London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

UPDATE: 5 July 2024: LSHTM adopts recommendations from the Independent Spinout review to further develop KE ecosystem [full statement below]

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has received its best ever results in the third iteration of the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF3).

Knowledge exchange covers the wide range of activities higher education institutions carry out with partners for the benefit of society and the economy. 

The KEF3 results, which are published by Research England, are presented across seven categories including working with research partners, businesses, the public and the third sector, public and community engagement, and commercialisation of research.

Based on data covering 2019/20-2021/22, LSHTM was rated as having very high engagement – the highest possible grade – for research partnerships and working with the public and third sector, maintaining strong performance in those categories compared with the previous KEF.

In addition, public and community engagement scored higher than in the last KEF results, moving up to high engagement.

Although the KEF does not contribute directly to funding for the institution, it provides a route to showcase the breadth of knowledge exchange including activities supported through LSHTM's annual Higher Education Innovation Funding from Research England.

Professor Liam Smeeth, Director of LSHTM, said: “I am very pleased that LSHTM has continued to perform strongly in the Knowledge Exchange Framework, in particular with very high levels of engagement in research partnerships and working with the public and third sector. This reflects our institutional strengths and mission where working in partnership underpins everything we do. Our engagement with wonderful partners in the UK and around the world means we can carry out excellent public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.”

Read more about KEF3 on the Research England website.

UPDATE: 05/07/2024

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has welcomed recommendations from the independent review of University spin-out companies and will be fully adopting the review’s best practice recommendations.

In November 2023 the UK Government published an independent review of University spin-out companies authored by Professor Irene Tracey CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Dr Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner of Cambridge Innovation Capital. The review identified best practices and opportunities to accelerate the UK towards building a world-leading innovation ecosystem that creates an increasing number of spinout successes.

The review made eleven recommendations, to government, funding bodies, HESA, universities and investors. The recommendations aim to accelerate the creation of spin-outs, supporting the development of an entrepreneurial culture within Universities to help the UK establish itself as a world-leader in innovation. 

LSHTM has a small and growing spin-out portfolio and welcomes this opportunity to ensure that: 

• our developing spin-out policies and processes are aligned with the best practice guidelines as presented in the independent review of University spin-outs and in the University Spinout Investment Terms (USIT) Guide.
• our spin-out processes are transparent and communicated to researchers, across all disciplines, to raise awareness of spin-outs as an opportunity to bring their research into application and impact.
• our university and founder equity stakes are appropriate for each specific new venture.
• Spin-outs are always considered as an option for the exploitation of all university IP.
• academics are encouraged and better enabled to realise impact from their ideas through spin-outs.

Professor Caroline Relton, LSHTM's Pro-Director of Research and Academic Development, said: “LSHTM welcomes the findings of the report and we intend to align ourselves fully with the review’s recommendations for best practice. The recommendations are consistent with our strategy to maximise the impact of our research mission through knowledge exchange and innovation, and will help support the development of a thriving translational ecosystem."

To read the full report into university spin-out companies visit the UK Government website.