New HEIF guidance (2025–2031): What does it mean for public engagement?
Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) is evolving.
Research England’s updated HEIF policies and priorities for 2025–2031 place a stronger emphasis on economic growth and introduce a new requirement for institutions to submit an Accountability Statement, setting out their forward plans for HEIF investment.
This raises an important question for many colleagues working in and alongside public and community engagement: If HEIF is increasingly focused on economic growth, does this mean public engagement is no longer in scope?
The short answer is no.
Public and community engagement has always been an eligible activity within HEIF, and under the new guidance, it continues to have an important role to play. But the way we describe that role, and how it connects to growth, may need to evolve.
To support colleagues across the sector, the NCCPE has developed a series of resources to help interpret the new guidance and think through its implications.
Making sense of the new HEIF guidance
In our recent webinar, we explored:
- What has changed in the HEIF 2025–2031 guidance
- What the new Accountability Statement is asking institutions to demonstrate
- Whether a stronger focus on economic growth narrows or reshapes the role of engagement
- How public and community engagement contributes to adoption, capability, trust and inclusive growth
- Common pitfalls to avoid when drafting responses
The session walks through the policy context, the HEIF logic model, and practical implications for engagement, knowledge exchange and strategy teams.
Webinar: Making sense of the new HEIF guidance
Why this matters
The new guidance places economic growth more centrally within HEIF. However, growth is not delivered through commercialisation alone. It depends on:
knowledge being taken up and trusted
organisations having the capability to innovate
people being able to participate productively
innovation aligning with place and context
Public and community engagement plays a critical role in strengthening these pathways.
Rather than asking whether engagement is still eligible, a more useful question may be: How can engagement be positioned clearly and confidently as part of a credible growth strategy?
Our webinar and toolkit are designed to help answer that question.
Who is this for?
These resources will be particularly relevant to:
Public and community engagement professionals
Knowledge exchange and impact teams
Research development and strategy colleagues
Civic and place-based partnership leads
Senior leaders shaping HEIF strategy and submissions
We hope they support informed discussion, collective interpretation and confident responses to the new HEIF requirements.
If you would like to discuss the toolkit, request further support, or explore collaborative conversations around HEIF and engagement, please pop a question on the Padlet or get in touch.