Admissions: Delivery Partnership

The Delivery Partnership is a UK-wide, higher education sector-led partnership of different education stakeholders (including key admission groups within the HE sector) including Vice-Chancellors and representatives from Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (SPA), Association of Heads of University Administrators (AHUA), National Union of Students (NUS), further education, schools, 6th form colleges, awarding bodies, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and Department for Education and Learning Northern Ireland (DELNI) among others.

It was established in autumn 2006 to implement reforms to the higher education applications process following the Government's response to the DIUS-led Consultation on Improving the Higher Education Applications Process in May 2006. These reforms will improve the HE applications system by enhancing the provision of information for both applicants and universities in the interests of increasing transparency, efficiency and effectiveness. Universities UK and GuildHE provide secretariat support to the partnership.

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Equality Challenge Unit

Universities UK is one of the six sponsors of the Equality Challenge Unit, the others being GuildHE, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland). The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) also funds the Unit to collaborate with Equality Forward in Scotland.

Equality Challenge Unit was established in 2001 to promote equality for staff employed in the higher education sector. Its role was expanded in 2006 to cover equality and diversity issues for students as well as staff.

ECU supports the higher education sector in its mission to realise the potential of all staff and students whatever their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief or age, to the benefit of those individuals, higher education institutions and society.

Equality challenge unit

Leadership Foundation

Universities UK worked in partnership with GuildHE, the three UK funding bodies for higher education (HEFCE, SFC, HEFCW) and the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning to establish a Leadership Foundation, launched in 2004 by the then Chancellor of the Exchequor Gordon Brown. The Foundation provides a dedicated service of support and advice on leadership, governance and management for all the UK's universities and higher education colleges. It is committed to developing and improving the management and leadership skills of existing and future leaders of Higher Education.

Leadership Foundation

The New Opportunities for All Concordat 

The New Opportunities for all Concordat was launched in September 2000 and was a joint initiative between representative bodies of schools, colleges and universities to raise young people's interest in higher education.

The New Opportunities for all Concordat (PDF Download 90K)

The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education

The Observatory is a strategic information service tracking international developments, including online learning, transnational provision and new providers of higher education (eg, for-profit universities), and is a joint initiative from Universities UK and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education

Research Careers Initiative

In 1996 representatives of institutions and the principal funders of research in the UK agreed a concordat concerning the management of staff appointed on fixed term contracts to carry out research in UK universities and colleges. The Research Careers Initiative (RCI) was subsequently set up, chaired by Professor Sir Gareth Roberts FRS, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, to monitor progress towards meeting the commitments of the Concordat and to identify and encourage good practice in the career management and development of contract research staff. Universities UK is currently working with Research Councils UK to renew the Concordat. The revised Concordat will create a framework within UK higher education that meets researchers’ growing expectations of their career development, making the UK an attractive place to work. It will also recognise and support the diversity of research career paths, supporting geographical and inter-sectoral mobility. The new Concordat was launched in June 2008 and can be found at www.researchconcordat.ac.uk. The revised Concordat will be supported by an extensive range of implementation activities. 

Research Careers Initiative