PPMI | Part of the Verian Group together with IDEA Consult successfully completed the Assessment of the Instruments, Deliverables, Results and Impact of University Business Cooperation, commissioned by the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) of the European Commission. The project conducted an assessment of the results of the EU-supported university-business cooperation (UBC) activities through the period of 2008-2023. The analysis aimed at evaluating the impact and the results of UBC activities and assessing how far these activities should be maintained, suspended, or adapted, especially in light of the policy priorities set out in the European Strategy for Universities and the New European Innovation Agenda.
The analysis mostly focused on five key initiatives, and namely: European University-Business Fora (European UB Fora) and Thematic University Business Fora (Thematic Fora), Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances (KA), HEInnovate, Labour Market Relevance and Outcomes (LMRO) Partnership Initiative, and the Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) project. To evaluate the results of the considered UBC activities, the study team assessed their impact both at a system/policy level and at an organisation/institutional level. Finally, the second part of the study's objective was achieved through envisioning and proposing a pilot way to set up a future framework for UBC activities. This framework is intended to guide future technical specifications for programmes as well as future policy parameters at the EU level in the areas of education and innovation.
The following methodology was implemented:
- Desk research: pertinent grey literature was extensively reviewed, taking into account relevant specialist libraries. Once relevant and high-quality sources were selected, an analysis was performed using the Nvivo 11 software.
- Case studies: 30 case studies were developed. They served as data collection instruments for the main body of the report. The overall approach to case studies was for each of them to address specific thematic areas and impacts of different UBC activities as well as cross-cutting themes.
- Interviews: a total of 121 interviews were conducted for this study. The interview programme consisted of three types of interviews: exploratory interviews, which provided an overview of the overall context of UBC; case study interviews, which provided evidence to answer the specific questions under specific case studies; other interviews with relevant stakeholders, which were used to fill in any emerging gaps, validate findings and contribute to the future design of UBC.
- Social network analysis and semi-structured and unstructured data collection (social media analysis): information on the social media engagement of Knowledge Alliances was collected. The number of followers on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X were tracked. For a deeper analysis, text mining using the Brandwatch social media scraping tool was conducted to identify key topics discussed by KAs on Twitter/X2.
- Survey programme: two surveys were administered, one directed to Knowledge Alliances stakeholders and another one to the users of the HEInnovate self-assessment tool. The analysed KA survey dataset included 62 responses (54 complete and 8 partial), while the HEInnovate survey dataset included 95 responses (56 complete and 39 partial).
- Focus groups: five focus groups were conducted to validate and corroborate the findings derived from other sources. Focus groups concerned: Entrepreneurship education; Knowledge Alliances; HEInnovate; Policy dialogue; Synergies between UBC activities.
- Validation workshop: a validation workshop was held online to discuss and validate the study findings, conclusions and recommendations and gather input on the future framework for UBC.
The assessment has successfully achieved its objectives by assessing the results and impact of UBC activities and providing recommendations for a future UBC framework. In particular, the report identified synergies and overlaps in UBC, analysed the added value of different UBC activities, reported on challenges and opportunities for UBC, and outlined a potential way forward. The future framework has proposed the potential consolidation of EU-funded educational innovation activities that aim to either foster innovation in education or enhance innovation ecosystems through education, or both, under a unified umbrella brand.
