A Conceptual Approach towards Understanding Issues in the Third Stream: Conceptions of Valid Knowledge and Transfer in UK Policy

Abstract

The value of academic knowledge and knowledge transfer (KT) as part of the third stream activity within HE (Higher Education) has for some years now been regarded as important for global competitiveness and consequently a key feature of UK HE policy-making. However there remain some issues for achieving a fully-fledged third stream. Few meaningful conclusions exist regarding the issues of mismatch between policy trajectory and achievement. More in-depth understanding of how and if third stream policy is meaningful in the interpretation by various stakeholders, is argued as important for understanding policy implementation issues. This conceptual paper seeks to establish a more meaningful approach to investigating the KT policy domain. Questioning the coherency and clarity of UK policy discourse, the paper asks: how is valid knowledge and knowledge transfer conceptualised? A model for analysis and investigation of such issues is developed. Drawn from conceptions in the academic and wider literature a ‘Four Metaphor Framework’ categorises valid knowledge and the transfer process as: ‘Transfer’, ‘Exchange’, ‘Partnership’; ‘Beyond a Capitalist Transaction’. The usefulness of the framework is assessed through its application to the discourse of key documents from UK policy. The mixed metaphors revealed in policy discourse are potentially significant in the light of the gap between government aspirations and achievement. For those concerned with the issues of effective design and implementation of KT policy, this paper provides an analytical model for subsequent empirical studies.