Research England commissioned an independent review of its Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) programme in 2022.
The review was completed with the final report published in February 2025.
This evaluation of HEIF aimed to assess the fund’s effectiveness and impact over the period from 2008 to 2020. The primary objective was to gain a comprehensive understanding of how HEIF has supported KE activities and contributed to broader societal and economic impact, aligning with UK government priorities, by evidencing key impact pathways.
The project was complemented by a separate ‘Quantitative assessment of the return on investment of Research England’s higher education innovation fund (HEIF)’ conducted by Tomas Coates Ulrichsen, Director, UCI Policy Evidence Unit, University of Cambridge. This quantitative evaluation assessed the economic impacts of HEIF, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the fund’s impacts.
See the report under ‘Other UCI-relevant articles and reports’ in the UCI Publications Library).
Why we evaluated HEIF
UK Research and Innovation has a responsibility to maximise value and outcomes from public money. This includes the Higher Education Innovation Funding delivered by Research England.
HEIF is Research England’s main funding stream for knowledge exchange. It aims to deliver economic and societal impact and government priorities by:
- embedding culture and capacity and developing capabilities for knowledge exchange across the higher education sector
- supporting delivery of high-performance knowledge exchange activities
- incentivising higher education providers to be strategic actors
The last full evaluation of HEIF was in 2008. This project provided an update on that evaluation. It used the latest theory-based methodology to examine the achievements delivered through HEIF.
What we evaluated
This evaluation looked at the outcomes achieved by HEIF-allocated funding between 2008 and 2020. It reviewed how the programme:
- drives strategy and change within higher education providers, to deliver on government priorities
- delivers value for the UK
This was achieved by developing and testing a programme theory to get insights on how HEIF operates on the ground between funded higher education providers and their knowledge exchange partners in various contexts and situations.
How the project was run
The evaluation project ran from November 2022 until summer 2024. It comprised three distinct strands of work.
Phase one (three months): this phase comprised the design and development of the methodology for the evaluation, which considered relevant burden and benefits.
Phase two (12 months): this phase involved deploying the methodology selected in phase one.
Phase three (three months): this phase summarised the findings and developed conclusions and recommendations for a final report. The report outcomes were disseminated in a range of formats to support funding, policy and higher education provider development.
Research England procured an external supplier to deliver the whole evaluation.
How the project was governed
Research England’s executive group was the programme board for the HEIF evaluation. The group was responsible for overseeing the programme and sharing information with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and other government stakeholders.
The evaluation project team was advised by an independent HEIF evaluation expert advisory group, who offered relevant insights and expertise. The advisory group:
- gave advice on the design and tender of the evaluation, how it was conducted, and how findings were disseminated
- provided guidance on the overall direction of the evaluation and its delivery
- acted as a critical friend to Research England on matters of evaluation and analysis
Members of the advisory group were drawn from university senior management teams and people with significant expertise in evaluation design and analysis. They included:
- Tomas Coates Ulrichsen (Chair), Director, UCI Policy Evidence Unit, University of Cambridge
- Alice Frost, Knowledge Exchange Director, Research England
- George Bramley, Principal Analyst, City-REDI, University of Birmingham
- Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester
- Dr Phil Clare, CEO of Queen Mary Innovation Ltd., Queen Mary University of London
- Dr Gemma Derrick, Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Bristol
- Dr Efthymia Amanatidou, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research
Outputs from the HEIF evaluation
Evaluation of the HEIF programme: 2008 to 2020
Ask a question about the HEIF evaluation
Last updated: 13 May 2025