National Centre for Universities and Business

Prior to NCUB, the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), was born in 1986 from the collaboration of James Prior, John Cassels and Pauline Perry. Pauline (at that time the Chief Inspector of Schools at the Department for Education) had heard about an American organisation that had managed to bring businesses and universities closer together. John (as Director General of the National Economic Development Office) was a believer in the power of partnership while Jim Prior was a recent Cabinet member and the new chairman of GEC. He agreed to invite the heads of a range of businesses, universities and polytechnics to a couple of initial discussions to see if there was indeed a common cause that might be addressed through a partnership approach.

Sir Tim Wilson's review of university-business collaboration published in February 2012 recommended that the CIHE develop to become the focal point of university-business collaboration as a membership charity. In 2013, in response to the Wilson Review CIHE was replaced by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB).

Following the announcement, the four funding councils across the UK research councils through RCUK and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) (now Innovate UK) agreed to help fund NCUB. NCUB was launched with an event at the BT tower, with David Docherty and Richard Greenhalgh becoming the organisation's first CEO and Chairman respectively.[3]