Sector Insights v01: Exploring the capabilities providers need to respond to regulation

Published: 30 April 2024

How does regulation support or inhibit innovation in higher education?

Our first sector insights report examines the role of innovation within the regulatory framework for English HEIs. Using the institutional capabilities required to respond to regulatory change as a lens, we examine the relationship between regulation and innovation within this part of the sector.

This report has been informed by a survey and qualitative interviews conducted in 2023. The focus has been English higher education institutions operating under the conditions of registration and regulatory framework as prescribed by the Office for Students, and the higher education regulatory environment in England.

We sought views on:

• higher education institutions’ ability to respond to regulatory change,

• key capabilities required to respond to regulatory change, and

• how well-established these capabilities are within higher education institutions.

We also asked participants their views on threats and opportunities posed by the Department for Education’s reform agenda.

Download the report here.

We’d like to thank and acknowledge those who contributed. We are particularly grateful to those individuals who took part in qualitative interviews; to respect their anonymity they are not named but their institutions are referenced here, in no order:

University of York

Durham University

University of Nottingham

The Engineering & Design Institute London (TEDI-London)

University of Leicester

Aston University

University Academy 92 (UA92)

University of Surrey

Arts University Bournemouth

University of East London