Additional research funding in Financial Year (FY) 2023-24
Summary
- I am writing to announce the allocation of £5.8m of additional research funding.
Background
- £5.8m of capital funds have been made available in financial year 2023-24 for Scotland, based on the Barnett formula[1]. The Scottish Government has decided that these funds should be allocated to Scotland’s universities.
[1] These funds are available for FY 2023-24 in consequence of the UK Government’s launch of its Regional Innovation Fund in October 2023.
Additional funding
- The Scottish Government has agreed that this additional, time-limited funding should be delivered via the Scottish Funding Council’s core grants for research and innovation, and should support research activities, including research training. Recognising that university research and knowledge exchange directly impact the quality of teaching, they have asked that universities give particular consideration to how this is supported where possible. The intent is to enable pursuit of a range of different research and innovation activity, including where it supports teaching, according to institutional needs.
- Potential activity could include but is not limited to:
- Research into education and teaching excellence (including school-level).
- Ensuring students and staff are equipped with the latest knowledge to support entrepreneurialism.
- Student and staff training.
- We are distributing this funding in proportion to institutions’ final allocations for
AY 2023-24 of REG, UIF and RPG combined. Allocations are shown in Annex A.
Timing
- This funding is to be spent in the current financial year, FY23/24. The funds may be used for expenditure from 3 October 2023 (the date of the UK announcement) and 31 March 2024.
- Funds will be paid to universities in one instalment in March 2024.
Monitoring
- There will be no separate reporting mechanism for this funding but case studies on its use are welcomed as part of SFC’s normal reporting requirements.
Acceptance of funding
- You are asked to confirm that you wish to accept this funding, by emailing grantacceptance@sfc.ac.uk no later than Friday, 23 February 2024.
Further information
- Please contact Morag Campbell, Assistant Director, Research and Innovation (mcampbell@sfc.ac.uk).
Helen Cross
Director of Research and Innovation
Annex A
Funding allocations
| Institution | Combined Research Excellence Grant, Research Postgraduate Grant and University Innovation Fund for AY 2023-24 | Institution share of Research and Innovation Grants for AY 2023-24 | Additional funding for FY 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £
(1) |
£
(1) |
£
(1) |
|
| Aberdeen, University of | 19,639,000 | 6.4% | 374,090 |
| Abertay University | 1,905,000 | 0.6% | 36,287 |
| Dundee, University of | 20,142,000 | 6.6% | 383,671 |
| Edinburgh Napier University | 4,696,000 | 1.5% | 89,451 |
| Edinburgh, University of | 100,597,000 | 33.0% | 1,916,203 |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | 4,543,000 | 1.5% | 86,536 |
| Glasgow School of Art | 1,571,000 | 0.5% | 29,925 |
| Glasgow, University of | 62,176,000 | 20.4% | 1,184,348 |
| Heriot-Watt University | 14,185,000 | 4.7% | 270,200 |
| Highlands and Islands, University of the | 4,296,000 | 1.4% | 81,832 |
| Open University in Scotland | 314,000 | 0.1% | 5,981 |
| Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 1,708,000 | 0.6% | 32,534 |
| Robert Gordon University | 1,809,000 | 0.6% | 34,458 |
| Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 719,000 | 0.2% | 13,696 |
| SRUC | 5,161,000 | 1.7% | 98,308 |
| St Andrews, University of | 21,208,000 | 7.0% | 403,976 |
| Stirling, University of | 9,152,000 | 3.0% | 174,330 |
| Strathclyde, University of | 27,130,000 | 8.9% | 516,781 |
| West of Scotland, University of the | 3,538,000 (*) | 1.2% | 67,393 |
| Total | 304,489,000 | 100.0% | 5,800,000 |
SFC Strategic Plan 2022-27
Building a connected, agile, sustainable tertiary education and research system for Scotland.