Knowledge Exchange Concordat review

Knowledge exchange refers to the sharing of knowledge, expertise and ideas between universities and their non-academic partners. It covers a wide range of activities, for example:

• turning research into new companies, products or processes
• supporting start-ups
• involving students and graduates in applying their skills and engaging with local communities

Knowledge exchange helps to tackle issues including inequality economic prosperity, net zero and Covid-19 treatment and prevention.

The Knowledge Exchange Concordat (KE Concordat) is a sector-led initiative to recognise, develop and improve the many different ways higher education providers engage in knowledge exchange. It is led jointly by our team at Universities UK and GuildHE.

A total of 136 higher education institutions have signed up to it and 112 chose to take part in a development year exercise. So far it has:

• brought together over 1,000 examples of innovative practice
• created 560 priority actions for improved collaborative working
• improved cross-sector collaboration and enhanced the impact of research on locally, nationally and globally 

Here are just a handful of examples of how universities are making a difference by sharing knowledge and research to have a real impact.

Developing Entrepreneurial Women at the University of South Wales

This programme supported female founders on their start-up journey. Delivered in partnership with NatWest Cymru, it offered start-up masterclasses, small business coaching and a supportive community for women entrepreneurs.

By harnessing the university’s expertise, insights and networks, this programme helped to advance gender diversity in the business sector in Wales.

The review in the executive summary recommends: 

• The Knowledge Exchange Concordat must be repeated within three years and become established alongside other concordats for all institutions.
• Institutions should aim to develop an institution-wide, long-term vision for KE activities.
• As far as possible, funders should consider further aligning the different external KE reporting and accountability requirements to reduce duplication and the administrative burden, and to maximise impact.
• The concordat should evolve to enable institutions to demonstrate how KE practice is both improving and evolving and is responsive to national policy priorities.
• The sector should support using the action plans to exchange good practice and innovation, and develop a repository of KE resources and case studies. 

Along with the executive summary, the full review includes: 

• an evaluation report [PDF] summarising the outcomes of a survey of institutional representatives and evaluators, conducted by Universities UK.
• a review of institutional action plans and evaluator feedback [PDF], conducted by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB).
• an analysis of priority actions [PDF]

The concordat is led by Universities UK and GuildHE.

It's supported by:

• Research England
• National Centre for Universities and Businesses
• PraxisAURIL
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
• Scottish Funding Council
• Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland