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Knowledge Exchange Seed Fund: 2025 Application Cohort

KE Seed Fund

The 2025 funding round is part of an annual cycle to support growth of Knowledge Exchange (KE) activities at UWL. KE is a broad range of activities that universities undertake to support economic and social development. 

KE is considered by the UK Government to be the third core mission of universities – alongside teaching and research. 

The seed fund is open to all permanent full-time UWL staff: academic and professional support. Projects receive up to £3,000 and can be up to 12 months in length*.

  1. What is Knowledge Exchange?
  2. How to apply
  3. Key details: funding specification
  4. Project criteria
  5. Project examples

*all spending must take place within the first 6 months of a project.

What is Knowledge Exchange?

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Knowledge Exchange (KE) is the third core mission alongside teaching and research. KE is about the impact of UWL activities on the world outside academia. It is a two-way interaction with meaningful transfer and tangible effect: the change or benefit felt in the world to which the University of West London has in some way contributed. The outcomes of Knowledge Exchange initiatives should bring economic and/or societal benefits to meet this definition.

Side entrance to UWL campus. A modern glass entrance with the UWL logo above the door

This term covers a broad range of interactions between Higher Education Providers (HEPs) and the economy and society, in which HEPs put their considerable knowledge, expertise and assets to use through engaging with businesses, public services, the third sector and communities.

Research and teaching are not mutually exclusive categories. The outward facing nature of KE means a defining feature is that it necessarily involves active participation of organisations, individuals or bodies outside of the University.

Read on to learn how to apply.

How to apply

If you have any questions, please contact your School KE Growth Group representative from the list below, or:

Key details: funding specification

The seed fund is open to all permanent full-time UWL staff: academic and professional support.

Projects receive up to £3,000, normally lasting up to six months.

The maximum funding available is £3,000 per project, with the expectation that there is clear value for money. Further follow-on funding may be available for projects that have a proportionally higher impact or commercial potential.

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Funding must be for additional costs that are reasonable to complete the project, not for something a school, college or department would be expected to fund as part of their normal business. Funding does not normally include buy-out of teaching time for academic staff, but this will be considered where it can be clearly justified and has support from the head of school.

Submissions will be reviewed and scored by the KE Growth group, which will make recommendations for awards to VCE.

If you have any questions, please contact your School KE Growth Group representative or John Charlton.

Key details: project criteria

KE seed-funded activities must lead to (or demonstrate a realistic potential to lead to) outputs that should increase UWL’s KE activity and enhances our KEF performance and/ or HEIF funding allocation.

Activities will be viewed with particular favour when they offer a strong chance of ultimately increasing income reportable in the annual HE-BCIs return — for definitions visit section B on the HESA website. For more information on the importance of these metrics and relationship to the KEF and HEIF, visit the staff Research Development and KE Sharepoint site or attend an application webinar session.

This HE-BCI return is used to calculate the subsequent HEIF funding that we receive and so relevant activities carry additional financial value to the University.

  • Research partnerships

    Contribution to collaborative research (cash) as proportion of public funding.

    Co-authorship with non-academic partners as a proportion of total outputs (data provided by Elsevier) - amended to include trade journals.

    For more information visit the KEF website.

  • Working with business

    Innovate UK income (KTP and grand) as proportion of research income.

    HE-BCI contract research income with non-SME business normalised for institution size by HEI income.

    HE-BCI contract research income with SME business normalised for institution size by HEI income.

    HE-BCI consultancy and facilities & equipment income with non-SME business normalised for institution size by HEI income.

    HE-BCI consultancy and facilities & equipment income with SME business normalised for institution size by HEI income.

  • Working with the public and third sector

    HE-BCI contract research income with the public and third sector normalised for institution size by HEI income.

    HE-BCI consultancy and facilities & equipment income with the public and third sector normalised for institution size by HEI income.

  • Continuing professional development (CPD) and graduate start ups

    HE-BCI CPD/CE income normalised for institution size by HEI income.

    HE-BCI graduate start-ups rated by student FTE.

  • Local growth and regeneration

    Regeneration and development income from all sources normalised for institution size by income.

  • IP and commercialisation

    Estimated current turnover of all active forms per spin-outs surviving three years.

    Average external investment per spin-outs surviving three years.

    Licensing and other IP income as proportion of research income.

  • Public and community engagement

    If your proposal is focused on this metric, please contact employer@uwl.ac.uk for guidance on this metric and the UWL scores and narrative submissions. For more information, visit the Public and Community Engagement page on your Research Development and KE Sharepoint site.

Project examples

A group of students in discussion

We welcome projects from all disciplines and areas that have potential outputs that directly impact the Knowledge Exchange Framework and Higher Education Funding allocation criteria. Applicants are welcome to consider project themes as examples:

  • Activities that include students as agents of Knowledge Exchange, for example:
    • Students leading the development of new products and services
    • Activities that capture the impact on the businesses and organisations that students work in
    • Initiatives to support graduates to set up their own business and contribute to social innovation
  • Creation and delivery of professional training, consultancy or services shaped by areas of academic specialism
  • Activities to facilitate industry engagement between academic colleagues and new non-academic partners
A small plant grows out of a jar of coins
  • Tools to assess impact of public and community engagement or enhance our institutional approach
  • Exploring the development of a new product, business or service where there is a market need or developing new technologies grounded in research
  • Collaborative projects that include the application of UWL research expertise and assist in resolving real world societal issues
  • Creating coauthored research with non-academic partners measurable within the Knowledge Exchange Framework
  • Initiatives that broker external Innovate UK funded projects such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
  • Projects that support growth and regeneration with local government partners