HEAT Director Membership Update for Higher Education Providers and Uni Connect Partnerships

As a collaborative data and research service, HEAT supports collaboration between all our members – both in principle and in practice. Our shared system provides a way for us to work together, reducing duplication in delivery through tools like the Institution Coverage Data and the cross-member data sharing functionality.

We can see the benefits of this in the new Access and Participation Plans (APPs), with providers committing to strategic collaboration. There are cases where some Higher Education Providers’ (HEP) access work is largely being coordinated through their Uni Connect Partnerships. Using HEAT’s data sharing functionality, Uni Connect Partnership staff can manage data collection and reporting on their partner HEPs’ behalf. This is a clear efficiency saving and is something we are keen to support.

Yet to ensure sustainability in our approach to this, we need to be clear on how HEAT can be used in these cases. For example, we have been asked whether both HEP and Uni Connect Partnerships need a separate HEAT membership.

The answer is yes – a separate subscription means that both partners (Uni Connect Partnership and HEP) have guaranteed long-term access to all data recorded for their collaborative delivery, including data tracking outcomes, dashboards and other tools that the HEAT Service provides.

The HEAT Service is funded by membership fees from HEPs, and without this fee income, the service could not survive and would not exist to be made available to programmes like Uni Connect which are restricted by external funding.

A clear rule about membership

To provide clarity, we have a clear rule: where the partner HEP is not a HEAT member, the Uni Connect Partnership cannot provide them with access to data or reporting from HEAT or track data relating to collaborative delivery on their behalf. This stipulation is included in the Uni Connect Legal Agreement, which specifies only activity that is funded by Uni Connect can be added to Uni Connect accounts, in a way that allows the partnership to comply with their Office for Students funding requirements.

Uni Connect Partnerships can add collaborative activity, but it must be shared with the HEP they are collaborating with. For this to be possible, each HEP must retain their separate HEAT subscription.

Understanding why separate HEAT memberships are required

We appreciate members may ask why it is necessary for HEP to have a HEAT membership when the services can be accessed on their behalf through their Uni Connect Partnership. This approach is necessary for two reasons. Firstly, it safeguards HEPs from potential loss of data that they will need for their APP reporting. Secondly, it is the only way to protect our collaborative service and national tracking dataset.

Risk 1: Losing Access to APP Data

Programme funding such as Uni Connect can only ever be guaranteed over the short-term, yet long-term data collection and reporting systems are needed to show the real impact of access and participation delivery.

Relying on short-term programme funding to fulfil their APP reporting requirements would pose significant risks to APP evaluation. If Uni Connect funding ends, non-HEAT member HEPs will lose access to crucial data – putting APP evaluation at risk. By retaining independence in their use of HEAT, and the data being recorded for their APP, they can ensure long-term access to the data for their own APP evaluation commitments, ensuring regulatory compliance.

Risk 2: Undermining HEAT’s Sustainability

The HEAT Service is funded by membership fees (HEP members) and without this fee income, the service could not be extended to programmes like Uni Connect which are restricted by external funding. We therefore need to protect the subscription model we have, to ensure our sustainability and to continue to provide the service in the future.

In a financially constrained sector, subscriptions and services are increasingly scrutinised, even where they deliver long-term operational and strategic value. It is important to remember the value of HEAT – a shared service that enables you to meet your regulatory requirements to evaluate, without duplicating effort, recruiting additional staff, or building costly bespoke systems.

Our recent Value for Money report (members only) quantifies these cost-savings:

• £9.80 return on every £1 invested
• £94,500 estimated savings per member
• £9.5 million saved to the sector as a whole

As well as supporting collaboration practically, we also support it at a policy-level. We have championed the value of collaboration in outreach delivery through blog posts and research reports, and worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide robust evidence using member data showing the economic value of collaboration through Uni Connect. This is work that John Blake described as fundamental to his discussion with the Department for Education about future funding for a collaborative programme.

Please continue to support us to provide this service for you.