The 2023 edition of the Chartered ABS report on research funding for UK business schools

The Chartered ABS’s latest report on research funding has found that funding for UK business schools grew for the sixth year in a row in 2021/22, marking yet another record-high. The report is derived from the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and reviews funding levels for Business & Management and the overall UK university sector over multiple time frames, offering analysis over both the short and long-term.

The £84.3m of research funding which UK business schools received in 2021/22 represents a nominal increase of 5% over the previous year, but in real terms after adjusting for inflation, amounts to a 4% decrease. Over the longer-term, research income for UK business school is also down by 4% compared to ten years ago in 2011/12. In contrast, there was a 21% real term increase in total university research funding over the same period.

In a new feature, this year’s report also indicates that academics in Business & Management disciplines face systemic challenges relative to other disciplines. Our subject ranks 3rd worst of 45 subject areas in the 2021-22 HESA data on funding per member of staff per annum.

Over the last year, UK business schools once again received increased funding from the UK Research Councils, a trend which started in 2017/18, and this increase was above the rate of inflation. Funding from UK and EU industry also grew in real-terms relative to 2020/21. Decreases were seen from most of the other sources of research funding for UK business schools over the last year. Funding from the EU recorded a very marginal increase in the last year but continues to fall as a proportion of funding across all sources. UK business schools’ reliance on domestic sources of funding, especially the Research Councils, has increased significantly since 2019/20.

For the first time this year’s report offers analysis on the concentration of research funding across institutions in Business & Management compared to other Social Science fields and a selection of STEM fields. It also provides new data on the average amount of research income received by researchers per annum in Business & Management and other fields. The report has the latest details of active Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) involving UK business schools which demonstrate the value of business schools’ engagements with businesses and society both nationally and within their local communities.

The report also contains analysis on research funding by regions, mission groups, and schools, and comparisons with other subject areas.

Download the 2023 Research Income Report here.