Knowledge exchange clusters: methodology and allocations

Knowledge exchange (KE) clusters bring together higher education providers with broadly similar characteristics, capabilities and resources for knowledge exchange.

The clusters recognise the diversity of England’s higher education sector and provide a fair and meaningful basis for comparison, learning and improvement. Rather than comparing all providers against a single benchmark, institutions are grouped with peers that share similar profiles, such as their scale, research intensity and disciplinary focus.

KE clusters provide context for understanding knowledge exchange performance and support continuous improvement across the sector. They help demonstrate the different ways that higher education providers create value for the economy.

Within the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), KE clusters enable institutions to benchmark themselves against similar providers and identify areas of strength and opportunities for development.

Clusters provide opportunities for institutions facing similar opportunities and challenges to:

share expertise
exchange good practice
discuss common issues relating to knowledge exchange strategy, delivery and impact

They help foster collaboration and peer learning across the sector while recognising that there is no single model of successful knowledge exchange.

Cluster methodology

KE clusters are based on an independent methodology developed by the University Commercialisation and Innovation (UCI) Policy Evidence Unit at the University of Cambridge. The methodology groups higher education (HE) providers with peers that have similar characteristics likely to shape their knowledge exchange opportunities, including their knowledge base, research profile and physical infrastructure.

Providers are separated into:

specialist institutions, such as those with a concentrated focus on arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) or social science disciplines
broad-based institutions with a wider disciplinary portfolio

Using data from sources including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the clusters provide a systematic and consistent framework for benchmarking.

Clustering reports

Reports from previous clustering exercises provide further detail on the methodology, analysis and resulting cluster assignments. These can be accessed through the UCI publications library.

Understanding the cluster definitions

The cluster definitions reflect groups of higher education providers with similar structural characteristics that are likely to shape their knowledge exchange opportunities.

The cluster labels themselves are identifiers only and do not indicate performance or rank. Detailed cluster allocation is determined through statistical analysis rather than predefined institutional categories.

Arts cluster

Specialist institutions with a concentrated focus on creative and performing arts, design and related disciplines.

SSH (social sciences and humanities) cluster

Specialist institutions with a concentrated focus on social sciences, business, education, humanities, theology and related disciplines.

STEM cluster

Specialist institutions with a concentrated focus on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, agriculture, veterinary science, medicine and related disciplines.

E cluster

Large broad-discipline universities with substantial academic communities, strong research activity across STEM and non-STEM disciplines, and a diverse student population.

J cluster

Mid-sized broad-discipline universities with strengths across both teaching and research, diverse subject portfolios, and activity spanning various disciplines.

M cluster

Broad-discipline universities characterised by strong teaching and professional practice, diverse disciplinary activity, and research supported by a wide range of external partners and funding sources.

V cluster

Very large, highly research-intensive broad-discipline universities undertaking significant volumes of research across a wide range of disciplines, with significant activity in clinical medicine and STEM subjects.

X cluster

Large, research-intensive broad-discipline universities undertaking substantial volumes of research across various disciplines, supported by strong postgraduate and research communities.

Current cluster allocations

Specialist providers are assigned to the Arts, SSH or STEM clusters. Broad-based providers are assigned to one of five peer groups (E, J, M, V or X) based on their institutional characteristics and profile.

The cluster identifiers are labels only and do not indicate performance or ranking.

The last comprehensive clustering exercise was undertaken in 2023. Since then, cluster allocations have been updated where providers have merged or become newly eligible for Research England knowledge exchange funding.

Table 1: specialist higher education providers cluster allocations

Specialist HE provider	Knowledge exchange cluster
Academy of Live Technology Ltd	Arts
Arts University Plymouth	Arts
Central Film School	Arts
Central School of Ballet	Arts
Chicken Shed Theatre Company	Arts
Courtauld Institute of Art	Arts
Escape Studios	Arts
Guildhall School of Music & Drama	Arts
Institute of Contemporary Music Performance	Arts
LAMDA	Arts
Leeds Conservatoire	Arts
LIPA	Arts
National Centre for Circus Arts	Arts
Northern School of Contemporary Dance	Arts
Norwich University of the Arts	Arts
Point Blank Music College	Arts
Rambert School	Arts
Ravensbourne University London	Arts
Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance	Arts
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art	Arts
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama	Arts
Royal College of Music	Arts
Royal Northern College of Music	Arts
Sotheby Institute of Art - London	Arts
The Academy of Contemporary Music	Arts
The Arts University Bournemouth	Arts
The National Film and Television School	Arts
The Place	Arts
The Royal Academy of Music	Arts
The Royal College of Art	Arts
ThinkSpace Education	Arts
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance	Arts
University for the Creative Arts	Arts
University of the Arts, London	Arts
Cliff College	SSH
London School of Theology	SSH
St Mellitus College	SSH
The Metanoia Institute	SSH
The Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education	SSH
The University of Law	SSH
UA92	SSH
Waverley Abbey College	SSH
Cranfield University	STEM
Harper Adams University	STEM
Hartpury University	STEM
Health Sciences University	STEM
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	STEM
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine	STEM
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE)	STEM
The Engineering and Design Institute, London	STEM
The Institute of Cancer Research	STEM
The Royal Agricultural University	STEM
The Royal Veterinary College	STEM

Table 2: broad discipline-based providers cluster allocations

Broad discipline-based providers	Knowledge exchange cluster
Anglia Ruskin University	E
Aston University	E
Birmingham City University	E
Bournemouth University	E
Coventry University	E
De Montfort University	E
Goldsmiths, University of London	E
Kingston University	E
Leeds Beckett University	E
Liverpool John Moores University	E
LSBU	E
Manchester Metropolitan University	E
Middlesex University	E
Northumbria University	E
Nottingham Trent University	E
Oxford Brookes University	E
Sheffield Hallam University	E
Teesside University	E
The Open University	E
The University of Bradford	E
The University of Huddersfield	E
The University of Westminster	E
University of Brighton	E
University of Greenwich	E
University of Hertfordshire	E
University of Lancashire	E
University of Lincoln	E
University of Plymouth	E
University of Portsmouth	E
University of Salford	E
University of Wolverhampton	E
UWE	E
Bath Spa University	J
Canterbury Christ Church University	J
Edge Hill University	J
The School of Oriental and African Studies	J
The University of Sunderland	J
University of Bedfordshire	J
University of Chester	J
University of Derby	J
University of East London	J
University of Gloucestershire	J
University of Northampton	J
University of Roehampton	J
University of Staffordshire	J
University of Worcester	J
Birmingham Newman University	M
Buckinghamshire New University	M
Falmouth University	M
Leeds Trinity University	M
Lincoln Bishop University	M
Liverpool Hope University	M
London Metropolitan University	M
Northeastern University London	M
Plymouth Marjon University	M
Southampton Solent University	M
St Mary's University, Twickenham	M
The University of Chichester	M
The University of West London	M
University College Birmingham	M
University of Cumbria	M
University of Greater Manchester	M
University of London	M
University of Suffolk	M
University of Winchester	M
York St John University	M
Imperial College London	V
King's College London	V
London Business School	V
Newcastle University	V
Oxford University	V
Queen Mary University of London	V
The University of Birmingham	V
The University of Leeds	V
The University of Liverpool	V
The University of Manchester	V
The University of Sheffield	V
UCL	V
University of Bristol	V
University of Cambridge	V
University of Exeter	V
University of Nottingham, The	V
University of Southampton	V
University of Warwick	V
Birkbeck, University of London	X
Brunel University London	X
City St George’s, University of London	X
Durham University	X
Keele University	X
Lancaster University	X
Loughborough University	X
Royal Holloway, University of London	X
The London School of Economics and Political Science	X
The University of Bath	X
The University of Essex	X
The University of Hull	X
The University of Kent	X
The University of Leicester	X
The University of Reading	X
The University of Surrey	X
UEA	X
University of Sussex	X
University of York	X

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