The outputs of university research can take many forms, including; books, articles, exhibitions, software, patents, visual media and more.
These outputs are then used in teaching, supporting businesses and the community to innovate, turned into commercial products or services, or be built upon for further research.
UK research is world-leading and internationally excellent
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research at higher education institutions in the UK. In the most recent REF assessment in 2021, 185,594 research outputs were identified from over 1,800 submissions. Outputs are the published or publicly available products of research, which can take many forms. These include books, monographs, chapters in books and journal articles as well as performances, exhibitions and other practice research outputs, software, patents, conference proceedings, translations, and digital and visual media.
Each submission was made up of contributions based on an institution’s research environment, its outputs, and the impact for a given area of research at producing an overall quality profile for that subject. 84% of the nearly 2,000 submissions from UK universities to the 2021 REF were judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent.
84% of the nearly 2,000 submissions from UK universities to the 2021 REF were judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent.
41
%
of UK research is world-leading (4*)
43
%
of UK research is internationally excellent (3*)
14
%
of UK research is recognised internationally (2*)
2
%
of UK research is recognised nationally (1*)
The UK higher education sector’s exceptional capability in research and innovation is a genuine national asset, for which the UK is famous around the world.
Vivienne Stern
Chief Executive of Universities UK
The UK's share of global publications
In 2020, the UK produced 226,000 publications: 6.3% of the global total. The UK share of global publications has remained relatively steady, even as other countries such as the US and China have experienced significant decreases and increases respectively, and as the OECD share of global publications decreases. In terms of the volume of publications, within the G7 the UK has consistently been second only to the US.
UK publications also received 10.5% of the world’s citations (references by other published work), demonstrating the relevance of UK researchers’ work to subsequent research and innovation. This has stayed relatively consistent over the last two decades.
High quality research translates into high quality innovation, this means the translation of research into new products, businesses and services, and support for existing businesses and organisations. The UK ranks 4th in the Global Innovation Index, due in part to the strength of our universities, and is deemed an ‘efficient economy’ – this means its innovation outputs (such as patents, new companies, and interactions between universities and businesses) outweigh its inputs.
Research and innovation activity is evenly spread across the UK
High-quality research is happening across the UK. More than 80% of research emerging from each region of the UK was rated at 3-star or above in REF2021.
The spread of high-quality research translates into innovation outputs (spin-outs, start-ups, enterprises, consultancy, contract research) are spread across the country. Our innovation map showcases that every region in the UK has innovation activity happening as a result of its universities. University and research institution spin-outs have also been shown to be more widely located across the UK compared to the wider venture capital market.
Innovation happens through an ecosystem of accelerators, innovation centres, clusters, catapult networks and more. Universities are central to these networks by providing access to their world-leading research, expertise and facilities.
Universities also educate and develop the UK’s entrepreneurs. Nine out of 10 embed entrepreneurship within degree programmes, and the vast majority (98%) provide extra-curricular support for enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Glossary
Accelerators
Accelerators provide intensive support for businesses to grow, providing business, financial, and technological advice to new or existing companies. Universities often have accelerators for current students and staff and alumni and local businesses to make use of.
Citation
A reference to published research in a later publication, usually indicating that the work listed in the citation has been built on by this subsequent research. The number of citations received by a piece of work, a researcher’s body of work, or the work of a group of researchers are (when properly contextualised) often used as an indicator of impact and value to the research and innovation community.
Catapult network
The Catapult Network consists of nine specialist centres that support businesses to develop and scale up new technologies, often by connecting them with the academic research base.
Innovation clusters
Innovation clusters are a coalition of organisations interested in growing, transforming, or creating a business sector.
Innovation centres
Innovation centres are normally dedicated to specific sectors, are often funded by both public and private investment, and act as hubs for fostering collaboration between researchers, education and enterprise.
Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD)
An international organisation that works with governments, policy makers and citizens to address global challenges. The OECD collect and report on comparative data on their member countries relating to education, health, economy and more.