Knowledge exchange and partnerships
Knowledge exchange and partnerships is a core practice area of digital transformation focusing on digital communication, collaboration and participation.
One of the core knowledge practice areas in the framework for digital transformation in higher education.
Enhancing knowledge exchange to communicate and disseminate key organisational messages, and encourage collaboration and community participation of all partners/stakeholders.
Knowledge exchange and partnerships is broken down into four areas of activity:
Communication
How the organisation uses digital technology and networks to enhance and support communication between stakeholders, as well as disseminating key messages outside the organisation.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Digital communication | Digital etiquette | Digital media | Digital networks | Marketing and communications | Organisational communication | Social networking
Examples of potential activities
- Work with stakeholders to create digital communication guidelines that are inclusive (eg codes of conduct, email etiquette, managing online behaviour)
- Establish a culture of zero tolerance for online harassment and bullying
- Work with stakeholders to consider how different digital formats and messages achieve different purposes, and how far digital media and networks influence social behaviour
- Develop guidelines for online synchronous and asynchronous communication approaches to ensure all stakeholders enjoy a consistent, fair experience
How Jisc can support your organisation
Services
Groups
Reports
Guides
How the organisation uses digital technology and networks to enhance and support communication between stakeholders, as well as disseminating key messages outside the organisation.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Digital communication | Digital etiquette | Digital media | Digital networks | Marketing and communications | Organisational communication | Social networking
Examples of potential activities
- Work with stakeholders to create digital communication guidelines that are inclusive (eg codes of conduct, email etiquette, managing online behaviour)
- Establish a culture of zero tolerance for online harassment and bullying
- Work with stakeholders to consider how different digital formats and messages achieve different purposes, and how far digital media and networks influence social behaviour
- Develop guidelines for online synchronous and asynchronous communication approaches to ensure all stakeholders enjoy a consistent, fair experience
How Jisc can support your organisation
Services
Groups
Reports
Guides
Collaboration
How the organisation uses digital technology to help stakeholders work with others to achieve specific goals. This includes supportive, secure and inclusive working and learning practices.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Community collaboration | Digital collaboration | International activities | Open sharing | Staff collaboration | Student collaboration
Examples of potential activities
- Ensure that systems and procedures for safe and secure data sharing support collaborative activities across the organisation
- Work with stakeholders to create rules and guidelines for effective and inclusive digital collaboration inside and outside the organisation
- Consider how to work with TNE partners to share systems and technologies and identify potential challenges and risks
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Reports
How the organisation uses digital technology to help stakeholders work with others to achieve specific goals. This includes supportive, secure and inclusive working and learning practices.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Community collaboration | Digital collaboration | International activities | Open sharing | Staff collaboration | Student collaboration
Examples of potential activities
- Ensure that systems and procedures for safe and secure data sharing support collaborative activities across the organisation
- Work with stakeholders to create rules and guidelines for effective and inclusive digital collaboration inside and outside the organisation
- Consider how to work with TNE partners to share systems and technologies and identify potential challenges and risks
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Reports
Community participation
Encouraging stakeholders to engage with, and participate in, decision-making processes that affect them. Enabling and supporting stakeholders to participate in wider community activities. Ensuring equitable and inclusive experiences of digital participation.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Building digital communities | Community collaboration | Digital participation | Local community | Regional growth | Sense of belonging
Examples of potential activities
- Contribute towards local and regional industry and business to drive innovation and economic growth
- Link with cultural and social initiatives in the local community or region to enrich the experience of staff and students and encourage social and environmental change
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Encouraging stakeholders to engage with, and participate in, decision-making processes that affect them. Enabling and supporting stakeholders to participate in wider community activities. Ensuring equitable and inclusive experiences of digital participation.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Accessibility and inclusion | Building digital communities | Community collaboration | Digital participation | Local community | Regional growth | Sense of belonging
Examples of potential activities
- Contribute towards local and regional industry and business to drive innovation and economic growth
- Link with cultural and social initiatives in the local community or region to enrich the experience of staff and students and encourage social and environmental change
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Relationship management
Using digital technologies to build and maintain positive relationships with and between stakeholders to ensure engagement, feedback and involvement as partners. Includes working, learning and wider community relationships.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Business and industry | Customer relations | Employer relations | External relations | Human resources | International activities | Local community | Partnerships | Stakeholder engagement
Examples of potential activities
- Enable and encourage students to develop and build relationships with potential local, regional, national and international employers
- Develop and maintain strong and lasting relationships with alumni
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Reports
- Digital at the core: a 2030 strategy framework for university leaders
- The future of employer-university collaboration — a vision for 2030
Guides
Using digital technologies to build and maintain positive relationships with and between stakeholders to ensure engagement, feedback and involvement as partners. Includes working, learning and wider community relationships.
Activities/principles/values
These keywords identify cross-cutting concepts used in both the framework and the maturity model. They occur across the different elements:
Business and industry | Customer relations | Employer relations | External relations | Human resources | International activities | Local community | Partnerships | Stakeholder engagement
Examples of potential activities
- Enable and encourage students to develop and build relationships with potential local, regional, national and international employers
- Develop and maintain strong and lasting relationships with alumni
How Jisc can support your organisation
Groups
Reports
- Digital at the core: a 2030 strategy framework for university leaders
- The future of employer-university collaboration — a vision for 2030
Guides
Taking this area forward in your own organisation
Assess your digital maturity for knowledge exchange and partnerships
Download the maturity model for knowledge exchange and partnerships (pdf)
Download the maturity model for knowledge exchange and partnerships (docx)
Develop a roadmap and action plans
Download the maturity model action plan for knowledge exchange and partnerships (docx)
Contact your relationship manager
All Jisc member organisations have a dedicated relationship manager. Yours can help you access our full range of products, services and support.
Inspiration – member stories and case studies
- Case studies from our digital transformation pilots all feature collaborative approaches across the organisation
- A trusted, reliable resource in a transforming world
- Bangor University: A data-driven and collaborative digital transformation journey
- Greenwich’s five steps to digital strategy success
- Cardiff University’s multi-disciplinary approach to teaching in clinical disciplines with immersive technology
- Digital archives power future research
- Powering discoveries that benefit humankind
- Simmersive Staffordshire: bringing together people, place and pedagogy for practising clinical skills
- The Turing Way forward
Next section: Digital and physical infrastructure
View the digital and physical infrastructure element of the framework focusing on the need to develop and maintain robust, secure and integrated digital and physical infrastructure which underpins effective digital transformation.
This toolkit is made available under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA).