Our commitment to excellence

At Queen Mary, we are committed to ensuring our knowledge exchange activities create meaningful benefits for our partners, communities and society.

Whether we are working with businesses, policymakers, public services, charities, cultural organisations or communities, we believe effective partnerships require reflection, learning and continuous improvement.

This commitment underpins how we develop our knowledge exchange activities, support our staff and students, and strengthen the value we create through collaboration.

The Knowledge Exchange Concordat

Our approach is guided by the Knowledge Exchange Concordat, a sector-wide framework developed to help universities improve the way they plan, deliver and evaluate knowledge exchange activities.

The Concordat encourages universities to reflect on their strengths, identify opportunities for development and share good practice across the higher education sector. Originally developed by Universities UK and Research England, responsibility for the Concordat now sits with Knowledge Exchange UK (KEUK), which provides sector leadership and oversight for the framework.

By participating in the Concordat, Queen Mary demonstrates its commitment to delivering high-quality knowledge exchange activities that are strategic, inclusive and impactful.

Our progress

Queen Mary became an early signatory to the Knowledge Exchange Concordat in 2021.

Over the past five years, knowledge exchange has become increasingly embedded across the University. Many of the ambitions identified in our original Concordat action plan are now established parts of how we work. This progress reflects the collective contribution of staff, students, partners and communities across the University.

Areas of progress

Looking ahead

Recommitting to the Concordat marks the beginning of a new chapter for knowledge exchange at Queen Mary.

As knowledge exchange has evolved, so too have the questions we are asking ourselves. Alongside delivering successful activities and programmes, we are increasingly focused on understanding the broader value they create and the long-term contribution they make to society and the economy.

As we look ahead, we are exploring:

• What distinctive value does Queen Mary create through knowledge exchange over the next years?
• How can we maximise the benefits we create for partners, communities and society?
• How can we strengthen collaboration across our knowledge exchange ecosystem?

These questions will help shape the future direction of knowledge exchange at Queen Mary and inform the next phase of our Concordat journey.