Research Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange (KE)

The Research and Business Development Officers (RBDOs) can help to identify, develop and co-ordinate partnerships with external organisations and agencies, whether these be within the HE sector, private, public or third sectors.

Partnerships can exist in many forms - from an external partner simply allowing access to their resources to external partners providing funding contributions and staff to aid a research project from which they will draw an identifiable benefit.

Research Councils have opened up many of their research schemes to enable the involvement of external non-academic partners and have developed specific schemes to encourage partnerships with non-academic organizations for either collaborative research or the exchange of knowledge bringing benefit to all involved. Research schemes include:

• AHRC Networking grants – development of collaborative research partnerships
• AHRC Standard mode research grants – collaborative research projects
• ESRC Responsive mode research grants (Standard and Large) - collaborative research projects
• ESRC Follow-on Fund – dissemination and knowledge exchange
• ESRC Research Seminars scheme 

Specific schemes to encourage partnerships are known as Knowledge Exchange (previously Knowledge Transfer) schemes. The AHRC’s most recent definition of KE defines it as ‘a co-production of new knowledge through the interaction of academics and non-academic individuals and groups, which is of benefit to both parties and is distinct from the one-way dissemination of research findings’. Knowledge Exchange should be driven by high-quality scholarly research and produce outcomes in terms of cultural, social and economic benefits that are of immediate and/or identifiable benefit to a non-academic partner.

There are a number of different types of funding to enable both collaborative research and the transfer of knowledge. These are summarized here:

Doctoral research programme	AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Partnership component of Nottingham's ESRC DTC studentships
Graduate placement to transfer knowledge	AHRC Catalyst scheme Knowledge Transfer Partnership
Academic buyout or research team funding for knowledge exchange	AHRC and ESRC Follow-on fund ESRC Business Engagement Oppportunities scheme ESRC Government Placement Fellowships

The RBDO team can help you find the most appropriate funding scheme, and help you to develop your relationship with a non-academic partner. We have established relationships with a number of external agencies and knowledge of academics working with a wide range of organisations.
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