This is the largest group of further reading in the book, which is deliberate. Diagnosis is well served by the existing literature; repair is not.

The sources below cover the policy choices that were postponed rather than taken, the stabilising mechanisms other higher-education systems use and England does not, and the practical repertoire available at three different levels — what a single institution can change on its own authority, what only the sector acting together can change, and what requires government to move. Read the comparative material with the usual caution: a mechanism that works in another system carries that system’s funding settlement, legal form and political assumptions with it.

29 recommendations

Drawn from the book's evidence files and grouped by the chapter that recommends them. Each annotation explains what the source contributes.

The Choices Government Kept PostponingChapter 16

Explainer: QR funding and the REFUK Research and Innovation, 2023
Background on quality-related research funding.
Graduate route: rapid reviewMigration Advisory Committee, 2024
Competitor countries, post-study work policy and effects on the sector.
Higher Education and Research Act 2017UK Parliament, 2017
Statutory background to the English regulatory system.

What Other Systems StabiliseChapter 17

Education at a Glance 2024: OECD IndicatorsOECD — 2024
Comparative indicators on higher education funding, participation and governance.
National student fee and support systems in European higher educationEuropean Education and Culture Executive Agency — 2025, covering 2023/24
Comparative overview of European fee and student-support arrangements.
Your Endowment Questions, AnsweredNational Association of College and University Business Officers
Background on endowment restrictions, spending and long-term management.

What Universities Can Do NowChapter 18

Financial sustainability and market exit casesOffice for Students
Illustrative cases of providers under financial pressure, useful for thinking about deliberate subsidy, course completion, exit planning and credible change.
Efficiency in government procurement of common goods and servicesNational Audit Office — 23 July 2024
Comparative material on aggregation, procurement data and commercial control in central government; not university-specific evidence.
PPN 004: Open Book Contract ManagementCabinet Office — 17 February 2025
Comparative public-sector contract-management guidance. Its stated scope is central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, not ordinary autonomous universities.
The Contract Management PlaybookCabinet Office — 25 March 2026
Comparative background on public-sector contract management; check scope before applying any recommendation to a university.
Higher education provider data: estates management: 2018 to 2019Department for Education and Higher Education Statistics Agency — 14 May 2020
Historical HE estates data. Too old to support a contemporary quantitative claim without a later source.
Manage your education estateDepartment for Education — 26 February 2026
Comparative education-estate guidance rather than direct higher-education authority.
Further education estates planning: Understanding the estateDepartment for Education — 15 November 2022
Comparative material on measuring and classifying space in further education, not university-specific guidance.

What the Sector Must Do TogetherChapter 19

Frameworks, DPS and procurementJisc
Background on framework agreements and procurement routes available through Jisc.
About HEPAHigher Education Procurement Association
Context on procurement professional development, resources and benchmarking in higher education.
VAT Cost Sharing Exemption Manual: CSE1250HM Revenue & Customs — updated 5 March 2026
Conditions that must all be met for supplies by a cost-sharing group to qualify for the exemption. The tax mechanism is explained fully in Why Universities Cannot Just Share and returned to as a government reform in Chapter 18.
Horizontal agreementsCompetition and Markets Authority — 16 August 2023
Detailed guidance on agreements and information exchange between actual or potential competitors.
Data maturity frameworkJisc
Wider context on institutional data capability, governance, processes and systems.
Student analytics: A core specification for engagement and wellbeing analyticsJisc — 6 March 2023
Example of a shared sector specification developed for a defined operational purpose.
What is UCAS?UCAS
Background on the UK’s shared admissions service and its governance.
Janet NetworkJisc
Background on shared digital infrastructure for UK education and research.
Reporting to the OfSOffice for Students — 28 May 2026
Regulatory context for mergers, acquisitions and changes of legal status in England.

What Government Must ChangeChapter 20

Fit for the Future: Independent Review of the Office for StudentsDepartment for Education — 26 July 2024
Recommendations on the focus, proportionality, efficiency and governance of the English regulator.
Research financial sustainability: insights paper 2025UK Research and Innovation — 2025
Analysis of research costs, recovery and institutional behaviour.
Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England: 2026Office for Students — 14 May 2026, corrected 15 June 2026
Current sector financial context and provider forecasts.
Higher education restructuring regimeDepartment for Education — 2020; withdrawn 2021
The temporary pandemic-era last-resort support scheme for eligible English providers.
Further education bodies: insolvency guidanceDepartment for Education — updated 24 January 2020
The insolvency and education-administration regime for further education and sixth-form college corporations.
Graduate route rapid reviewMigration Advisory Committee / Home Office — 2024
Evidence on the purpose and effects of the post-study work route before its later reduction.
International Education Strategy: 2021 updateDepartment for International Trade and Department for Education — 6 February 2021
The superseded education-export and international-student targets, retained for historical comparison.