A new consortium formed by?10 ¡°under-represented¡± UK research universities can capitalise on a fresh desire for more collaboration among institutions but must ¡°carve out a distinctive niche¡± to avoid the ¡°pitfalls¡± of its predecessors.

ResearchPlus is the first new grouping of its type for more than a decade, with its founders stressing its ability to directly contribute to government priorities.

Members include four University of London institutions, the University of Sussex and the Open University ¨C all institutions that felt they needed ¡°more visibility¡± and help to be part of the ¡°national conversation¡±, the group said in a statement announcing its launch on 25 June.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), welcomed the collaboration, saying it will ¡°fill a hole¡± that has existed ever since the 1994 Group?dissolved.

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Several of the universities that have joined ResearchPlus, which describes itself as being made up of ¡°under-represented¡± institutions, were formerly in the 1994 Group, including Essex, Royal Holloway, SOAS and Sussex.

However, Hillman warned that the new body will need to avoid the pitfalls that the now-defunct group faced, including being seen as a ¡°pale imitation¡± of the Russell Group.?

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Part of the reason the 1994 Group disbanded was because some of its members left to join the alternative grouping, which has since established itself as a byword for excellence in the UK sector.

¡°A number of their members were so keen to be in the Russell Group that it didn¡¯t really work,¡± Hillman said. ¡°I think that is the danger. They need to carve themselves out a distinctive niche.¡±

This includes not just emphasising the research side of their work but taking a more holistic view of what they can bring: ¡°The ¡®plus¡¯ needs to be as important as the word ¡®research¡¯, in my view,¡± Hillman said.??

Andrew Jones, vice-chancellor of Brunel University of London ¨C one of the founding institutions ¨C said the worth of the new group would be shown in the way it responds to initiatives such as the government¡¯s new industrial strategy,?published this week.

Jones said initial conversations with the government suggested?it would welcome a ¡°collective view¡± of how universities can support its agenda, as opposed to individual contributions.

¡°Obviously they have lots of universities that are saying ¡®we could do this¡¯ and ¡®we could do that¡¯¡­but actually, if you¡¯re the Department for Science, you need groups to say: ¡®we could do some of these things together¡¯.¡±

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Jones said the past 20 years had been a period of ¡°quite a lot of atomised competition¡± between universities but now?it felt like there was ¡°definitely a move towards more strategic collaboration¡±.

For Paul Bartholomew, vice-chancellor of Ulster University ¨C the only non-English institution in the group ¨C the new collaboration presented an opportunity to have a more ¡°prominent voice¡± in discussions about higher education.

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While some of the ¡°discourse that might go on in higher education in England doesn¡¯t directly apply to universities in Northern Ireland¡­we all still share a sector and there¡¯s a common public perception of what universities are.

¡°I think that there remains a case to be made within the public perception that universities are a good place to invest in for growth,¡± he said.

Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute and assistant vice-president of policy and government affairs at City St George¡¯s, University of London ¨C another member of the group ¨C said there has ¡°long been a gap in the market¡± for a grouping of research-intensive universities outside the Russell Group.

¡°It¡¯s important to build a chorus of voices in the sector to amplify the benefits of higher education and research,¡± she said.?

¡°ResearchPlus isn¡¯t trying to replicate the Russell Group; it¡¯s simply acknowledging that there are other universities in the sector that are making distinct contributions of equally high value.?

¡°While the Russell Group represents a cluster of our large, research-intensive universities, it does not speak for all the UK¡¯s research-intensive institutions. ResearchPlus isn¡¯t defined by hierarchy; it¡¯s about complementarity and collaboration.¡±?

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helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com