Research England has today published a document detailing proposals for how the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) could work and would like to hear the HE sector’s views on these proposals. The proposals set out in the document aim to implement a Government policy priority for the KEF set out in the Industrial Strategy White Paper in 2017.
The KEF consultation document details the proposed design and implementation plan for the first iteration of the KEF for English HEIs. The consultation proposals build on three KEF documents published in November 2018: Summary of KEF call for evidence responses, KEF Cluster Analysis Report, and KEF Technical Note. A full copy of the press release can be read on the Research England website. The consultation will be open until midday, Thursday 14 March 2019. English HEIs can respond to it by completing a survey.
Sean Fielding, Director of Innovation, Impact and Business at the University of Exeter and Chair of PraxisAuril said:
“UK Universities are already some of the best in the world at engaging effectively with business and for working with small businesses UK universities are global leaders. The Knowledge Exchange Framework will help us to benchmark our performance so that we can keep getting better. This work is vital for the success of the UK economy and the UK’s knowledge transfer professionals have a key part to play in its success.”
Research England also plans to run a pilot KEF with a representative cross-section of HEIs between February and April 2019. They are now calling for English HEIs eligible for Research England funding to register their interest in being involved in this pilot exercise for the remainder of the 2018-19 academic year. Interested applicants should read the guidance before completing the form in the consultation document, and submit it to KEPolicy@re.ukri.org by midday, Friday 25 January 2019. The pilot will further test and refine proposals, and will be used to inform the development of the KEF.
PraxisAuril will respond to the consultaiton and actively encourages members to submit their own views as well. You can read a blog piece about the KEF by our Head of Policy, Tamsin Mann, on Wonkhe today and keep up to date with PraxisAuril's KEF activities via our dedicated KEF webpage.