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BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
the refugee crisis, and the mobilisation of xenophobic populist sentiment in certain countries, are a good example. When the UK's Queen asked economists at the London School of Economics ‘Why did nobody notice it [the financial crisis]?’ in 2008, she was speaking with the grain of public sentiment. She got an answer when she visited the Bank of England in December 2012, which cynics might say is typical of the speed of response in the academic world. Emphasising impact Universities face the challenge of making themselves essential to addressing modern world challenges. This must be addressed systematically and requires change to the ways in which universities currently work. Some universities have approached this by identifying ‘grand challenges’ and emphasising the need for cross-disciplinary methodology. For example, University College London has chosen six: ‘Global Health’, ‘Sustainable Cities’, ‘Human Wellbeing’, ‘Cultural Understanding’, ‘Transformative Technology’ and ‘Justice and Equality’. An important component of this approach is the emphasis on ‘impact’ which is now a welcome feature of the research environment in some countries, such as the UK. Its 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment was the UK’s first to measure research ‘impact’ which it defined as ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia'. This emphasises the kind of outward-looking orientation which is essential in replacing traditional ‘ivory tower’ thinking. The framework assessment strongly informs decisions on funding and support in the UK and, increasingly, internationally.
(four-star is the highest grade). Such research does not receive substantial public resources, but it can make a major contribution to local economic and social strength. The overall impact of university research on our societies is immense and should be encouraged through better structured dialogue between researchers and practitioners. Universities should focus their research efforts on problem solving and on building knowledge which illuminates how we address change, particularly in disciplines where evidence of this is weakest. They should also develop local research and ‘knowledge transfer’ to strengthen local economic development. To meet the greatest global challenges of our time, high-quality research needs to be applied. That is the best way to strengthen our society at a time of immense and rapid change. Charles Clarke is a former Secretary of State for Education and Skills for the UK Government. Ed Byrne is Principal of King’s College London. Charles Clarke and Ed Byrne are co-authors of ‘The University Challenge – Changing Universities in a Changing World’ (Pearson, 2020).
common with each other than they do with other less research-active universities in their own countries. However, there is insufficient recognition, at least in the league tables, of the value of research that the UK’s REF framework would classify as two-star (internationally recognised) and one-star (nationally recognised) research conducted throughout the university system ‘Elite universities have more in common with each other than they do with other less research-active universities in their own countries’
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Recognising all research making contributions World-class research is concentrated in a relatively small number of universities at, for example, about 40-60 out of 167 institutions in the UK and about 130 from 5,000 institutions in the US. Australia focuses on its ‘Group of Eight’ out of about 40 institutions in total, and in China there is the ‘C9 League’, out of a total of around 3,000 institutions. These elite universities have more in
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