A concordat was historically an agreement between the Vatican and a sovereign state defining the relationship between them. More recently the term also describes the relations between the government of the United Kingdom and the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments. So the use of the term here expresses some pretty high ambitions for the U.K. higher education sector (extending almost to self-government). The WonkHE headline suggests that the Knowledge Exchange Concordat commits the higher education sector to service, but as I read the document (20 page PDF) it seems more to commit the sector to bringing greater profits to business and industry. How else would you interpret "a set of activities, processes and skills that enable close collaboration between universities and partner organisations to deliver commercial, environmental, cultural and place-based benefits, opportunities for students and increased prosperity?"
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