Our 2019 report on Business and Management research funding

The latest Chartered ABS Research Income report shows that funding for Business and Management has increased by 6% to £72.5m in the last year, which is a record high and the first year since 2006/07 that annual income reached the £70m level. This represents a 12% increase in total research income since 2012/13 but, when adjusted for inflation, represents a decrease of 1% over this period.

The report is based on analysis of the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and finds that the overall annual increase in funding came from several sources, including the research councils, UK central government and UK industry. However, the contributions from the research councils and UK central government in 2017/18 were below the levels seen in the previous decade prior to government spending cuts.

Funding from EU government bodies fell by 1% in the last year but remains at historically high levels and has risen from 18% of total funding in 2012/13 to 22% in 2017/18. Over the same period the share of total funding from UK government sources has fallen from 51% to 47%. In four of the last six years, Business and Management received more funding from EU government bodies than UK central government.

Research income from non-EU international sources has grown for five consecutive years and is now double the amount recorded in 2012/13. Income from EU and non-EU international sources for Business and Management is now £18.1m and £5.2m respectively, compared to £13.5m and £2.5m six years ago.

Over the longer-term research contributions for Business and Management have not kept pace with inflation, with total funding from UK sources declining by 10% in real-terms since 2012/13, which translates to nearly £6m less in annual funding. In contrast, across all fields there was a 14% real-term increase in research funding from UK sources.

The report also analyses how funding compares across regions, mission groups and schools, and features insightful impact case studies from schools who presented at the Chartered ABS 2019 Research Exhibition in Edinburgh.

Download the Research Income Report 2019 here.