N8 Research Partnership Raising the Return - benefits and opportunities from sharing research equipment Report for Professor Sir Ian Diamond and Universities UK – Review of efficiency and effectiveness in Higher Education by Luke Georghiou and Sarah Jackson The N8 is a partnership of the eight research intensive universities in the North of England: Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York. Contents 1. Key highlights and conclusions.......................................................................................................................1 2. Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................................2 The rationale and progress of equipment sharing.............................................................................2 Realising further benefits and overcoming barriers ..........................................................................4 3. Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................5 3.1. Why is research equipment important and why does it cost so much?.............................5 3.2. Why is sharing important? ...................................................................................................................................6 3.3. Scope of this report..................................................................................................................................................8 4. What benefits have been achieved? - Productive efficiencies...................................................9 4.1. New science and technical advances.........................................................................................................9 4.2. Collaborations with industry...........................................................................................................................13 4.3. Multi-disciplinary work........................................................................................................................................17 4.4. Human Capital: skills development and benefits for teaching...............................................19 4.5. Operational efficiencies .....................................................................................................................................20 5. Progress on developing systems for sharing......................................................................................22 5.1. Supporting transition and cultural change following changes to capital funding in 2010 ................................................................................................................................22 5.2. Clusters of universities and asset registers ...........................................................................................23 5.3. National Equipment Registers.......................................................................................................................24 5.4. Research Assessment as a potential barrier........................................................................................24 6. What more can be achieved and what needs to be done to make this happen.......25 6.1. Quantify the benefits from Equipment Sharing................................................................................25 6.2. Reform: Increase incentives, solutions....................................................................................................26 Appendix 1 – List of contributors.............................................................................................................................30 Appendix 2 – Case Studies...........................................................................................................................................32 N8 Research Partnership Raising the Return - benefits and opportunities from sharing research equipment Report for Professor Sir Ian Diamond and Universities UK – Review of efficiency and effectiveness in Higher Education by Luke Georghiou and Sarah Jackson Acknowledgements We were delighted to be invited by Professor Sir Ian Diamond and Universities UK to undertake this workstream as part of the Review on Efficiency and Effectiveness in Higher Education commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. We have received significant input and support from colleagues across the sector on this task. We would particularly like to thank those who participated in the interviews and submitted case study evidence, and the contributors to a workshop in Leeds in September to discuss reforms and recommendations. We have also benefited greatly from support and enthusiasm from the funding bodies, particularly Lesley Thompson at EPSRC on behalf of RCUK, and Steven Hill from HEFCE. We would also like to thank Ian Diamond for his detailed comments on earlier drafts, and Chris Hale, Jamie Arrowsmith and Chris Chudziak for their support throughout the project. We have titled this report “Raising the Return”. Through the course of our work it became clear that universities have made considerable progress ensure that maximum value is delivered from the investment in UK science infrastructure, both increasing productivity and retaining the UK’s significant international standing in research and to support large and small businesses to develop new technologies, to innovate and grow. The return to the UK taxpayer is already significant, and with further support the sector is ready to do much more. Luke Georghiou, Vice President, Research and Innovation, University of Manchester Sarah Jackson, Director of N8 Research Partnership 17th October 2014 1. Key highlights and conclusions 1. New, cutting edge science and innovation, increased productivity and maximum value for public investment are being enabled by more efficient and effective deployment of research equipment. This report catalogues the progress made in the past three years. 2. Significant progress has been made in developing an infrastructure to support equipment sharing. This includes over 25,000 items classified on regional databases developed by clusters such as the N8 research intensive universities in the North of England, the M6 universities in the Midlands, Scottish Universities and the Science and Engineering South consortium. 3. Sharing of equipment and facilities is taking place across UK, at a range of levels, leading to increased research productivity. There is sharing within large institutions (for example University of Manchester Chemistry Department and Oxford University); sharing of mid- tier facilities (for example the Centre for Genomic Research at the University of Liverpool); while £10m investment from EPSRC has funded five world-leading High Performance Computing facilities shared by 22 universities. 4. These facilities are also being shared with business to drive innovation. Using shared equipment at the National Composites Centre, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, has helped Airbus UK register five patents relating to aircraft wings which have enabled cost savings of 20% and a weight saving of 15%. Further, a range of Multi-National Companies and charities have invested over £800m through the HEFCE Research Partnership Investment Fund to create new science facilities and to access university expertise. 5. New approaches to acquisition of equipment are maximising the value delivered from the science budget. These include pooling resources to purchase the highest specification of equipment possible, collaborative procurement of maintenance, warranties and service costs; and utilising Government Procurement Service agreements to reduce the cost of utilities. 6. Sharing is strengthening the UK’s collaboration networks. These include the organic emergence of regional university clusters which will enable greater collaborations and long term investment planning, supporting the sharing of equipment at all universities through a national database (equipment.data.ac.uk), for example a 3D printing suite at Norwich University College of Arts, and supporting the “stickiness” of companies in the UK research ecosystem through the development of translational research facilities. 7. Despite this excellent progress, significant barriers remain. To deliver the full efficiency benefits of equipment sharing, further steps are needed; a) Measurement Systematic measurement of the rates and benefits of sharing will accelerate progress. We propose this should be done through a basket of metrics which include monitoring shared use of TRAC listed-facilities and business use through the Higher Education Business Community and Interaction survey. Importantly, both are existing data sets. b) No-cost incentives in the current funding system: Further incentives are required to accelerate culture change and development of trust between users as a basis for greater collaboration and sharing. These include sharing credit on large grants, funders ensuring flexibility for the capital and operational costs of shared facilities and where appropriate, funding bids to include mechanisms for sharing as key criteria. c) Innovations in research funding policy: Equipment roadmaps should be used to encourage long term capital investment planning. Sharing will be facilitated by smart specialisation at institutional and regional levels and by balancing competition and collaboration across the sector. The Research