Economic Impact Summary

In July 2021 Royal Holloway commissioned Biggar Economics to undertake an evaluation of the College’s economic impact. This took into account a range of inputs and outputs, plus consideration of the College’s impact within Runnymede, Surrey and nationally. The review considered the academic year 2019-20 as the latest year of complete data available, although it is clear that the latter part of this year was significantly affected by the global pandemic. The report also considered a comparison to the previous time such work was conducted (2014 reviewing the economic impact of the College in 2012-13). Finally, the review also considered the possible impact of the new 3 year strategic plan on our potential economic impact in the future.

Key findings of the report are that during 2019-20 Royal Holloway generated a significant contribution to the economy in each of the three regions:

• £190.8 million Gross Value Added (GVA) and 2760 jobs in Runnymede
• £221.3 million GVA and 3,030 jobs in Surrey and
• £657.1 million GVA and 7,150 jobs across the UK

You can download the full report here.

Definitions:

Gross Value Added: a measure of the monetary contribution that an organisation adds to the economy through its operations (rounded to the nearest 100) and Employment: measured in terms of headcount jobs supported (rounded to the nearest ten).

The role played by universities in economic development has long been recognised. As generators of research and development they play a central role in supporting industry clusters and make a significant contribution to economic growth.

Biggar Economics used a tried and trusted framework to undertake their analysis which included taking into account information from across the College and a range of publicly available data. Qualitative interviews with key stakeholders were also undertaken to inform the report.