The UK¡¯s Russell Group of 24 research-intensive universities frequently faces accusations of elitism and claims that it pursues its own agenda at the expense of the rest of the sector.

As evidence, the mission group¡¯s critics might list the struggles of its members to improve their record on widening participation, or the organisation¡¯s calls for research funding to be concentrated in large research universities.

But Tim Bradshaw, the Russell Group¡¯s new chief executive, has argued that it is needed more now than ever before, and has claimed that the organisation¡¯s lobbying activities are to the benefit of the sector as a whole.

¡°We might be elite but we are certainly not elitist,¡± Dr Bradshaw, formerly the Russell Group¡¯s director of policy, told Times Higher Education.?¡°And I don¡¯t think [elitism] applies to any of our universities. Quite often you might think we are doing things that will just benefit us but that¡¯s not true.¡±

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As an example, Dr Bradshaw cited the mission group¡¯s efforts to ensure that research technicians from the European Union retain their right to remain in the UK after Brexit.

¡°Hopefully we are doing things which will benefit the whole of the UK research and innovation research system. It¡¯s not exclusive,¡± he said.

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Dr Bradshaw takes the helm of the Russell Group at a time when the organisation¡¯s role in the sector is under greater scrutiny than ever before.

Alongside the long-running complaints of elitism, Dr Bradshaw¡¯s elevation to the top job came after his predecessor, Wendy Piatt, became embroiled in a media storm as a result of newspaper allegations that she had had an affair with Ant¨®nio Horta-Os¨®rio, the chief executive of the Lloyds Banking Group.

An internal review found no evidence of wrongdoing related to travel and expenses claimed by Dr Piatt, who had met Mr Horta-Os¨®rio during a business trip to Singapore, but she said that she wished to ¡°explore new challenges¡±.

And, while the Russell Group has been very effective as a marketing tool for student recruitment, there are arguments that it has ¡°punched below its weight¡± on policy. For example, it arguably struggled to influence the development of England¡¯s teaching excellence framework.

However, Dr Bradshaw rejected suggestions that the Russell Group had lost influence in recent years.

?¡°We¡¯re not asking for any special rules or free passes, we never have done,¡± he said. ¡°But what we are saying is the rules need to be such that they work for us, and others will benefit from that too.

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¡°There¡¯s still room for the Russell Group to be influencing and leading the conversation in this way.¡±

Dr Bradshaw said that the future of the Russell Group was as a more open community, with a series of changes taking place since his arrival including the publishing of blog posts to explain the group¡¯s activity, as well as the creation of a bigger profile on social media platforms.

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In terms of the policy challenges ahead, Dr Bradshaw said that, while he felt ¡°very positive¡± about the confirmation of settled status for European Union citizens post-Brexit, a key target was to establish ¡°a deep and lasting relationship between the UK and the EU on science¡± that builds on existing research and innovation partnerships.

Dr Bradshaw also issued a warning over the changes to the policymaking environment, including the creation of the Office for Students and UK Research and Innovation.

¡°My area of caution is that we have a system which now effectively splits up teaching and research: teaching excellence and research excellence frameworks; Department for Education, and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,¡± he said.

¡°There is always a risk that those streams will unzip over time and become separate and parallel without properly interconnecting. I think that would be a real shame for the UK higher education system, because the way we see Russell Group universities is [as] not sitting in just one camp.¡±

Research, teaching and public engagement are all ¡°part and parcel¡± of what the mission group¡¯s members do as a holistic enterprise, he added.

¡°Having to report to different paymasters and different regulatory requirements which might not take reference across each other will, I think, be difficult and is something the government needs to consider very carefully.¡±

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rachael.pells@timeshighereducation.com