Developing a Framework for Evaluation of International University Partnerships Erasmus Project

Project Title

Developing a Framework for Evaluation of International University Partnerships

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Reaching the policy level/dialogue with decision makers; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Economic and financial affairs (incl. funding issues)

Project Summary

Strategic International Partnerships are formal relationships between universities that cross international borders, often including wide ranging, cross-college, interdisciplinary initiatives in addition to a range of single discipline projects. They may also involve close working, alignment of systems/processes and a conscious, reciprocal commitment from both parties including mutual organisational learning/innovation opportunities. Significantly, this type of partnership is coordinated at a central level, with strategic senior level support and resource.

This project aims to improve the quality and consistency of evaluation of Strategic International Partnerships between universities in Europe and beyond. It will do this by bringing together a range of universities with expertise in this area (University of Edinburgh, University of Helsinki, University of Sydney, University of Copenhagen, Leiden ~University and University College Dublin) and developing a framework for the evaluation of partnerships based on existing good practice, evaluation literature and practices in associated industries, and consultation with stakeholders. EVALUATE is an innovative project that will offer a solution for university staff working in the areas of partnership development and evaluation. This is an area of need given the recent and current prioritisation of international partnership working that is evident in both institutional, national and international strategies that concern university education and research.

This project addresses themes within several of the horizontal and sectoral priorities. It is cross-cutting in nature and has been described as a ‘meta-project’ given the activities are designed to improve future projects of this nature.

The project will deliver the following outcomes:

Phase 1:

Evaluation Framework – this core piece of work will deliver a thoroughly researched framework for the evaluation of strategic partnerships between universities. It will be grounded in existing evaluation theory and devised following extensive investigations into the practices of evaluation in the institutional and national/international contexts within which the partner organisations operate. The framework will be developed in such a way that it can be applied to any institutional context in Europe (and beyond) for the purposes of successful evaluation of partnership.

Phase 2:

Handbook – this digital resource (e.g. PDF or website) can be accessed by practitioners on an independent basis and presents the data about the framework in a ‘self-service’ way so individuals can work their way through the methodology to up-skill themselves. The handbook will enable staff to put theoretical concepts of partnership evaluation into practice within their own institutions.

Webinar Series – this will be delivered through established webinar software, such as Zoom or Collaborate. It will be a series of training events based on the Evaluation Framework developed during the first phase of the project. Development will include distillation of content from the Framework into several slide decks which can be used during the webinars. A ‘webinar plan’ with learning outcomes should be developed to help with the delivery of the webinar series.

Seminar Programme – this will be a the content for a face-to-face dissemination event (multiplier event) delivered in Brussels during the second phase of the project. Like the webinar series, this will include transforming the work behind the Evaluation Framework into a concise 3-day seminar programme which practitioners from all across Europe can attend. This might include key learning aids, such as slide decks, lesson plans, workshops etc. A set of learning outcomes should be developed ahead of this.

Community of Practice – this will include the development of an online community, perhaps administered via LinkedIn or an email list/discussion forum that will enable us to share the results of the project with practitioners across Europe, and also create a space for future discussion on this topic, curated by the lead for this task. The CoP will connect on social media and host a repository of evidence and guidance, in addition to supporting new members of staff to this area of work with key training materials.

These outcomes will have an impact on the methodology used by institutions within Europe to carry out partnership work, enhancing the potential benefits to staff and students, in addition to developing the professional skills of a wide range of individuals within these organisations.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 409580 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH & Country: UK

Project Partners

• HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
• THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
• UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
• UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN
• KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET