The University of Liverpool has performed strongly in Research England’s Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF4), maintaining its position as one of the country’s leading universities for knowledge exchange.
KEF is an annual, metrics-driven assessment of how universities in England collaborate with external partners, from businesses to community groups, for the benefit of the economy and society.
It evaluates performance across seven areas of knowledge exchange, and clusters similar universities for comparison. The University of Liverpool is in Cluster V alongside the largest, most research intensive and broad discipline universities that undertake significant amounts of world-leading research.
Announced today (18 September), the 2024 KEF4 results show that we remain in the top quintile (Quintile 5, representing very high engagement) for Research Partnerships, Working with Business and Working with the Public and Third Sector, exceeding the average score for the cluster.
We have increased our performance in IP and Commercialisation where we now sit in the top quintile. The results also recognise our high engagement (Quintile 4) in Public and Community Engagement, which is in line with the cluster average.
Our performance in KEF is underpinned by the University’s 2031 Strategic Framework and there have been improvements in several of the key KEF metrics. Income from IP, and the number and turnover of our spin-out companies has increased over the KEF 4 period (2020/21 – 2022/23).
Income from contract research with large businesses and the public and third sector has also increased alongside the number of graduate start-ups.
Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool said: I am delighted with the University’s outstanding performance in the latest KEF results. These results showcase our strategic focus on making a real-world impact through meaningful partnerships and leveraging our IP to benefit people, our place, and the planet. They also recognise our collaborative strengths in engaging with hundreds of local, national, and international partners. Together, we are advancing our mission and making a difference in the world.”
Alison Campbell, CEO of the UK Government Office for Technology Transfer said: “As a University of Liverpool Enterprise Board member, I am thrilled that IP and Commercialisation activity has progressed to the highest quintile in the KEF results. This shows the University’s commitment to exploiting its world-leading expertise and knowledge assets to contribute to solving global challenges. I look forward to seeing what the future holds as we work together to put the University and the Enterprise Team on the UK’s innovation map.”
Mike Greenall, NSG Group Chief Technology Officer, said: “It is great to see the University continue to perform strongly in the KEF results. Our partnerships and joint work programmes with world-leading academic research partners like the University of Liverpool support NSG Group to remain at the forefront of innovation. From improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions, to harnessing new digital tools to identify and develop advanced nanoscale functional materials, we are confident that together we can make a positive impact on the world.”
KEF’s interactive dashboards have been released by Research England and can be viewed here*.
Our webpages here showcase a selection of innovative knowledge exchange activities, projects and partnerships at the University of Liverpool that benefit society and the wider economy. These examples include our strategic partnership with Unilever, the Horizons Programme, some of our high-growth spin-out companies and more.
Information for University of Liverpool staff:
The University of Liverpool is committed to developing Knowledge Exchange that offers inspiring ways to address local, national and global challenges.
Research, Partnerships and Innovation (RPI) is your link to developing collaborations with organisations outside of academia. You can also access the Research Partnering Toolkit, your virtual guide to creating impactful and rewarding collaborations. Discover more on our Partnership Development webpages here.
*If you have previously viewed KEF3, we encourage you to refresh your browser before viewing the KEF4 dashboards.