Being a Local University Towards New Assessment Tools

Being a Local University: Towards New Assessment Tools and Indicators Dr John H Smith Senior Adviser, European University Association (EUA) Brussels Member, CDPPE Ad Hoc Group on Higher Education European Conference on the Local Mission of Higher Education Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France. 18 -19 June 2019

Introduction In 2014 EUA published a report entitled “University-Business Collaborative Research: Goals, Outcomes and New Assessment Tools” which arose from a project involving 24 universities, their external partners 18 businesses and 8 public authorities in 12 European countries. Although the focus was on collaborative research, the findings have wider implications for the enhancement of university missions in tackling societal challenges and providing innovative approaches and solutions that can be applied at the local and regional levels with a range of stakeholders.

The project started on the premise that a new multi-dimensional assessment tool was needed for collaborative research. For the following reasons: 1. Assessment of university-based research has tended to be dominated by reference to assessment tools focussed on measuring output in terms of scientific publication citation, Nobel Prize and other high achievement scientific awards 2. These tools are designed essentially for measurement of high performance in fundamental research in research-intensive universities. The definition of “excellence” in university research has tended as a result to be confined to this paradigm, whereas “excellence” in research can demonstrate itself in other research missions 3. Where “ranking exercises” outcomes based upon traditional assessment tools become highly influential in resource allocation to universities – this can be potentially detrimental to the further development of wider missions of universities

Keys Lessons for Success learned by participating universities and their external business partners • Developing trustful relationships between the partners • The role of institutional leadership in promoting and supporting collaborative research • Identifying relevant research topics for all stakeholders involved in the collaboration • The importance of public funding • Defining clear expectations for the collaboration • Furthering the institution’s role in the knowledge exchange process – more widely defined beyond “technology-push” to “social innovation” in the economy and society • Enhancing the degree of professionalisation of staff involved in collaborative research • The important role of social sciences and humanities • And finally, not least, collaboration needed to be considered as a “public good”, particularly in terms of how it contributes to building sustainability of cooperation between the university and its external partners

Assessment tools developed in the project did not aim to assess the quality of the research outcomes but rather the university-business collaboration process Building a collaborative research activity required: • Strategic approaches • Structural factors • Facilitating aspects Leading to the identification of: • Goals • Outcomes • Benefits/Impacts

Strategic approaches and motivations underlying universities’ and companies’ engagement – 7 Indicators 1. Organisational strategy in fostering collaboration 2. Increasing R & D capacity 3. Applied research to industrial challenges and for development of innovative products and services 4. Access to academic/business expertise 5. Broadening research funding sources 6. Promoting regional development 7. Providing input for policy development

Structural factors in setting-up research collaboration – 4 Indicators 1. Organisational and institutional support 2. Public support to university-business research collaboration (through regional, national and European policies) 3. Geographical proximity 4. Key role of knowledge exchange expertise in the university

Facilitating aspects for successful collaborations – 8 Indicators 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Previous successful experience between the partners Trustful relationships Commitment and Interdependence between the partners Working in a network (open innovation) Interdisciplinary research Efficient contractual negotiation and management processes Getting the “right” people profiles Incentives for researchers to engage in collaborative research

Goals, Outcomes and Impacts of Research Collaboration I. Institutional/Organisational Development – 9 Indicators 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Increased awareness of value of collaboration Furthering the university mission Visibility/reputation Attracting students Access to and shared use of infrastructure and human resources amongst partners University education or programme activities jointly developed and run with partners Consulting services Appointments to advisory committees/bodies Improving the learning experience of students

Goals, Outcomes and Impacts of Research Collaboration II. Strengthening Human Resources – 3 Indicators 1. Enhanced professionalisation of human resources 2. Employment of graduates/postgraduates in the non-academic sector 3. Research and, crucially, research management positions created ALL LEAD TO: the creation of new forms of local and regional innovation and development

Examples of Issues for Debate - Being a Local University • Project demonstrated that fostering collaboration brought in both established partners to the university, but importantly also how new partners such as SMEs and local public authorities were brought in who had not previously seen the university as a potential partner • Public funding was essential in order to provide the structural elements which were beyond the capacity of individual partners, such as infrastructure, political/policy support and regional strategies • Recruitment of people with different skillsets, and establishing incentives for existing staff to engage in outreach to external organisations/partners

Thank you for your attention Report Reference: “University-Business Collaborative Research: Goals, Outcomes and New Assessment Tools” Lidia Borrell-Damian, Rita Morais and John H Smith EUA Publication 2014 Download at https: //eua. eu