This document, published by Research England and the Office for Students, sets out the background, objectives, stages and timetable of a review of Research England’s funding and policy approaches in knowledge exchange.
The review will assess whether formula funding for knowledge exchange is fit for purpose and meets current objectives, set by Government, for knowledge exchange. Research England's formula funding for KE is the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) but other funds - notably the Connecting Capability Fund (CCF, 2016) - are also contributing to KE resources and activity, particularly via collaboration. The document notes that Government priorities have focussed on increased support for and assurance on university capabilities to manage intellectual property and undertake research commercialisation. The KE Framework (KEF) was introduced in 2020, following extensive community consultation, alongside the sector-led KE Concordat. As a result of these factors, there has been an increase in the complexity of Reserach England's approach with a number of important but potentially overlapping elements.
In addition to this, individual UK Research Councils have increased their own funding to support impact and KE and the creation of UKRI has seen the creation of an overarching commercialisaiton unit and strategy. The delivery of student KE projects, via the OfS and Department for Education's budget, creates a new context for KE funding and activity.
The review of HE-BCI data, which is the primary data sources for analysis of KE activity in UK universities, continues in tandem with this review (see https://www.hesa.ac.uk/blog/03-02-2022/new-year-new-start-reigniting-he-...).
The KE review has three stages:
1) Compiling evidence, stakeholder engagement and options development. Spring-Autumn 2022.
2) Initial decisions 2022-2023, targeting areas of change and possibly including specific consultations.
3) Implementation 2023-2025, including further development work and possibly specific consultations.
More information and detail is available in the attached document, which is also available on the UKRI website https://www.ukri.org/publications/review-of-ke-funding-stakeholder-engag...
