What is the value of knowledge exchange?

Knowledge exchange is a collective and collaborative practice that together with research and education has become the third mission of higher education institutions. In the higher education context, knowledge exchange is an umbrella term used as a shorthand for x-disciplinary collaboration between academia and business, public and third sector organisations, that delivers innovation. The landscape of knowledge exchange in higher education is complex and moves along the spectrum of research, knowledge transfer and education resulting in a myriad of knowledge exchange practices, involving very diverse mechanisms, objectives, actors and external collaborators, and therefore generating a wide array of value and impacts.
This paper reports on research in-progress commissioned to better understand the distinctive value of knowledge exchange activities in the arts and humanities, and in particular to explore how might the value that arts and design knowledge exchange activities deliver to external organisations be more effectively identified, captured and communicated. The research follows an inclusive and participatory approach that includes literature review and workshops with academics and officers experienced in knowledge exchange.
Finally, the author argues that currently institutionalised methods to account for the impact of knowledge exchange activities miss out, and shares work in-progress towards a framework to approach the qualitative value of knowledge exchange activities in the context of arts and humanities that takes into consideration (1) what is knowledge exchange, (2) inputs, enablers and barriers, (3) mechanisms, and (4) outputs, outcomes and impacts.

Knowledge exchange is a collective and collaborative practice that together with research and education has become the third mission of higher education institutions. In the higher education context, knowledge exchange is an umbrella term used as a shorthand for x-disciplinary collaboration between academia and business, public and third sector organisations, that delivers innovation. The landscape of knowledge exchange in higher education is complex and moves along the spectrum of research, knowledge transfer and education resulting in a myriad of knowledge exchange practices, involving very diverse mechanisms, objectives, actors and external collaborators, and therefore generating a wide array of value and impacts.
This paper reports on research in-progress commissioned to better understand the distinctive value of knowledge exchange activities in the arts and humanities, and in particular to explore how might the value that arts and design knowledge exchange activities deliver to external organisations be more effectively identified, captured and communicated. The research follows an inclusive and participatory approach that includes literature review and workshops with academics and officers experienced in knowledge exchange.
Finally, the author argues that currently institutionalised methods to account for the impact of knowledge exchange activities miss out, and shares work in-progress towards a framework to approach the qualitative value of knowledge exchange activities in the context of arts and humanities that takes into consideration (1) what is knowledge exchange, (2) inputs, enablers and barriers, (3) mechanisms, and (4) outputs, outcomes and impacts.