KEF6 and 5 Key Benefits of University-Industry Partnerships

Some welcome positive news for the higher education sector.

University-industry partnerships bring academic expertise and business priorities together through research, skills development and innovation. They already create considerable value. But which relationships could transform a university’s financial and strategic position over the next decade?

Universities may already know the businesses concerned. What they may lack is a shared view of which relationships deserve greater investment and attention, and a plan to develop them.

With income diversification high on governing bodies’ agendas, that distinction matters. Having thousands of business relationships is an achievement. Recognising the five with the greatest potential requires a different conversation.

Why University Industry Partnerships Need Executive Attention

On 7 October 2026, Research England published its sixth Knowledge Exchange Framework, KEF6. Very large, research-intensive universities with broad discipline bases moved from a cluster average of quintile four to five in Working with business, helped particularly by increased SME engagement.

York St John improved its research co-authorship with non-academic partners, while Manchester Metropolitan strengthened its IP and commercialisation performance. This is encouraging evidence across different institutional missions. www.ukri.org

A day earlier, Professor Ken Badcock, York’s interim Vice-Chancellor, had launched the University of York’s refreshed strategy to 2035. Its immediate priorities included delivering the five-year financial forecast, diversifying income and scaling income from the private economy.

These announcements prompt a question: how can existing business engagement develop into partnerships that support long-term institutional resilience?

KEF6 demonstrates considerable strength. My argument is that universities should also examine the future potential of individual relationships and their ability to develop it. Benchmarking knowledge exchange performance and deciding where to invest the next year of leadership attention are related, but different, tasks.

How Universities Should Value Their Industry Relationships

Consider two hypothetical examples. One university secures a £500,000 research contract with an SME. Another secures ten SME contracts worth £50,000 each. Which position is more valuable?

Both generate £500,000. Assuming equivalent classifications and reporting periods, they contribute the same income to the relevant measure. Overall KEF results also depend on institutional scale, other metrics and relative performance, as Research England’s explanation of the framework makes clear. kef.ac.uk

Strategically, however, the situations could differ considerably. One substantial contract might begin a decade of joint research, shared facilities and student placements. Ten smaller contracts might provide a diversified portfolio of satisfied clients, with less dependence on one organisation.

Neither model is automatically superior. A large contract can also absorb scarce academic capacity without generating an adequate financial contribution.

Assessing university industry partnerships therefore requires more than looking at revenue already secured. Executive teams should consider the likelihood of repeat business, the cost of delivery, concentration risk and the longer-term value of each relationship.

Commercial organisations distinguish current revenue from qualified future opportunities and customer lifetime value. Universities can apply similar discipline alongside academic quality and public benefit.

The question is whether anyone has assessed which relationships could become substantially more valuable, and who is responsible for progressing them.

What the Liverpool and Unilever Partnership Shows Us

Liverpool’s scientific collaboration with Unilever dates back to 1917 and accelerated into a more strategic relationship in the early 2000s. Its £81 million Materials Innovation Factory brings university researchers and Unilever scientists together around shared capabilities.

A June 2026 assessment of the Liverpool–Unilever partnership reported that, between 2015 and 2024, it:

• Attracted £136 million in research investment for the university, including industry and public funding.
• Contributed to 350 Unilever patent filings and innovations across 18 of its 30 Power Brands.
• Helped create seven university-led spin-outs.

The report estimated that the university’s participation generated approximately £270 million in gross value added (“GVA”) over the decade to 2024, including £146 million within Liverpool City Region.

These figures describe a relationship supported by shared facilities, complementary expertise and sustained investment. Its value developed across successive opportunities.

That is an important lesson for university industry partnerships. Individual projects can create the trust and capabilities needed for something much larger, provided both organisations recognise the opportunity and commit to developing it.

Every institution has different strengths. For some, the starting point will be applied research. For others, it may be professional education or helping a regional employer address persistent skills shortages.

Aligning People and Priorities for Regional Growth

During many years selling technology to global investment banks, I learned that securing a substantial agreement depended heavily on alignment among the people influencing the decision – often completely invisible to many other business development people.

IT Services might see an opportunity to improve systems. Operations might recognise efficiency gains. Finance would examine the return, while procurement, legal and risk teams had legitimate concerns of their own.

The conversations determining whether a deal proceeded often happened when we weren’t in the room. That experience still shapes my approach to sales coaching and the pursuit of complex business relationships.

University industry partnerships can encounter comparable challenges. An academic may recognise research potential, while an enterprise team sees commercial opportunity. Finance needs clarity on income and costs. Faculties must consider workload and academic priorities. The industrial partner has its own investment criteria and timetable.

Each perspective is legitimate. Without agreement about the intended outcome and the decisions needed, a promising relationship can lose momentum.

Several faculties might work independently with the same company, without recognising the potential for an institution-wide partnership. A strong academic relationship might have little visibility among the company’s senior leadership. Responsibility can become fragmented, or access to a key contact can depend too heavily on one person.

These are possibilities to investigate, rather than conclusions established by KEF6. Adding more names to the pipeline will achieve little if existing opportunities are waiting for decisions nobody has been asked to make.

The benefits can extend well beyond university income. The N8 Research Partnership’s response to KEF6 highlighted strong engagement across Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York. But university-business collaboration across the UK was highlighted.

Alongside those research-intensive institutions, universities specialising in applied research, workforce development and regional employer relationships have important contributions to make.

Successful university industry partnerships can help attract investment, improve graduate opportunities and support regional productivity. But graduate retention also depends on employers creating attractive local jobs. Placements alone cannot deliver it.

Read: The Future of Higher Education

Nor will commercial relationships resolve the structural pressures facing higher education. Academic independence and public responsibilities remain central. Sustainable income must be assessed after delivery costs, with realistic expectations about how quickly it can grow.

Universities already employ capable knowledge exchange and business development professionals. Executive leadership must give them the authority and coordination needed to develop opportunities across departmental boundaries.

Which Five Relationships Could Transform Your University?

Developing university industry partnerships starts with a practical leadership exercise. Ask your executive team independently to identify the five business relationships most likely to transform the university’s financial and strategic position over the next decade.

Would they give the same five names? More importantly, would they agree on why?

Read: How Optimised is Your Alumni Network?

For each candidate, establish the partner’s priorities, the university’s distinctive contribution and the realistic financial and wider benefits. Name an executive sponsor and someone responsible for coordinating the relationship. Agree the next decision and a date to review progress.

Five is a starting point for focused discussion, rather than a reason to neglect smaller collaborations. Some may become tomorrow’s most valuable relationships.

I’m Keith Rozelle. Drawing on three decades of experience in complex commercial relationships, I work with universities on industrial partnerships, student recruitment and financial sustainability.

If strengthening university-industry partnerships is on your agenda, let’s discuss where the greatest opportunities may lie.

Email: keith@salesmarvel.co.uk

Your next transformational partnership may already be in your pipeline, waiting for somebody to recognise its full potential.

Watch: How LoupeED Helps Universities Recruit More Students