University applauded for its contribution to regional social and economic growth

The University of Lancashire has once again been acknowledged for its contribution towards regeneration and social and economic growth to the region.

The institution has maintained its strong regional standing in the annual Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF), which is published annually by Research England to measure how higher education institutions serve society and the economy. 

KEF 2025 has once again placed the University of Lancashire in the top 20 per cent of English Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the areas of local growth and regeneration; working with the public and third sector; and continuous professional development (CPD) and graduate start-ups.

Prof StJohn Crean, pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise, said: “The University of Lancashire is committed to supporting the people, communities and businesses in our region and our continued recognition in the Knowledge Exchange Framework reaffirms our role as an anchor institution within Lancashire and Cumbria.

“As a civic University, we are proud of our role in shaping the future of our region—supporting economic growth, tackling social inequalities, and working together with partners to build healthier, safer, and more resilient communities.

“We work hand in hand with public sector organisations across health, social work, policing, and other vital services, helping to address local and regional needs while strengthening public provision.”

Matthew Guest, head of local and regional business engagement at the University of Lancashire, said: “I’m delighted that the university continues to build upon its proud history of successfully delivering regional development projects.

"Over the last year, the University has supported local growth efforts including coordinating the Lancashire Universities Innovation Programme in partnership with Lancaster University and Edge Hill University.

"This means we are ideally positioned to support the delivery of the Industrial Strategy at a regional level by aligning our strengths with Lancashire’s new Local Growth Plan.”

The Framework provides an overview of performance across seven broad areas -

• continued professional development (CPD) and grad start-ups
• Intellectual Property (IP) and commercialisation
• local growth and regeneration
• public and community engagement
• research partnerships
• working with business
• working with the public and third sector
   

The university has been rated as ‘above average’ for almost all measurements in its ‘cluster’, where the Framework places HEIs in similar size and scope for meaningful comparison.

It is a leading university in the North West for Cluster E; large universities with broad discipline portfolio across both STEM and non-STEM generating excellent research across all disciplines.

The Framework also highlights how universities can improve to maximise the benefits they bring from public funding.

The KEF is published annually by Research England and continues to be a unique tool for universities to understand and improve their performance - https://kef.ac.uk/