First launched in 2019, the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) is an annual assessment of English higher education institutions that measures how universities transfer their knowledge to different types of partners to benefit the economy and society beyond academia.

In the new results, King’s ranked:

• In the top 20% for Research Partnerships, Working with Business, and Working with the Public and Third Sector (above average for the peer group, for the third consecutive year)
• In the top 20% for IP and Commercialisation (average for the peer group)
• Increased performance in Public and Community Engagement to now sit in top 40% (average for the peer group)
• In the top 40% for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Graduate Start-ups (previously named Skills, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship) (above average for the peer group)

The KEF aims to help universities understand their performance, ensure public funding used in knowledge exchange is effective, and to allow for comparisons between clusters of similarly sized universities by assessing the knowledge exchange activities of institutions. King’s belongs to Cluster V, which is defined as: “very large, very high research intensive and broad-discipline universities undertaking significant amounts of excellent research”, and encompasses 17 institutions in total, including Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford, and Cambridge.

Knowledge exchange in practice

One of the projects that contributed to King’s improvement in the Public and Community Engagement perspective is the Children and Young People’s Health Partnership (CYPHP), which developed, implemented, evaluated, and embedded a new model of integrated healthcare for local children and young people. The new partnership and evaluation approach has improved health care delivery for 128,000 children and young people living in Southwark and Lambeth.

King’s Cultural Institute draws together artists and cultural partners with students, staff and alumni to drive innovation and insight through arts and culture. Science Gallery London is King’s flagship public space for students, staff and local communities and has run exhibitions on a range of topics of public relevance including Anxiety, Gender and AI.

King’s research underpinned and fundamentally shaped the recent Independent Review of the Mental Health Act (IRMHA), chaired by King’s Regius Professor of Psychiatry, Sir Simon Wessley. This work, led by King’s Policy Institute, resulted in specific recommendations to enable patients to plan for their own care and treatment. The Institute works to connect research to policy and respond to society’s challenges with evidence and expertise. The continued strength of King’s partnerships with non-academic organisations, particularly with partner NHS Trusts, is integral to the university’s consistent and excellent performance in the Research Partnerships perspective.

King’s supports students, staff, and alumni in kickstarting cutting-edge businesses through investment, acceleration, and training. Running since 2019, London Demo Day is an annual event jointly run by the King’s Entrepreneurship Institute, Imperial College London, UCL, and (as of 2023) LSE. In 2023, 20 start-ups (including 5 from the Kings20 Accelerator) pitched to raise funding from a range of investors, including those from the King’s Investor Network. To date, over £75m of funding has been raised by innovative teams, who pitched at previous London Demo Days, to develop businesses across health, ed tech, green tech, and social impact tech.