The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is inviting expressions of interest for a new study into foreign investment in Further and Higher Education, to begin in September.

The new coalition government is keen to support the FE sector in the development of international partnerships, which increase the UK’s influence internationally as well as attracting overseas revenue - a well-timed move bearing in mind the continuing weakness of the pound.

As such, BIS wants to establish a comprehensive estimate of the value of overseas trade and investment brought in by the UK Higher and Further Education sectors, to include teaching, research, English Language Training (ELT) and other training for adults, and the estimated total value of the foreign direct investment in both sectors.

To recognise the potential for growth in these areas, BIS seeks a compilation of long-term trends and forecasts for the next ten years and beyond.

This will likely involve building on the existing work undertaken by The British Council, Universities UK, The Higher Education Policy Institute and HESA. The study will also look at possible improvements to the relevant Office For National Statistics data collections, such as the UK Balance of Payments ‘pink book’ estimates of trade in services, and the MA4 estimates of foreign direct investment.

Expressions of interest will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Previous experience of analysis of trends in national and international educational data
• Staffing capacity for this type of analysis
• Ability to analyse and communicate complex data in general
• Presentation of the expression of interest

Those interested should email their expressions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it no later than 5pm on 9 August 2010.

Nathan Brown