This report was funded by the HE Academy to examine scholarly activity in the context of Higher Education in Further Education. The growing interest in scholarly activity is seen to be influenced by concerns to enhance learning and teaching. This is best understood as part of wider attempts to create an ethos of higher education in Further Education Colleges.
The report defines scholarly activity, identifies associated activities and discusses how such activity can be developed and sustained. It distinguishes scholarly activity from research and considers how this distinction relates to knowledge associated with pedagogy and to disciplinary-specific knowledge.

The report considers the argument for a far-reaching shift in how scholarly activity is understood and practiced – at the national policy level, within HEIs, and amongst managers and practitioners. It summarizes ways in which scholarly activity has been developed and sustained in terms of:
•Strengthened links between universities and FECs
•Partnered approaches
•The establishment of research cultures in some FECs.

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