BUFDG Digest 30 July

BUFDG

Two very new eLearning modules are live: Compliance Awareness for Senior Managers and Subsidiaries and Spinout Companies: Roles and Responsibilities for Senior Managers. These are on top of the three new ones last month: Conflicts of Interest, Stakeholder Relationships, and Business Analysis and Insight. We’re now up to 54 in total, with two more on their way shortly: Understanding University Spinout Companies, and Strategy into Action (Business Partnering).

A reminder that for those who have BUFDG Pro – it is possible to purchase any individual modules for your own provider VLE, and we also do offers for bundles. Speak to Rachel if you’d like more information and pricing.

SECTOR

The UCAS 25/26 application figures following the June 30 deadline have been published, showing a 2.2% increase in both UK and International applicants. However with the UK 18yo population increasing slightly over the last year, it’s actually a slight reduction in application rate from 41.9% to 41.2%. BUILA also reports a record number of applications from Chinese undergraduates. Wonkhe’s David Kernohan looks at the data in more detail.

At the other end of the university ‘pipeline’, HESA has published graduate outcomes survey data – a snapshot of the outcomes 15 months after graduation for the 22/23 class. It finds that 59% of respondents from across the UK were in full-time work, with those progressing to full-time further study at just 5% - down from 8% in 2019/20. The combined figure of 88% of graduates in some kind of work or further study is down slightly from 89% last year and 90% the year before that, although Jisc analysis suggests the labour market is still looking resilient. Again, DK has a deep-dive.

The OfS has published a consultation on subcontractual arrangements / franchising in HE. The proposals seek to impose new regulatory requirements on any provider with more than 100 students taught through subcontractual arrangements, via a new condition of registration.

KPMG and Mills & Reeve have published their report Radical Collaboration: A Playbook, the output of their work for UUK and the Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce. There are thoughts of how universities are and could be structured and reference to how they deliver their core activities – teaching, research, and transfer knowledge – as well as a ‘comprehensive collaboration toolkit’. If you’d like to link this to a real-life, real-time university crisis, read David Duncan’s article for Wonkhe about Dundee. He argues well “that the wider problems with funding in Scotland must form part of the debate”. Wonkhe editor Debbie McVitty offers her thoughts in an article here.

WALES

Universities Wales has published its response to Medr’s consultation on its proposed quality framework. While generally supportive of the ‘intent’ of the framework, it calls for a significant ‘redrafting’ to “more clearly distinguish between what is a condition, a requirement, statutory guidance, simple guidance, …or description” in order to avoid “regulatory overreach or disproportionality”.

Medr has published a Wales-specific breakdown of the recent national graduate outcomes (LEO) data. It finds that 87% of graduates from Welsh HE providers were in work or further study 15 months after the conclusion of their study (in 2022/23). The 56% in full-time employment is slightly lower than for the prior two years, and slightly lower than the 58% figure for graduates from English HEPs.

PROCUREMENT

Many thanks to all members who attended the recent HEPA Head of Procurement group meetings for some very useful discussions, knowledge sharing and networking. We are delighted to have a new Chair on board for the £100m to £200m group – Emma Keenan, Head of Procurement at SOAS. A meeting is penciled in for this group after the summer holiday period on 15 September 2025 at 14:00 – a booking link will follow in due course.

Don’t forget that if you have  frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems published under PCR2015 then you can let the Cabinet Office know about these in order for them to be included in the upcoming Register of Commercial Tools (RoCT). The exercise is entirely voluntary, with returns requested by 15 August 2025 should you wish to take part. Members can find out more about the project, including the return template, frequently asked questions and a worked example, on the HEPA website here.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

The European Commission has outlined early plans for the 2028–2034 successor to Horizon Europe, otherwise known as FP10, proposing a significantly larger €175 billion budget. The new programme aims to be twice as impactful, with a focus on strategic autonomy, simplification, and faster access to funding. Priorities include climate resilience, digital transformation, and health innovation, with a streamlined approach to partnerships and reduced administrative burden.

Following the UK’s re-association with Horizon Europe in 2024, UK institutions are once again eligible to participate in EU-funded research. However, success rates in collaborative bids remain below pre-Brexit levels, and sector bodies such as the Russell Group are calling for early clarity on UK participation in FP10 to avoid further disruption.

Research England has released funding budgets for 2025 to 2026, alongside DSIT guidance on financial sustainability and strategic priorities, taking the shape of a small real-terms cut to budgets. The Public Accounts Committee’s latest report on Research and Innovation has urged the government and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to outline how they will maximise the effectiveness of research funding, while closely monitoring how financial pressures are affecting research activity across UK universities.

Ten universities and two research institutes, selected for their strong global engagement and use of the Global Talent visa, will each receive a share of a new £10 million Global Talent Fund to help recruit international researchers. The funding aims to boost the UK’s appeal as a hub for world-class research.

The latest update from UKRI’s Funding Service reiterated recent changes relating to cost recovery and process improvements relating to equipment, teased enhancements to research organisation administrator and award holder permissions, and announced a new studentship data system to replace the Studentship Details Functionality on the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system expected to be operational by the start of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

UKRI has reappointed Researchfish to collect research outcomes following a competitive tender. A review of reporting questions is underway, aiming to reduce researcher burden.

The Scottish Funding Council has released the 2025-26 Research Assurance and Accountability (RAA) Guidance, which outlines the steps required to complete the RAA return for this academic year.

SUSTAINABILITY / ESTATES

HESA has published Estates Management Record (EMR) data for 23/24. It covers all sorts of areas such as buildings and spaces, energy, and waste. The press release leads with the finding that 71% of the 136 providers that submitted data had managed to reduce their energy usage in the last year.

In related news, Wonkhe’s DK gets creative with his broader look at the data and imagines what UK HE would look like if you could squish together all the campuses and make it into its own separate country.

PENSIONS

USS has published its financial report for the last year, with an £0.9bn increase in the surplus to £10.1bn over the last year. The next valuation is due in 2026. Along with the financial results, the scheme has also published its TCFD report, showing a halving in carbon intensity of its portfolio over the last 5 years.

In other news, Spence & Partners has published a benchmarking report on DB schemes in pre-92 universities. It finds, among other things, significant variations in scheme running costs, and suggests that improved governance and technology usage could help the sector make significant savings.

JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT

Our Job of the Fortnight is for a Finance Business Partner at Durham University. The successful candidate will be responsible for “supporting the primary Financial Plan Owners (UEC members) and their senior management teams (the Financial Plan Holders) on all aspects of the financial management, financial performance and financial control of their business units to ensure that the financial resources of those business units are managed appropriately in order to achieve and/or outperform the required financial outcomes and forecasts set”. The deadline for applications is 7 August.

In addition, JS Group are looking for a Strategic Finance Advisor for HE – “ideal for someone considering a portfolio career or an established consultant to the Higher Education sector looking for a long-term commitment”. Among other things, JS is looking for someone to “Act as a trusted advisor supporting liaison between JS Group and university finance departments”.  

All the other vacancies are listed on the BUFDG jobs page.