LSE Awarded £32 Million by Higher Education Funding Council for England

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has been awarded over £32 million. The grant, announced today, has been awarded through the Higher Education Funding Council for England ‘s UK Research Partnership Investment fund (UKRPIF), which provides funding for capital projects that can attract significant investment from private partners. The Atlantic Philanthropies’ donation of £64 million earlier this year provided double-match funding for the grant.

The funding will contribute to the development of the Centre Buildings, which will house the International Inequalities Institute (III) and its programme supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies gift, enabling them to expand their activities and to work with other research centres and LSE departments within a new capital development project that is central to the School’s campus regeneration programme.

LSE Interim Director Professor Julia Black said: “I am delighted that HEFCE have awarded LSE this match funding grant, which is a testament to the research strength of the School and the importance attached by HEFCE on both our research into inequalities and on the evidence-based interventions the Institute is designed to promote. The III aims to become the world’s premier centre for interdisciplinary research on inequalities and the enhanced centre buildings, with their purpose-built research facilities, will help the Institute to pool and facilitate the best research, spark new ideas and innovative solutions, and bring research ideas to practical implementation.”

HEFCE Chief Executive, Madeleine Atkins, said: “This project demonstrates the role that our universities play in providing outstanding research for the benefit of the economy and society. It brings together researchers from a range of backgrounds to pool their knowledge and expertise to create maximum benefit in confronting inequalities. The UKRPIF programme gives excellent value for public funding by double matching finance from external sources.”

Professor John Hills, co-director of the III, said: “It is very exciting to hear that the generosity of the Atlantic Philanthropies in funding a 20 year programme to train and support Fellows working on key aspects of inequality, one of the world’s greatest challenges, has resulted in funding for the LSE from HEFCE. We are looking forward to being able to house the Atlantic Fellows programme and the Institute within the dramatic new building to which this generous grant will contribute.”

Christopher Oechsli, CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, said: “We are pleased that matching funding from HEFCE will support the development of innovative, flexible space for the International Inequalities Institute and the Atlantic Fellows program being launched there. The International Inequalities Institute represents a ground-breaking model to bring together faculty, students and practitioners from around the world and across sectors, and the design of the LSE’s Centres Building will facilitate and leverage these essential interactions.”

For more information

Jess Winterstein, LSE Media Relations, 020 7107 5025, j.winterstein@lse.ac.uk

Notes to editors

LSE’s Centre Building will be the second largest capital development in the School’s history and is scheduled for occupation in March 2019.

The Atlantic Fellows programme at the International Inequalities Institute has been designed to build a global community of leaders dedicated to changing policy, practice and public dialogue around inequalities. The first team of visiting Fellows will join the III during 2017, with the first cohorts of residential and non-residential Atlantic Fellows joining in the summer and autumn of 2017.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) aims to create and sustain the conditions for a world-leading system of higher education which transforms lives, strengthens the economy, and enriches society.

HEFCE funds and regulates universities and colleges in England, investing on behalf of students and the public to promote excellence and innovation in research, teaching and knowledge exchange. For 2016-17 we will allocate £3.7 billion to 132 universities and higher education colleges and over 200 further education and sixth form colleges. www.hefce.ac.uk

The UK Research Partnership Investment Fund supports investment in higher education research facilities. The fund was set up in 2012. Since then HEFCE has allocated over £500 million to 34 projects running between 2014- 2020, attracting over £1.3 billion of investment of investment from business and charities.