Over the last decade, higher education policy in the United Kingdom (UK) has increasingly focused on the impact of academic research. This has resulted in the emergence of specialist knowledge brokers within UK universities in the social sciences and humanities. Our empirical research identified a tension between the research impact agenda and the value placed on knowledge brokerage. Based on interviews with knowledge brokers at the University of Edinburgh, we argue that funding models, short-term contracts, and posts combining knowledge brokerage with other functions result in a transient population and a squeeze on knowledge brokerage, which may limit its effectiveness in achieving research impact.
Through reflections on our own experiences, this paper explores one approach to knowledge exchange that appears to be being used increasingly in social sciences in Scottish universities: the employment of dedicated “knowledge exchange professionals” or knowledge brokers. We argue that the ambiguity and hybridity of specialist knowledge exchange roles as they are emerging currently in university social science settings lead to challenges, though also opportunities, at different stages of knowledge exchange appointments. We discuss issues relating to recruitment; management and accountability; recognition and integration; professional support and development; and reward, promotion and career pathways
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