"A two-way exchange between researchers, students and research users, to share ideas, evidence, research, experiences and skills. It refers to any process through which academic ideas and insights are shared, and external perspectives and experiences brought in to academia.”
Piloted in 2020 and led by Research England, the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) forms the third pillar of assessment of university activities, alongside the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
Purpose of the KEF
Alongside the KEF, Universities have also been asked to sign up to a Knowledge Exchange Concordat (KEC) of good principles and practice, confirming their intention to embed KE in the institution.
"Knowledge exchange has long been at the heart of our research and innovation activities at Kent. We believe in the power of working collaboratively with industry and the community to benefit both the economy and society, and are determined to extend our KE activities at a local, national and international level.
As keen participants in both the KE Concordat and the Framework, we welcome this opportunity to better understand our performance and to put KE on the map for all our staff, students and partners, creating clear access routes and engagement opportunities across our portfolio."
Shane Weller, DVC of Research and Innovation
The KEF assesses a university’s KE activities, through narrative and metric data, under seven broad ‘perspectives’:
