Table 5 - Research grants and contracts - breakdown by source of income and HESA cost centre 2015/16 to 2021/22

Type of data

Administrative data

Data source

HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) is part of Jisc. We are the experts in UK higher education data and analysis. We have been collecting higher education information since the 1994/95 academic year.

Finance data is taken from the HESA Finances record, which universities, colleges and other higher education providers return to HESA on an annual basis. The Finance record collects a range of information about the primary financial statements from HE providers' published accounts.

From 2018/19, data for English HE providers (excluding further education colleges and sixth form colleges under the primary regulation of the Education and Skills Funding Agency) was collected by the Office for Students.

We provide data and analysis on finances of HE providers to a wide variety of customers, including:

• Governments
• Universities (via the Heidi Plus analytics tool)
• Academic and commercial researchers
• Students and potential students
• Trade unions and employers' associations
• Policy makers.

Our data is used to regulate the sector, inform policy making, advance understanding of social and economic trends, support decision making, and enhance public understanding of - and confidence in - the higher education sector.

Related releases

Our HE Provider Data: Finance data pages collect together all of the tables we publish on finances in higher education.

Further information

• Definitions - Finances
• Data intelligence - Finances
• It may be helpful to refer to the information disclosed in a provider’s financial statements to help understand or contextualise the figures presented.

This table displays research and grants income by source at a granular level.

Income is analysed by academic departments, academic services, and administration and central services. Academic departments are further analysed by activities based on HESA cost centres. Providers map their own organisational structure on to the HESA cost centres. The radio buttons can be used to select the source of income: one for ‘Research council’ and ‘Other’ displaying other sources of research income.

View Table 5 - Research grants and contracts - breakdown by source of income and HESA cost centre

This table excludes research funding from Research England, The Scottish Funding Council (SFC), The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and The Department for Education Northern Ireland (DfE (NI)).

Data shown in this table is income relating to research and experimental development carried out by a provider or its subsidiary, which conform to conventions set out in the 2015 Frascati Manual. The income is stated at its full value, including recovery of indirect costs associated with research.

This table displays externally funded research income and informs UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Funding councils to support its funding activities. Data displayed relates to all providers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and those providers in England who are registered in the Approved (Fee cap) category of The OfS Register.

The data is collected in a matrix format, with the collection template setting out the source of funding in its columns (displayed as a filter in the published table), and activity area in its rows determined by HESA academic and non-academic cost centres. HESA cost centres represent a group of activities or operations having similar characteristics and broadly similar patterns of costs. Providers map their own organisational structure on to the HESA cost centres. Guidance on how this is done is available on the HESA website. Academic departments are analysed by activities based on HESA cost centres, to which research income is allocated.

Providers also submit data related to research income in kind received. This is also included as part of the research income figures by academic departments, academic services and administration and central services.

The first group of columns show research grants and contracts income from the UKRI Research Councils sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Totals can be broken down by HESA cost centre.

The next group of columns show UK sponsored funding from charities, government sources, industry and other. Funding from charitable institutions is further analysed by those funds received in an open competition and those that are not. To be included as funded by open competition, all charitable foundations, charitable trusts etc. based in the UK must be registered with either the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) in Scotland, and in Northern Ireland recognised as having charitable status by HMRC. In addition, research funding must have been awarded to the provider through open competition and peer review. Where research funding from a charity in the UK is not awarded through open competition and peer review, such income is displayed in ‘other’.

Research income from UK government departments that are funded by central government includes UK local authorities and UK health and hospital authorities.

The research and development expenditure credit (RDEC) scheme was a HMRC research incentive scheme related to the level of eligible research expenditure incurred on or after 1 April 2013. The scheme was subsequently amended so that universities and charities were unable to claim RDEC in respect of expenditure incurred on or after 1 August 2015. Tax credits from earlier claims are continued to be reported under ‘UK central government tax credits for research and development expenditure’.

Research income from public corporations, industry and commerce operating in the UK is displayed followed by all other research income awarded from a UK body for, e.g. research income received from other HE providers.

The next group of columns show EU sponsored funding from Charities, government sources including EU commission, industry and other entities operating in the EU. All research income awarded by EU charities must meet the criteria of open competition and peer review with exclusively charitable purposes and is consistent with the definition set out in the Charities Act 2011, which exists for public benefit in a manner which published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. In addition, research funding must have been awarded to the provider through open competition and peer review. Where research funding is not awarded through open competition and peer review such income is displayed in ‘other’. 

The next group of columns show funding awarded from non-EU based bodies. Research income awarded by non-EU charities must meet the criteria of open competition and peer review with exclusively charitable purposes consistent with the definition set out in the Charities Act 2011, which exists for public benefit. The provider is responsible for ensuring that such criteria is met.