Our Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2019/20 and our outlook for 2021

This week we’ve published our Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2019/20. It showcases just some of the outstanding work that colleagues and students have undertaken over the last year in very challenging circumstances. The contributions of our community in helping society respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at both local and global levels are truly impressive. It also sets out our financial performance for the last academic and financial year and provides a snapshot of our financial position as it was on 31 July 2020.

Research

Our research activity was the key area impacted by the first national lockdown, between March and July 2020. Many colleagues were unable to access facilities and undertake the interactions that were needed to progress their projects. Activity was 7% lower than the previous year: a change from the sustained year-on-year growth in research activity in recent years.

This temporary setback was necessary at the time to manage the risk that COVID-19 posed across the wider community. We have subsequently learnt more about COVID-19 as a society. Government policy, based on this evolving understanding of the virus, reflects the view that the risk to ongoing research activity is now lower than previously anticipated.

Education and longer-term uncertainties

Despite the difficulties we’ve faced, learning activity has remained extremely resilient. This is not completely unexpected, for two reasons.

Firstly, the initial national lockdown occurred at a point where students were invested in completing the academic year, with a relatively low proportion of tuition still to take place across most of our programmes. Our student withdrawal rate in Term 3 of academic year 2019/20 was lower than in recent years, despite the lockdown.

Secondly, opportunities for school leavers and graduates to obtain work or travel are reduced at present. Universities are typically counter-cyclical to the general economy, and we are seeing greater demand from prospective students. That demand is often accompanied by increased investment from government to build the research, innovation and infrastructure economies needed to help sustain the country in the short term and position it well for the medium term.

Our student population grew by 7% during 2019/20. We expect similar levels of growth over the course of the current 2020/21 academic year, although it is still too soon to make accurate forecasts – we are still building our evidence base to understand how students are responding to blended learning, and some 4,500 students elected to start the academic year online. However, around 2,000 students have told us they are intending to travel to Bristol for the first time for Teaching Block 2.

We are left, then, with several important questions. Primarily, will student withdrawal rates be greater, less or about the same as usual? And what will the impact of vaccinations be? In response to these uncertainties, we need to continue to proceed with caution until the risks of student withdrawal are better understood, with the picture expected to become clearer in the new year.

What we do know is that demand for our other services, including residential accommodation, sport and catering, is down. This is the principal reason for a £23-million decline in ‘Other Income’ year-on-year between 2018/19 and 2019/20. We expect the decline to be sustained throughout most of the present year.

Residential income losses are expected to reach at least £25 million from the onset of the pandemic to the end of this academic year. This sum could be considerably greater if a higher proportion of learning activity were to move online. We therefore need to maintain adequate financial headroom to manage all of these uncertainties without adversely impacting our staff and academic endeavour.

Jobs and recruitment

Protecting jobs has been, and will continue to be, a key objective. We furloughed close to 900 colleagues over the summer period. Virtually all have now returned to work given the very significant institutional workload. Our temporary worker bank is also being fully utilised. However, we will continue to furlough permanent, fixed-term and temporary staff to protect their incomes as best we can, where it is not possible for their work to continue as a direct consequence of COVID-19.

Our investment in people has been significant. Our colleague base grew by 396 (6%) full-time equivalents over 2019/20. Investment in existing and new staff (excluding non-cash pension accounting) increased by £30 million. We have not stopped recruiting at any point. However, we’ve had to be really careful to make sure that we have only been recruiting the roles we require at the present time. This has helped us maintain the necessary financial headroom to manage the ongoing pandemic and reduce the risk of future job losses.

In prioritising recruitment and job protection, against the backdrop of falling residential, sport and catering income, we have been obliged to pause several planned capital projects. Our staff and students are the University’s top priority and our cash position remains healthy. This is critical to our collective future.

The 2019/20 surplus

So why, despite reporting a surplus for 2019/20 of £81.8 million, have we still been very careful with our resources? The answer lies in the accounting treatment for the deficit in the USS pension scheme and capital grants received during the year.

We are required to reflect the future value of payments due to be made over the coming years to USS to fund the actuarial assessed deficit in the scheme. This helps ensure that the future value of assets in USS are sufficient to pay the pension benefits earned. We had to recognise a very significant expense of £105.9 million in the 2018/19 accounts following the 2017 valuation of USS, leading to an overall reported deficit of £67.7 million. A subsequent valuation was undertaken in 2018 to respond to some of the recommendations of the Joint Expert Panel. This resulted in a reduction in the USS deficit and consequently the level of deficit recovery payments the University is contracted to make.

We have had to reflect this change in the 2019/20 accounts by reversing £63.6 million of the expense charged in the previous year in our income and expenditure statement. This is responsible for the majority of the £81.8-million surplus, alongside £26.7 million of capital grants (income received to pay for new assets where the expense is recorded initially on the Statement of Financial Position and not as operating expenditure). This leaves an underlying deficit for 2019/20 of £8.8 million, which was funded out of reserves.

Looking ahead

The lead indicators for our institution such as research grant awards and student applications look very promising for the future. Our Board of Trustees this month approved a plan to invest more in people and research in the New Year, if and when the present risks relating to student participation in on-campus learning recede.

In the meantime, we need to keep proceeding with care over the next few months as the government rolls out its Winter Plan for managing COVID-19.

It has been a very difficult year for our community, but your collective efforts have helped steer the University though what I’m sure we all hope has been the worst of the storm. As normality slowly returns, we will continue to invest in our academic endeavour, our Professional Services, and the future facilities we need to restore our place among the world’s top 50 institutions.

 

An update on our institutional approach to COVID-19

In this latest update on our institutional approach to COVID-19, we set out the University’s new offer of free mass lateral flow antigen (asymptomatic) testing ahead of the winter break. We also outline plans for January 2021, our revised policy on the use of visors during in-person teaching, and preliminary findings from last month’s staff wellbeing pulse survey.

Mass testing of students 

From Monday 30 November to Wednesday 9 December, we will be offering free mass lateral flow antigen (asymptomatic) testing for all our students. These lateral flow tests can return a rapid result.

Students will be offered two tests, ideally leaving three days between the first and second test. Results will go to the student directly. If students do return a positive result, they will be required to self-isolate and book a standard PCR test. If this test also returns a positive result, provided it was taken by 9 December they should be able to complete the required period of self-isolation and still travel home for the winter break.

Our two test sites will be located in the Bristol Students’ Union Anson Rooms (BS8 1LN) and at North Village Wills Conference Centre (BS9 1AE). Students can book their tests online and read what to expect on the day and what to do if they test positive, and find more detailed information on our new ‘Mass testing’ webpage.

Asymptomatic staff intending to travel may also make use of this testing service. However, please do keep in mind that the focus of this particular window is student travel. We are currently in active dialogue with Public Health England to explore whether we are able to offer testing beyond the end of the national testing window. Meetings are ongoing this week and we will look to confirm our position as soon as possible thereafter.

January 2021

Subject to any change in government guidance, and in line with our risk assessment framework, we will be continuing our blended learning and assessment offering to students in January. We do however wish to provide students with the opportunity to stagger their return to campus in 2021 following the winter vacation, to allow them to make the best choices about their study circumstances given the continuing impact of COVID-19.

We are asking Schools to decide on a programme basis whether students are required to be in Bristol for weeks 11 and 12 and the assessment period, and to communicate this accordingly. We anticipate a second testing regime will underpin their safe return prior to any in-person teaching.

Face coverings and visors on campus

As part of our commitment to listening to feedback and taking evidence-based decisions where we can improve on our practices, we are making some refinements to our current guidance and operations, which we hope colleagues will find helpful.

Following feedback from the Student Pulse Survey, debate at the recent special meeting of Senate and consideration at the University Executive Board about the impact wearing both a face-covering and visor can have on teaching and learning, we have reviewed and revised our requirement for visors to be worn in addition to face coverings in in-person teaching spaces.

Updated SAGE and related sub-groups now advise that, while face coverings are likely to be effective at reducing the emission of respiratory droplets and aerosols containing virus into the environment, the effectiveness of standard visors as a mitigation, especially where two-metre distancing can be maintained, is now considered minimal.

In addition, the evidence in terms of cases suggests there is little to no evidence of transmission of the virus in teaching spaces across the campus and that the risk of transmission is low.

Based on this, University Executive Board has decided that visors are therefore no longer mandatory. Face coverings will continue to be mandatory in all our spaces unless there is a specific risk assessment in place that defines different measures.

Face visors will still be available for use if teaching staff or students feel wearing both would provide reassurance or where there is an underlying health condition.

Staff wellbeing survey

We are currently finalising our analysis of last month’s staff wellbeing pulse survey, the preliminary findings of which were shared on today’s livestream. The survey was designed to take a temperature check of aspects of our wellbeing and how it’s supported. With more than 2,000 respondents, headline findings include:

  • 55% of colleagues agreed or strongly agreed their overall wellbeing at work was good;
  • 72% of colleagues agreed or strongly agreed their manager shows sufficient concern about their wellbeing;
  • compared to 2018, fewer colleagues are never (-4%) or occasionally (-9%) stressed;
  • more colleagues are frequently (+9%) or always (+3%) stressed;
  • there is a difference between academic staff and Professional Services staff responses, both in terms of how staff feel about their workload and the extent to which they engage in wellbeing support. Academics are less likely to engage with or be aware of support but are more likely to experience stress.

There is clearly further work for us to do in this space, and the findings of the survey will be considered by University Executive Board and others over the coming weeks. Initial Faculty and Divisional Data packs will be shared by 30 November to support local discussion and planning while we continue to review the additional comments staff provided in the survey. The summary findings and the follow-up action plan will also be available to all colleagues on the Staff Survey site once the analysis is complete.

Light at the end of the tunnel 

It’s a phenomenal achievement of the global scientific community that there are now three (and, potentially, soon four) safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon. We can all be particularly proud of our colleagues in the COVID-19 Emergency Research Group (UNCOVER) for their considerable and ongoing contribution to understanding the virus and supporting the development of these vaccines (including the University’s role as one of the biggest recruiters to the Oxford vaccine trials).

Thanks to these extraordinary efforts, the world now has a promising path out of the pandemic. However, while we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, there remains some way to go before we see the end of the pandemic. In the meantime, we will continue to listen to feedback, take evidence-informed decisions and be guided by our institutional risk assessment framework.

Stay safe and thank you again for all your hard work.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: an update

2020 has been a year like no other. Yet, despite the huge challenges and disruption caused by the pandemic, we’ve not lost sight of our overriding strategy goals; particularly our commitment to eradicate all forms of inequality from our community.

With this in mind, I wanted to share a brief update on our recent gender equality work and report some positive new developments.

Ongoing progress and new challenges

As COVID-19 continues to dominate the higher education landscape, we’ve been concerned about the growing evidence that it is having a disproportionate impact on women, ethnic minorities, and those with caring responsibilities. This month saw the first meeting of a new task-and-finish group made up of senior academics from across the faculties to examine the growing data on the impact of the pandemic on these groups, and to make recommendations regarding actions that might be needed to ensure that this year’s academic promotion round takes these issues into account.

Elsewhere, I’m very pleased to say that, despite the considerable difficulties posed since March, we were able to complete the second Female Leadership Initiative (FLi) programme in July. This was again highly successful, attracting over 90 applicants. We held a final session in September when we were joined by the Aurora cohort to discuss inclusive leadership. Two major themes that emerged were developing self-awareness about one’s identity and purpose in a leadership role, and the importance – never more so than now – of creating supportive networks.

Given this, it is especially pleasing to note that the Bristol Women’s Mentoring Network has continued throughout this year, with over 80 active mentees and 76 mentors. Most of these mentors are current University staff, but several Emeritus Professors and alumni have also volunteered their time.  I am grateful to everyone who has given their time in this way.

This second round of the Mentoring Network has been very positively received, with a midway evaluation indicating that over 95% of respondents were finding the mentoring helpful, and more than 85% were making progress despite the challenges raised by the pandemic. Among the many positive comments were these thoughts from a mentee:

“I took so much out of the experience, the way our sessions were structured and how much time and effort they put into preparing and reviewing the ‘homework’ that was provided between meetings. I definitely feel more aware of my strengths and motivations and prepared for my next steps.”

The third mentoring programme will start in March 2021, and information on how to apply will be available from the beginning of December.  Do look out for this if you think you might benefit from mentoring or be willing to act as a mentor.  I have certainly found being a mentor very rewarding.

Elevate: raising our sights

I’m also delighted that we are leading the GW4 pilot of the Elevate programme, which offers new opportunities for Professional Services and academic staff from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background who identify as female to meet, share, support and learn together across the four GW4 universities (Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Bath).

The programme, which launches in January, focuses on individuals with management and leadership potential but is very much more than a traditional CPD programme: it creates room for the history, culture and diverse lived experience of its participants, and will encourage them to reflect, explore and grow through connecting and building solidarity together. Participants will be able to co-create the content of the programme, so that it’s as relevant and meaningful to them as possible.

Tackling domestic abuse and gender-based violence

I am conscious that during the festive season there is often a spike in reports of domestic abuse and gender-based violence.  Avon and Somerset police advise that there is concern that COVID-19 and its impact on unemployment, financial difficulties and the possibility of not being able to see family at Christmas could result in an increase in tensions and all types of abuse within the home.

Given this, I would encourage you to support the Public Health England ‘16 Days of Activism’ campaign against gender-based violence, which runs from 25 November to 10 December. You can help by knowing the signs of domestic abuse and how to support colleagues who you suspect are in an abusive relationship. You can also read our institutional policy statement on gender-based violence and abuse here.

Finally

While COVID-19 continues to represent a huge challenge for us all, the University stands firm in our commitment to build a diverse and inclusive University community. There remains much to do, as set out in our EDI Delivery Plan, but the clear progress we’re making, despite the pandemic, has been heartening to see. I look forward to updating you on further progress in the coming months.

 

An update on our institutional approach to COVD-19

This is the first in a new series of regular updates, setting out how the University is addressing the challenges of COVID-19 and keeping our students, staff and neighbouring communities safe.

This update is focused on how the University’s daily risk assessment framework helps us to quickly identify challenges, make informed decisions and address specific colleague concerns.

The University’s risk assessment framework

The Department for Education has set out four COVID response tiers that are specific to universities, colleges and schools. These detail the government’s expectations for teaching provision under different levels of risk, as assessed by Public Health England (PHE). Our community is currently assessed to be in Tier 1. This means we are expected to continue providing blended learning with face-to-face tuition until 3 December, when the government’s student travel “window” begins, followed by a temporary transition to full online provision by 9 December. We will also continue to follow public health guidance, including, for example, the appropriate use of face coverings.

Each university is also required by the government to provide a local Outbreak Plan, setting out both the safety mitigation in place and its approach for responding to any rise in COVID-19 cases on campus. Our own Outbreak Plan is underpinned by a robust multi-layered approach to risk management.

The first, foremost layer is our individual risk assessment process. This holistically assesses individual staff risk, taking both clinical and non-clinical factors into account, with the aim of safeguarding colleagues at most risk of adverse or serious reactions to COVID-19. If you are concerned about your safety and have not already done so, please make use of this individual risk assessment process at the earliest opportunity.

The next layer is our activity and space-based risk assessments. This includes regular assessments made by Campus Division, but also the risk assessments colleagues must make prior to undertaking education or research activities. For example, considering whether existing research risks have changed in light of our new COVID-secure working arrangements. This is all underpinned by our COVID Working Guide which sets out the overarching roles, responsibilities, mitigations and measures in place to reduce the risks to as low as is reasonably practicable.

Finally, monitoring the number of new and active cases in our community is central to our overall risk management approach. Following daily analysis of reported case numbers (including at living circle level), senior colleagues from across the University attend Daily Situation Review meetings with PHE and Bristol City Council where that data is reviewed in detail.

This Daily Situation Review process then feeds into PHE’s weekly Risk Assessment of the University. This is where we consider specific issues of concern raised by colleagues; issues such as background rates of infection and their cause; the effectiveness of our interventions and controls; and whether there is evidence that cases in our community are linked. It is also where PHE make their weekly recommendation on our overall operating model and COVID response tier.

This approach to risk management has prompted us to introduce several successful mitigations which have helped reduce the level of outbreak in our community, such as the deployment of Mobile Testing Units where they have been most needed.

As things stand, it’s encouraging to see that the daily number of new staff and student cases continues to fall – from 202 on 13 October to 31 on 11 November. In addition, the number of active cases in our community fell from a mid-October peak of 949 to 126 on 11 November. Over that same period, the seven-day rolling average has also fallen from 103 to 23.

I hope these figures provide some reassurance and demonstrate that the careful steps we are taking through our approach to risk management have helped reduce the risk of infection on campus. We will continue, of course, to do all we can to bring those case numbers down even further.

Thank you 

It was heartening to see the thanks and recognition shared by colleagues on last week’s livestream for the fantastic work of Professional Services colleagues across our community over these past few months. Your tireless efforts have indeed made our blended learning environment possible, helped keep us all safe, and ensured our University is functioning as best it can at this difficult time. Thank you!

If you’d like to send your own special message of thanks to a colleague or team across the University, don’t forget that our new Thanks and Recognition Wall is on hand to help you do just that. If you’ve not already done so, please consider sending a message and help make a colleague’s day.

I hope you’ve found this update useful. I’ll be sharing further updates in the coming weeks.