The chief executive of HEFCE was Professor Madeleine Atkins (since 1 January 2014), previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Coventry.
In addition to distributing both teaching and research funding to higher education institutions HEFCE was also involved with: widening participation; developing links between higher education institutions and business and the community; and enhancing leadership, governance and management within the sector.
HEFCE monitored whether these bodies were carrying out the duty effectively, and reports findings back to providers and the Government on a regular basis.
This is primarily a regulatory tool, which lists each provider's names and addresses, its powers and the standards it is required to meet, among other information useful to other regulators and Government agencies.
[8] HEFCE also funded a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) scheme for those working in England and Northern Ireland.
The initiative is administered by the HEA and has two separate strands providing individual awards – recognising individual excellence in teaching within the Higher Education sector – and awards for large-scale projects typically undertaken by Higher Education institutions over periods of up to three years.