EUA launches University Efficiency Hub

EUA’s “University Efficiency Hub” is now online. Launched at the 4th EUA Funding Forum, the portal allows university practitioners and policy makers across Europe to share knowledge and hands-on experience in efficiency, effectiveness and value for money in the field of higher education. It provides information on national frameworks, as well as institutional good practices and a self-evaluation tool for universities to move forward in their strategies.

The overview of national policy measures and frameworks is presented as an online tool. Users can choose a country and see a short summary of the local autonomy and funding provisions that support the efficiency of institutions at the system level. Information about the efficiency context and the sector’s approach to efficiency is available for several countries (Finland, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland) and more systems will be covered in the upcoming months.

Users can also search for good practices by country, type of institution or type of practice and discover unique insights on efficiency from across Europe. Users can also share their own experiences, populating the site with more and more good practices as time goes by.

Finally, the University Efficiency Hub includes an online test to evaluate how efficiency is supported at the user’s institution. The questions focus on governance, organisation, collaboration, resources and skills, as well as reporting and key performance indicators. Once the survey is completed, a downloadable report is generated.

EUA created the University Efficiency Hub under the EU co-funded USTREAM project and as a part of its overall work in exploring efficiency and effectiveness in university management across Europe. Currently, the tool operates on a pilot basis. It will be populated progressively with further information about efficiency frameworks and good practices by the end of 2018.