Research that has been conducted on university-‐industry collaborations predominantly examines knowledge exchange in the field of high technology where the output is a material product, or income stream. The material product is assumed to act as a proxy for knowledge exchange and/or knowledge transfer; the exchange is propagated by diffusion and achieved by fiat. This chapter indicates how, at least in the case of the creative industries, the normative model is stymied by organisational asymmetries and differing scales. Moreover, these approaches assume a lack of institutional embedding; on the contrary, our research suggests need for careful attention to these issues. The economic field of the cultural economy contrasts markedly with that of high-‐technology in terms of the form of products/outputs as well as organisationally. Accordingly, we argue that an appreciation of collaboration and knowledge exchange benefits from a more subtle methodology that is sensitive to these differences of product and process. The chapter explores collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and small, medium and micro-‐sized enterprises (SMMEs) in the creative and cultural industries (CCI) within London; it draws upon research carried out as part of Creativeworks London's (CWL) Creative Voucher Scheme. The findings indicate that collaborations benefit significantly from active intermediaries who facilitate, as well as embed themselves within, these collaborations by doing three things: brokerage, translation and network builder. Critically, a proportion of this work is done informally and based on maintaining trust and reputation
