional
universities of disciplines of strategic significance will be
needed for the current and future economy of that region.
— A key message from the Lambert report
was that the need to increase local business-university collaboration
is as important as collaboration with university departments with
global status. The location of a university collaborating with
businesses depends on the geography of the firms' market and the
level of technology. 88 % of companies with local markets use
local universities, as do 47 % of companies with regional markets
(Community Innovation Survey 2001, quoted in the Lambert report).
Even for international markets 26 % of companies use a local university
— Students who wish to study from home
or "near to home" will be disadvantaged by the lack
of a nearby department. There appears to be a steady rise, of
around 1-2 % pa, in the numbers of students studying from home,
and the incoming changes in fees are more likely to increase these
numbers. Social class disparities in HE participation are still
strong, and targeting increased recruitment in areas of deprivation
will bring in students who may be the first in their family to
study at HE level, and may be less likely to study away from home.
— The increasingly tight labour market
resulting from demographic trends will create a growing need for
work-based learning and continuing professional development. Regional
Skills Partnerships have all highlighted the need to invest more
in the existing workforce as a priority. Even where employment
is high skills are not at a high enough level. Qualified scientists
need to continue to learn to remain fully effective, and there
may be several regions or sub-regions where companies will not
be close to relevant HE departments.
— Not all students are full-time—part-time
students account for around 44% of the total entrants to HE and
95 % of part-time students are mature. There are limits to how
far such employed students are able or willing to travel, especially
if they are parents. Distance learning (pioneered by the Open
University) can make an important contribution, supported by laboratory-based
summer schools at other universities. Provision also needs to
be available to respond to more local employer needs, and these
may need to have flexible delivery arrangements, such as innovative
ways of delivering part-time undergraduate courses in the work
place.
— Increasingly Universities are committed
to promoting entrepreneurial graduates. Such graduates benefit
from structured interactions between business students and engineering
and science students.
— There is a need for different kinds
of scientist, including high quality graduates and PhDs for fundamental
R&D, and advanced technicians (technologists). The current
secondary and tertiary education system does not produce enough
of these technologists with excellent technical skills. They need
to have the ability to "move atoms around", develop
high throughput technologies or help make precision instrumentation
for satellites, lasers, magnetic resonance imaging scanners etc
RDAs are made aware through employer engagement (including science
and industry councils) of these needs. Such training cannot all
be gained in university laboratories and may require work-based
learning, using industry's instrumentation, with university accreditation
of the training.
The Extent to which the Government should Intervene
to Ensure Continuing Provision of Subjects of Strategic National
or Regional Importance, and the Mechanisms it should use for that
Purpose:
12. Intervention may be possible in several
ways, and we note progress has started through the implementation
of the Roberts review and the 10-year framework, eg the greater
support and inducement for teachers of science, and the need to
connect the many small initiatives on SET for schools into a more
coherent critical mass to have lasting impact. However we need
more intelligence and understanding on where to make the best
interventions. Government should not intervene at a local or regional
level. It may be appropriate to set targets as an indicator of
how successful interventions have been. National targets set by
HEFCE could be brokered at a local level to encourage matching
of supply and demand and effective use of resources.
There are several critical intervention points
in the "supply chain":
— Graduate choice—some 40 % of
chemistry graduates become chemists. This is fairly typical, the
percentage for civil engineering graduates is about the same.
It may be possible to influence undergraduate career choice to
increase this percentage. The RSC and CIHE analysed what chemistry
graduates do several years ago. An update of this report could
identify how career structures may be changing, and how feasible
such influencing might be.
— The Lambert Review recommendation
8.2 was that the Sector Skills Councils should have real influence
over university courses and curricula. Otherwise they will fail
to have an impact on addressing employers' needs for undergraduates
and postgraduates. RDAs can also play a brokering role between
employers and universities.
— Careers advice—careers advice
in schools is poor. Careers advisors need support and the tools
to help them to understand and advise on the changing and complex
needs of industry.
— Technical routes—As mentioned
above, schools should work with employers and universities to
develop and promote high status routes for advanced technicians.
The new 14-19 curriculum could be used to facilitate this. Highly
trained technicians are in strong demand, for example many technicians
trained in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories find better paid
employment in nearby Formula 1 teams. There is a lack of awareness
of such career prospects in schools, where the nature of the modern
"technician"" in under-appreciated. One route might
be for employers to recruit technical staff, as early as 16, and
develop them by part time study and accredited work-based learning
to NVQ3, degree and even masters level (Master of Technology?).
Such a route would need to have high status and a more flexible
approach to delivery, perhaps through the Lifelong Learning Networks
(LLNs) being piloted by HEFCE. These LLNs aim to establish vocational
and workplace progression into and through higher education, involve
both colleges and universities. LLNs could provide part-time course
with accredited work-based learning, and increasingly, virtual
work experience (eg 3-D virtual reality to study engine design).
— Schoolteacher support and development—There
are many initiatives aimed at helping science teaching in schools,
but there is a great need to join these initiatives up—to
provide a necklace for the beads—to reduce confusion, and
increase impact. There should be one point of contact for schools
for SETNET, professional body initiatives, Young Foresight, education-business
partnerships, the DfES/Wellcome funded Science Learning Centres
(SLCs) and so on, including, additionally, science promotion,
role models and media campaigns aimed at schools. This may be
most appropriate at a regional level as SETpoints, like SLCs,
become regionally based, and RDAs are exploring (with Sir Gareth
Roberts) how they should contribute.
— The new SLCs are an excellent initiative,
but to be fully effective staff release to attend courses needs
to be encouraged. Schools are reluctant to release science teachers
because they cannot get cover, and do not want to compromise teaching
quality through staff absence. Science teachers (and heads) need
inducements to attend courses whether financial (eg bursaries
for schools and perhaps "locums" to provide cover) or
through a subject-oriented CPD framework for SET teachers.
— Influencing subject choice early—before
the age of 13 is critical, as many students have already switched
off science. Primary school teachers need more support, and greater
coordination with early secondary teaching in communicating the
excitement of science. We know that we need to make science fun
and exciting at this stage, but progress could be faster. We may
be able to learn from parallel initiatives such as Computer Clubs
for Girls. Improved careers advice is essential, and better use
of information technology can show more widely what SET employment
is really like and just how many career options are available.
SUMMARY
The RDAs agree there is a problem in the supply
of scientists to be addressed. We need to understand not just
how many scientists are needed but what types are needed and how
they are best trained to the right levels of quality and fitness
for purpose. We cannot afford to underestimate this need, or we
risk losing the strong UK R&D base to other countries. We
need enough:
1. PhD research scientists comparable with
the best internationally.
2. Scientific entrepreneurs
3. Science teachers (preferably with practical
appreciation of industry and R&D)
4. Advanced technicians (technologists)
We also acknowledge that SET graduates have
much to offer other professions for example:
5. Scientists whose reasoning and advanced
numeracy skills make them valuable in other occupations eg finance.
6. Scientists who become future managers
and leaders.
The RDAs, with the advice of the new science
and industry councils and regional skills partnerships, recognise
that they have a role to play. This includes providing intelligence
to inform the skills needs of regional (and collectively, national)
economies, and through partnership working to broker greater collaboration
between universities, schools and businesses, and government agencies
to meet these needs. Universities have primarily national and
international roles. However there are areas where regional needs
and university aspirations (and those of employers and representative
bodies such as Sector Skills Councils) can be aligned, and these
included ensuring that strategic subjects of importance to regional
economic development are maintained at appropriate levels. The
Lambert review recommendation 8.3 was that HEFCE should "consider
whether the UK university system is producing the right balance
of graduates in the disciplines that make the economy work",
and this Inquiry may mark an important step forward in these considerations.
January 2005
NOTES AND
REFERENCES
1. Royal Society of Chemistry—Regional
and devolved administrations scoping study 2004 (draft report).
2. Funders' Forum 25 January 2004.
3. TTA Letter December 2004
4. OECD data for 2001.
|
| Researchers per 1,000 total
employment
|
|
| UK | 5.5 |
| EU average | 5.8
|
| Germany | 6.7
|
| France | 7.1
|
| USA | 8.6 |
| Sweden | 10.6
|
| Finland | 15.8
|
|
5. NWDA are collecting data on the changes across different
science UOAs since 2000, and the management response in different
universities.
6. University of Lille hub and spokes model. IUT lecturers
carry out research on Lille campuses during vacations.
7. HEFCE regional consultant 2004.
8. HESA data for 2003-03 entry to HE. For England there
were 227,260 part-time entrants (95% mature) and 293,395 entrants.
9. Pfizer's scheme with the University of Greenwich.
Students are taught one day a week in the Pfizer training centre
and attend intensive laboratory weeks at the university for the
first two years of undergraduate study (to HNC level).
10. There are many good examples including the Science
Enterprise Centre at Oxford where science students are encouraged
to work with MBA students in the Business Plan Competition. From
the US, examples include the Dingman School of Entrepreneurship
at the University of Maryland where business, engineering and
science students share a dorm and work together, and the highly
innovative Olin College of Engineering in Boston which integrates
a project-based approach to learning with entrepreneurship studies
(and the arts) at Babson College.
11. National Institute of Social and Economic Research
report (Geoff Mason) to the Royal Society of Chemistry and the
Council for Industry and Higher Education. March 1998.
12. For example the "e-Skills degree" in Information
Technology Management. SEEDA and e-Skills UK have worked with
universities to develop a degree course to meet employer needs
more closely.
13. For example Project VIEW (Virtual Interactive Employer
Workplace) under development. Addenbrookes Hospital has a road
show to emphasise how many different occupations there are for
scientists in the health service (ca 46).
14. Examples include Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G)
was developed be SEEDA and e-Skills UK to promote enthusiasm for
computing and the application of IT for 11-12 year old girls.
Nearly 4000 girls enrolled in the pilot. The success of the scheme
has led DfES to fund rollout to all regions.
|
