Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF6) results highlight the wider value of Birkbeck’s research to society

New data, recently published by Research England, has shown a strong and improved positioning for Birkbeck as it continues to strengthen its commitment to translating academic expertise into meaningful benefits for businesses, public services and society.

The Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF6) assesses higher education providers’ knowledge exchange activities, against comparable institutions, across seven core activity areas (perspectives):

• research partnerships
• working with business
• working with the public and third sector
• continuing professional development and graduate start-ups
• local growth and regeneration
• intellectual property and commercialisation
• public and community engagement

Together, these perspectives are viewed as providing a broad picture of how universities contribute to society and the economy.

For Birkbeck, a university with a long-standing commitment to widening access to higher education and connecting academic knowledge with real-world challenges, knowledge exchange represents an important part of its wider mission.

Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor said, “I am pleased to see the recent results of the KEF6 which are a strong reflection of the way in which Birkbeck continues to extend the benefits of its research beyond academia. Our focus remains on strengthening our partnerships with businesses, public bodies, voluntary organisations and communities, recognising that academic expertise can help address practical challenges, inform policy and support innovation.”

Birkbeck’s KEF6 results showed stable and improved outcomes for the following perspective areas:

• Maintained strong position in the intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation perspective, representing continued strength in the commercialisation of Birkbeck’s research and IP.
• Continued strength in working with public and third sectors perspective, with the consultancy and facilities income improving to the highest engagement category.
• Improvement in research partnerships perspective – representative of positive engagement with external organisations through collaborative research.

KEF6 is designed to compare institutions with similar characteristics rather than rank every university in a single league table. Performance is assessed against the seven core activity areas, assigning each institution a quintile score (from 1 to 5) relative to its peer cluster. Birkbeck belongs to Cluster X, defined as large, high-research-intensive and broad-discipline universities.

The first iteration of KEF was published in March 2021 and derived from the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation commissioning the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), four years prior, to provide more information about higher education providers’ achievements in serving the economy and society for the benefit of the public, business and communities. The latest version (KEF6) provides ongoing annual tracking and metric comparisons, with narrative statements scheduled for the next major update in tandem with the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029.