In recent years, universities and research organisations have found themselves navigating a rapidly evolving geopolitical environment (Marginson 2025). Governments increasingly position research and innovation as long-term public investments: UKRI defines R&I as central to sustainable economic growth and high-quality public services, while the European Commission emphasises research and innovation collaboration as critical for building capacity to address global challenges and build a resilient, sustainable future (UKRI 2023; European Commission). Universities are described in similar terms, positioned as drivers of innovation and “engines of economic growth” (British Academy 2025).

International cross-sector cooperation is increasingly presented as part of the response to global challenges that cut across higher education, policy, industry, and cultural domains. Universities are particularly well-positioned: they work with public, private, and cultural organisations, maintaining long-standing cross-border partnerships. In fact, cross-border research-based collaboration has continued to deepen, with “most countries show[ing] an increasing tendency to international collaboration” (DSIT 2025).

Knowledge Diplomacy provides a crucial framework for understanding how these relationships function outside traditional diplomatic channels and the benefits they generate. It brings to the fore the international dimensions of HEIs, the contribution of knowledge exchange to international relations, and the ways domestic priorities are advanced through international partnerships.

Initial findings from the Knowledge Diplomacy Mapping Initiative indicate that comparable forms of activity are described using different terms, including public diplomacy, informal diplomacy, global engagement, and international partnerships, among others. Other times, activity such as nurturing these partnerships, receiving overseas funding, having international student exchange programmes in place, and cross-border projects are reflected in the data but aren’t named within an explicit and shared conceptual frame. Through interviews and focus groups, we have been examining how these practices are represented in the infrastructures and collaborations we map under the banner of Knowledge Diplomacy.

In this series, we will be reviewing material that links international education and research partnerships with outcomes such as trust-building, mobility, skills development, and economic benefit, and considering how these relate to arts and humanities infrastructures. The series will also engage with partners who work explicitly with Knowledge Diplomacy to understand how they apply it in their context. In the next post, we will be kicking things off with the British Council which will share how Knowledge Diplomacy is embedded in programmes such as Going Global Partnerships, illustrated through a case study from Nepal. 

Benefits of international collaboration in HEIs and beyond

Research consistently shows that participation in international education and cultural relations strengthens long-term connections between countries. As per Jane Knight’s “Knowledge Diplomacy in Action,” even though the political landscape may set the stage for collaboration, higher education and research partnerships actively strengthen international relations.  In “Trust Pays” and “Sources of Soft Power,” data shows that involvement in cultural relations (including English language learning and educational programmes) correlates with higher levels of trust in the UK. Specifically, research indicates that those who trust the UK are roughly twice as likely to want to engage in business or trade with the country (MacDonald 2018). The same study suggests that expanding a country’s cultural presence (even marginally) correlates with higher levels of inward investment: a 1% increase in the number of countries reached by its cultural network is linked to a 0.66% rise in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Government statistics emphasise further economic outcomes: education-related exports and transnational education were worth £32.3 billion in 2022, with higher education accounting for roughly three-quarters (73.4%) of that total. Consistent with these findings, a 2023 HEPI report foregrounds how international students bolster the economy through tuition fees, local spending, skills supply, and tax revenue.

Meanwhile, international research collaboration is associated with higher-quality research outputs and increased innovation, and helps accelerate new industries, productivity growth, and the safeguarding of cultural and environmental heritage. One example is Humanities for the Environment (HfE), a global consortium of observatories that brings universities on five continents together to address social and ecological challenges. The Cultural Protection Fund, delivered by the British Council in collaboration with UK universities, demonstrates how research expertise (including archaeology and digital humanities) supports international capacity-building by protecting heritage in conflict-affected regions.

The British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) provides another illustration of how humanities infrastructures operate internationally. By funding global digitisation and preservation projects and requiring open access to all outputs, the programme strengthens the world’s documentary heritage while supporting the development of local digital skills and infrastructure. Similarly, the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) provides an evidence base on the contribution of the creative economy to international influence and trade. Their research on internationalisation maps how creative exports operate and how policy can support their growth.

Finally, analyses from the OECD and the Royal Society show that countries and institutions with higher levels of international collaboration tend to generate more highly cited work and stronger innovation outcomes. As the OECD notes, “the broader the collaboration, the higher the impact of research.” Comparable patterns are visible in the humanities and social sciences: studies of international collaborations in cultural heritage and humanities/social science fields indicate that internationally co-authored work is more frequently cited, more visible, and associated with higher research quality (Vlase & Lähdesmäki 2023; Vélez-Estevez et al. 2022).

Understanding Knowledge Diplomacy in practice

Taken together, these findings highlight several points for Knowledge Diplomacy and the Mapping the Arts and Humanities Project. International collaboration (whether through education, cultural relations or research partnerships) supports trust-building, strengthens long-term relationships, and contributes to economic outcomes. The arts and humanities play a distinct role within this landscape. Humanities-based infrastructures contribute to international engagement through cultural heritage projects, capacity-building initiatives, open knowledge programmes, and globally networked research.

Understanding these cross-sectoral and cross-border contributions is important for both building a fuller picture of Knowledge Diplomacy activity and for clarifying how different communities describe the work they already do, what activities may be indicative of Knowledge Diplomacy in practice, and how far these practices permeate the sector. Early conversations suggest Knowledge Diplomacy is often embedded within partnerships and institutional agreements between international bodies that may not use the term explicitly but nonetheless reflect its underlying logic.

By gathering perspectives from across disciplines and sectors, we aim to make this work more visible, strengthen the language available to institutions to describe it, and support a clearer understanding of the infrastructures through which Knowledge Diplomacy operates.

The next post in the series will be led by the British Council and will examine how Knowledge Diplomacy dynamics operate in practice through programmes such as Going Global Partnerships. 

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