Cambridge University has retained the largest slice of research grant and contract income in the UK, according to the latest Research Yearbook published this week by higher education consultants Evidence.
Cambridge won £187 million in 2006, 6.6 per cent of the grants awarded to the higher education sector. This equates to more than the total amount given in grants for the 70 least well-funded universities and more than all the universities and colleges in Wales combined. It holds the biggest share of research grants and contract income in the biological sciences, physical sciences and engineering.
Oxford University, Imperial College London and University College London have more than 5 per cent of the total for all UK higher education institutions, a further three institutions have more than £100 million a year, and 12 universities take more than half the national total.
The majority of research income from charities, 61 per cent, also goes to the top ten institutions.
The best placed post-92 institution is Sheffield Hallam University, which now has more research grant and contract income than many of the universities founded in the 1960s. The average research impact for UK higher education has risen again to an average of 1.25 times the world average but the value of research contracts from industry fell again in 2006.
TOP GRANT EARNERS IN FOUR KEY DISCIPLINES
Biological sciences
1. Cambridge (1)
2. Institute of Cancer
Research (4)
3. Edinburgh (2)
4. Oxford (3)
5. Manchester (7)
Engineering
1. Cambridge (1)
2. Imperial (2)
3. Southampton (3)
4. Sheffield (4)
5. Manchester (5)
Physical sciences
1. Cambridge (1)
2. Oxford (4)
3. Imperial (3)
4. Southampton (2)
5. Manchester (5)
Social sciences
1. Institute of Education (1)
2. LSE (2)
3. Oxford (5)
4. King's (6)
5. Manchester (4)
2005 position in brackets