Circular letter
To: Heads of Research England-funded higher education providers
Reference: RE-CL-2022-08
Publication date: 28 November 2022
Enquiries to: researchpolicy@re.ukri.org
Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal
Notice of funding
1. Following the announcement by the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation on 21 November 2022, Research England is allocating £100 million of Additional quality-related research (QR) funding and £70.65 million of Additional Research Capital Investment Fund (RCIF) grants to higher education providers (HEPs) for financial year 2022-23.
2. This funding is provided to HEPs to support retention of wider research capabilities and to provide stability ahead of a final decision on Horizon Europe association. This includes:
- anchoring teams leading on long-term, risky, curiosity-driven research
- developing new research strategies, priorities and partnerships with business and others, to retain and develop the next generation of researchers at all levels
3. The QR funding allocation is intended to provide additional funding for:
- developing, supporting and amplifying international collaborations and partnerships
- recruiting and retaining talent, including internationally and at all career stages
- capacity building and strategic investment in research priorities
- securing and sustaining the talent pipeline and supporting research careers
- supporting blue-skies research and pursuit of novel research ideas
- mitigating shortfalls in research income due to uncertainty over EU research grants
4. The additional RCIF will support the needs of universities and UKRI institutes for small and mid-range equipment, which are the essential foundations of the research and development (R&D) system. This funding also targets the fundamental equipment base that international and UK research talent relies on to conduct their research and therefore this funding will help to attract and retain research talent.
Additional quality-related research (QR) funding
5. All higher education providers (HEPs) in receipt of an allocation of quality-related research (QR) funding for 2022-23 will receive an allocation of Additional QR.
6. The £100 million will be allocated in proportion to total QR grant allocations for 2022-23 with the following modifiers:
- a maximum allocation of £5 million – where a HEP’s allocation at the initial calculation stage is higher than £5 million, the grant is capped and the funding exceeding the cap is redistributed among the remaining eligible HEPs
- a minimum allocation of £10,000 – HEPs who would receive less than £10,000 have their allocation increased to the £10,000 minimum
7. HEPs unable to spend this allocation in line with the intended purpose and by the end of financial year 2022-23 will be able to ‘opt out’ of receiving this funding or opt to receive a lower amount. The process for this is set out in ‘further information’.
8. Research England will conduct a random sample monitoring exercise to understand how the funding has been spent, in line with the stated objectives. We also reserve the right to conduct a full monitoring exercise of all institutions should the need arise. We also expect to host a roundtable event to gather further information on how allocations have been spent.
Additional Research Capital Investment Fund (RCIF) grants
9. All higher education providers (HEPs) in receipt of an allocation from RCIF for 2022-23 will receive an allocation of Additional RCIF.
10. The £70.65 million will be allocated in proportion to total RCIF grant allocations for 2022- 23, up to a maximum allocation of £3 million. If a HEP’s allocation at the initial calculation stage is higher than £3 million, the grant is capped and the funding exceeding the cap is redistributed among the remaining eligible HEPs
There is no minimum allocation.
11. HEPs unable to spend this allocation in line with the intended purpose and by the end of financial year 2022-23 will be able to ‘opt out’ of receiving this funding or opt to receive a lower amount. The process for this is set out in ‘further information’.
12. Annual monitoring of Research England’s RCIF funding was introduced in 2021-22 and asks providers for information on how the funding has been allocated and how this aligns to their capital strategy. Monitoring for Additional RCIF will be undertaken as an extra question in the annual RCIF monitoring returns.
Further information
13. Additional QR allocations and Additional RCIF allocations to higher education providers (HEPs) are shown in annex A. These allocations must be spent by the end of March 2023.
14. We recognise that some HEPs may find it challenging to spend their allocation by the end of March 2023 as required. While we encourage HEPs to consider how they might make best use of the funding, we do offer the opportunity to opt out and choose not to receive an allocation, or to receive a lower amount, of Additional QR or Additional RCIF.
We encourage you to discuss challenges and, especially, considerations around opting out, with your institutional engagement manager. Please do so well in advance of the deadline stated below.
15. In order to opt out of receiving an allocation, or to request a lower amount, please complete the online form.
Please complete the form by Wednesday 14 December 2022. We will be unable to process any changes in allocation after this date. If we do not receive a completed form by the deadline we will assume that your provider has accepted its allocation.
16. HEPs that choose to opt out of this funding allocation by the deadline will not receive an allocation. For all other HEPs, Additional QR and Additional RCIF grant allocations will be included in January 2023 funding payments from Research England.
17. Any proposed allocations to HEPs that subsequently opt out of receiving this funding will be re allocated to the remaining eligible recipients. Allocations shown in Annex A are therefore provisional and may be increased to ensure the total budget is allocated. Further communication of the final allocations will be made in January and published on the UK Research and Innovation website.
18. Questions about the funding described in this letter should be directed to researchpolicy@re.ukri.org.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Dame Jessica Corner
Executive Chair
Annex A: allocations for individual higher education providers
| Higher education provider | Additional QR grant (£) | Additional RCIF grant (£) |
|---|---|---|
| AECC University College | 10,000 | 0 |
| Anglia Ruskin University Higher Education Corporation | 220,131 | 73,366 |
| Arts University Bournemouth, the | 23,811 | 0 |
| University of the Arts, London | 247,188 | 85,296 |
| Aston University | 482,199 | 331,456 |
| The University of Bath | 1,329,398 | 846,841 |
| Bath Spa University | 100,601 | 44,972 |
| University of Bedfordshire | 88,549 | 62,932 |
| Birkbeck College | 634,463 | 247,821 |
| The University of Birmingham | 3,133,611 | 2,844,383 |
| Birmingham City University | 232,281 | 72,207 |
| Bishop Grosseteste University | 12,718 | 0 |
| The University of Bolton | 29,067 | 10,582 |
| Bournemouth University | 363,806 | 102,039 |
| The University of Bradford | 221,344 | 128,863 |
| University of Brighton | 470,825 | 171,814 |
| University of Bristol | 3,328,418 | 3,000,000 |
| Brunel University London | 648,937 | 521,467 |
| Buckinghamshire New University | 12,904 | 7,011 |
| University of Cambridge | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 192,460 | 43,430 |
| University of Central Lancashire | 375,065 | 139,800 |
| University of Chester | 178,809 | 41,869 |
| The University of Chichester | 56,229 | 19,382 |
| City, University of London | 685,123 | 265,747 |
| Courtauld Institute of Art | 66,897 | 47,494 |
| Coventry University | 413,810 | 248,366 |
| Cranfield University | 688,178 | 689,809 |
| University for the Creative Arts | 48,453 | 5,484 |
| The University of Cumbria | 22,269 | 7,224 |
| De Montfort University | 331,172 | 92,920 |
| University of Derby | 148,073 | 38,157 |
| University of Durham | 1,610,038 | 1,175,927 |
| The University of East Anglia | 1,311,372 | 1,164,460 |
| University of East London | 158,238 | 54,800 |
| Edge Hill University | 154,551 | 32,656 |
| The University of Essex | 774,091 | 707,580 |
| University of Exeter | 2,057,376 | 1,808,447 |
| Falmouth University | 72,179 | 17,446 |
| University of Gloucestershire | 75,858 | 30,759 |
| Goldsmiths' College | 469,399 | 157,111 |
| University of Greenwich | 414,789 | 200,894 |
| Guildhall School of Music & Drama | 39,302 | 9,624 |
| Harper Adams University | 42,231 | 43,353 |
| Hartpury University | 10,000 | 0 |
| University of Hertfordshire | 407,613 | 179,948 |
| The University of Huddersfield | 528,528 | 273,365 |
| The University of Hull | 458,291 | 239,319 |
| Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Institute of Cancer Research: Royal Cancer Hospital (The) | 938,864 | 868,425 |
| University of Keele | 430,113 | 332,279 |
| The University of Kent | 1,013,096 | 465,305 |
| King's College London | 4,627,210 | 3,000,000 |
| Kingston University | 380,197 | 78,471 |
| The University of Lancaster | 1,515,803 | 1,023,769 |
| The University of Leeds | 3,053,213 | 2,927,303 |
| Leeds Arts University | 10,000 | 0 |
| Leeds Beckett University | 263,533 | 75,250 |
| Leeds Trinity University | 15,363 | 0 |
| The University of Leicester | 1,217,489 | 1,127,766 |
| University of Lincoln | 437,306 | 215,924 |
| The University of Liverpool | 2,264,700 | 1,951,692 |
| Liverpool Hope University | 82,534 | 14,686 |
| Liverpool John Moores University | 497,575 | 233,628 |
| Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | 530,785 | 919,812 |
| University College London | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| University of London | 0 | 31,549 |
| London Business School | 139,252 | 67,916 |
| London Metropolitan University | 78,929 | 17,668 |
| The London School of Economics and Political Science | 955,041 | 652,784 |
| London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | 1,297,898 | 2,269,131 |
| London South Bank University | 174,445 | 91,903 |
| Loughborough University | 1,234,334 | 839,381 |
| The University of Manchester | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Manchester Metropolitan University | 726,509 | 232,083 |
| The Metanoia Institute | 10,000 | 0 |
| Middlesex University | 298,191 | 99,313 |
| National Film and Television School (The) | 0 | 32,617 |
| University of Newcastle upon Tyne | 2,405,856 | 1,952,672 |
| Newman University | 14,979 | 0 |
| University of Northampton, The | 55,870 | 18,316 |
| University of Northumbria at Newcastle | 1,045,728 | 237,289 |
| Norwich University of the Arts | 16,205 | 0 |
| Nottingham Trent University | 479,639 | 170,123 |
| University of Nottingham, The | 3,140,824 | 2,428,830 |
| The Open University | 612,425 | 297,819 |
| School of Oriental and African Studies | 330,248 | 174,235 |
| University College of Osteopathy (The) | 10,000 | 0 |
| University of Oxford | 5,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Oxford Brookes University | 327,798 | 149,423 |
| University of Plymouth | 508,051 | 305,142 |
| University of Portsmouth | 581,894 | 211,663 |
| Queen Mary University of London | 2,404,208 | 2,004,078 |
| Ravensbourne University London | 10,000 | 0 |
| The University of Reading | 1,062,072 | 853,997 |
| Roehampton University | 276,715 | 71,037 |
| Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance | 10,000 | 0 |
| The Royal Academy of Music | 12,986 | 0 |
| The Royal Agricultural University | 14,230 | 0 |
| The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | 65,876 | 16,793 |
| Royal College of Art (The) | 126,275 | 77,249 |
| Royal College of Music | 28,819 | 15,327 |
| Royal Holloway and Bedford New College | 817,503 | 464,488 |
| Royal Northern College of Music | 19,978 | 14,158 |
| The Royal Veterinary College | 338,789 | 259,227 |
| University of Salford, The | 326,111 | 136,621 |
| The University of Sheffield | 2,933,542 | 3,000,000 |
| Sheffield Hallam University | 408,275 | 205,344 |
| Solent University, Southampton | 14,546 | 0 |
| University of Southampton | 2,798,839 | 2,434,632 |
| University of St Mark & St John | 10,000 | 0 |
| St Mary's University, Twickenham | 43,253 | 11,494 |
| St. George's Hospital Medical School | 217,330 | 178,808 |
| Staffordshire University | 100,217 | 17,548 |
| University of Suffolk | 10,000 | 0 |
| University of Sunderland | 100,490 | 42,000 |
| The University of Surrey | 1,123,562 | 872,965 |
| University of Sussex | 1,095,226 | 783,624 |
| Teesside University | 206,681 | 59,870 |
| Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | 13,481 | 0 |
| The University of Warwick | 2,332,885 | 2,365,677 |
| The University of West London | 73,845 | 13,020 |
| University of the West of England, Bristol | 357,150 | 262,154 |
| The University of Westminster | 371,197 | 105,504 |
| University of Winchester | 84,907 | 12,223 |
| University of Wolverhampton | 171,535 | 84,659 |
| University of Worcester | 65,064 | 20,854 |
| University of York | 1,770,378 | 1,457,847 |
| York St John University | 81,496 | 8,215 |
| Overall total | 100,000,003 | 70,650,001 |