Education & Skills 
The Higher Education Commission’s inquiry invites stakeholders to respond to its public call for evidence.
To achieve its ambitions of levelling-up regional economies and reaching 2.4% spending on research and development, the UK Government will need universities to play a pivotal role. Higher education institutions have consistently been at the forefront of innovation in the UK, helping to deliver major breakthroughs, such as Oxford University’s Coronavirus vaccine. This inquiry, co-chaired by the Rt. Hon. Chris Skidmore MP and Lord Norton of Louth, looks to understand how we can best facilitate the higher education sector’s ongoing role working with business to deliver innovation, economic growth and prosperity throughout the UK.
Going forward, the UK will need to overcome the challenges of regional inequality, slow commercialisation and the ‘valley of death’ in collaboration between academia and industry. This inquiry aims to assess these challenges in reaching the Government’s ambitions and provide solutions which work for higher education institutions, businesses and local authorities.
We would like to invite submissions from universities, higher education mission groups, skills providers, local authorities, R&D-intensive businesses and manufacturers, SMEs, LEPs, chambers of commerce, trade associations, trade unions and any others who believe their experiences or perspective to be relevant. The submissions you provide will be used to inform the recommendations we make to government, local authorities, higher education institutions and businesses.
The Higher Education Commission brings together leading representatives from parliament, the higher education sector, business, local government and public sector. In this inquiry every devolved nation of the UK will be represented, with the goal of producing policies which reflect the cross-national character of the UK. More information on past inquiries can be found on our website.
The Higher Education Commission’s inquiry is being sponsored by JISC, UPP, ACCA Global and the University of Salford.
The deadline for submission of evidence is Friday 2nd July. Evidence can be submitted to Daniel Monaghan at daniel.monaghan@policyconnect.org.uk. For more information about the Commission, please visit the Policy Connect website or contact Daniel Monaghan.
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