The University of Liverpool has maintained its sector-leading performance in Research England's Knowledge Exchange Framework results (KEF6), highlighting its position as one of the UK's leading universities for supporting businesses, organisations and communities beyond academia.
Announced today (7 October), the results of the sixth iteration of KEF recognise the University's strengths across a broad range of knowledge exchange activities.
Building on previous KEF results, the University continues to demonstrate very high or high engagement in six of the seven perspectives assessed.
Highlights include:
- Achieving the highest performance band (Quintile 5) for Research Partnerships, IP and Commercialisation, and Working with the Public and Third Sector
- Demonstrating high engagement (Quintile 4) in Working with Business, Local Growth & Regeneration, and Public & Community Engagement
- Improved performance in CPD & Graduate Start-ups, driven by continued development of the University's professional learning offer.
Overall, the results reflect the breadth of the University's work with businesses, public sector organisations, charities, community groups and other external organisations, spanning collaboration, innovation, commercialisation, public engagement and skills development.
Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool, said: "These latest results demonstrate our sustained excellence in working with businesses, public bodies and communities to turn world-leading research and expertise into real-world impact.
"From our century-long partnership with Unilever and major new investment through the Local Innovation Partnership Fund, to our growing spin-out portfolio and public engagement, we are accelerating innovation, creating opportunities and driving economic and societal impact locally, nationally and internationally."
Ian Derbyshire, Engineering & Technology Director, Baker Hughes, said: Congratulations to the University of Liverpool on its Knowledge Exchange Framework results. Strong partnerships between universities and industry are vital to translate research and expertise into real-world innovation and impact. At Baker Hughes, we are proud to be working with the University to help make that happen.
Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool (NML), said: "We're delighted to see the University of Liverpool's strong KEF results recognise its wider strength in research partnerships and knowledge exchange. Our long-standing partnership is a great example of what this can achieve - bringing together academic expertise with our collections, people and places to broaden participation, engage diverse audiences and create lasting cultural and social impact."
KEF's interactive dashboards have been released by Research England and can be viewed here*.
University showcase pages
Our KEF webpages highlight a range of knowledge exchange activities demonstrating how the University works with organisations and communities beyond academia. These include our century-long partnership with Unilever, which contributed to 350 patent filings between 2015 and 2024; more than £23.7 million of UKRI investment in the University-led AIM-HI and NBIC-LIVE programmes to drive regional innovation and growth; Novel, led by the University's VEC, which forms part of the wider Horizons initiative supporting 257 new jobs and £42.9 million in GVA across the region; and our growing spin-out portfolio, with the Enterprise Team supporting the creation of four new spin-out companies and the portfolio as a whole receiving record levels of external investment.
Our engagement with communities also continues at scale, including co-hosting the British Science Festival, which engaged 17,441 people through 114 events across Liverpool, alongside projects such as Your Home, Your Team, using football, photography and personal stories to engage new audiences with research. These are just some of the many examples featured across our KEF webpages.
