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**Russell Group and business leaders call for HEIF increase to support “place-based engines of growth”**
Universities should be at the heart of the government’s forthcoming industrial strategy, the Russell Group and business leaders have urged, as they called on ministers to put more money into the Higher Education Innovation Fund.
In a new report, a Russell Group panel of industrial strategy experts say that scaling up the HEIF—which aims to strengthen the connection between higher education institutions and the broader economy and society—would spur more high-potential spinouts and startups, and support broader commercialisation of research.
The panel includes senior leaders from research-intensive universities in the Russell Group, along with senior leaders from businesses including GSK, NatWest and Octopus Energy Group.
**‘Engines of growth’**
“Uplifting the value of the HEIF would enable universities to significantly step up their commercialisation and business engagement capacity, making a far larger contribution to growth across priority industrial sectors,” the report says.
The government is expected to set out its plans for a new industrial strategy, seen as key to its mission for economic growth, at the spending review in June.
The industrial strategy represents “a new opportunity to harness the strengths of universities as place-based engines of growth”, says the report. It adds that the reputation of UK universities should be used to attract overseas investment.
The report comes after Universities UK calculated that the UK workforce [could need 11 million more graduates over the next 10 years](https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2025-3-uk-workforce-needs-11-million-extra-graduates-finds-uuk/).
**Regional merit**
The report calls for universities to be at the centre of new local growth plans, to help ensure the industrial strategy brings benefits for all parts of the UK, and says there should be new incentives to reverse a recent decline in university collaboration with small and medium-sized businesses.
“The scale of the economic challenge the UK is facing is clear,” said Stuart Croft, vice-chancellor of the University of Warwick and chair of the Russell Group’s industrial strategy panel.
“The industrial strategy at the centre of the government’s economic agenda will need to remove the persistent barriers to productivity that have held back growth for well over a decade.
“As our panel has developed the proposals we’re setting out today, it has become evident that universities are an integral part of the ecosystem. They play a unique linchpin role as innovators, educators, convenors and major employers. With the right funding mechanisms and policy environment, they have the potential to drive even more growth and productivity.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK said: “With universities in every part of the country, from Cornwall to the Highlands and Islands, a sustainably funded university sector can continue to widen access to these higher-level skills and support the workforce for our future economy.”