Next steps for the Knowledge Exchange Concordat

The Knowledge Exchange Concordat (KEC) has had a significant impact on how the Knowledge Exchange (KE) sector and stakeholders consider knowledge exchange, not least because of the contextual diversity demonstrated through the self-assessment exercise. This impact is visible in the recent HESA consultation, where it is proposed to adopt the KEC’s definition of knowledge exchange for the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) data survey; a proposal that is highly welcome. Perhaps this is a step that will help us to bring together our conversation about KE metrics (the ‘what’), with that of the ‘how’ of knowledge exchange, which is the bread and butter of the KEC.  

The UK Framework for KE Practice and Culture

Our overarching aim is to position the KE Concordat as the UK’s framework for KE practice and culture, providing a way for sector groups to come together and discuss KE in practice based on their own institutional and role context. The KEC has been invaluable in helping the sector to talk about the ‘how’ of KE; whether that is the ‘how’ of engagement with external audiences and investors, the ‘how’ of internal institutional communications, or the ‘how’ of increasing diversity across the piece.  It has helped us to think about leadership in KE, about skills and recruitment needed to do the job, about recognition and reward for those who are involved in KE activity. Webinars and self-assessment activity have been equally important for discussion of KE structure and governance. 

The end of the KEC’s development year coincided with a major review of all the sector concordats. An outcome from that has been greater contact between concordat leads and greater awareness of how concordats could be aligned. This is certainly a goal we have for the KEC, partly to reduce the burden (establishing reporting overlaps) but also to contribute to a shared goal of creating a positive research culture environment. We hope that by incorporating the KEC into the wider concordat landscape, we can give it a secure future as part of the institutional cycle of assurance and planning. 

Shaping Next Steps 

Since the end of March, we have been speaking to groups and individuals about the three main elements of the KEC – webinars, self-assessment and action planning, and peer review – to shape the next phase of delivery. We have said that there will be no self-assessment exercise in 2024, but there may be a light-touch review and report of action plan implementation in the autumn. 

We have a good idea of what our KE community liked, and disliked, about the KEC thanks to the review conducted by UUK in 2023. We are asking for your feedback again as the context for the KEC has changed, since it is no longer funded by Research England and not implemented by UUK. Does this change the sectors’ perception of the purpose and value of the KEC? If a common framework for self-assessment in KE is useful, how do we set expectations of frequency and reporting? And what purpose does that reporting serve? One purpose is to promote the KEC to institutional leaders and external stakeholders so that it is given the time and attention we believe it deserves. We know that devolved nations may take a different approach on the KEC in assurance and we want to be able to support that. 

PraxisAuril can’t deliver the next phase of the KEC on its own and we hope to maintain the open and collaborative culture created through the KEC operational group and demonstrated more widely through the KEC webinars.  With that aim in mind, another piece of our near-term activity is to establish a KEC advisory group to work with the PraxisAuril team.  If you would like to be part of that group, please indicate in the survey below to receive more information. You can also suggest a topic for a future KEC webinars using this survey form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LY6VZX8