A prActicAl guide Benchmarking in european Higher education

CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES OF BENCHMARKING
In Europe, benchmarking approaches in the higher education sector have
developed from the mid-1990s at the national level, either as an initiative
launched by a national body, by one or a group of higher education institutions
or by an independent body. These usually only involved a small number
of institutions and were on a voluntary basis. Transnational level exercises
have so far been fairly limited. These benchmarking exercises have adopted
a mixture of quantitative, qualitative and processes-oriented approaches.
The degree to which these were structured depends on experience and
purposes.
The ESMU European Benchmarking programme (www.esmu.be) is an example
of a transnational benchmarking exercise which goes beyond the mere
comparison of data by focusing on the effectiveness of university-wide
management processes. In a collaborative way, the programme works with
small groups of higher education institutions towards the identification of
good practices. The method was originally developed from the one used for
the Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award and for the EFQM European
Excellence Model.
What benchmarking is not
With so many efforts to define ‘benchmarking’ and with so many other terms
in the conceptual neighbourhood, there is ample room for misconceptions.
Accordingly, it may be useful to differentiate benchmarking from ‘what it is not’.
First, benchmarking is not a mechanism for resource reduction (Camp 1990).
Yet, after a benchmarking exercise, resources may be redeployed in a more
effective way to increase institutional performance.
Second, benchmarking is not a panacea or programme. Ideally, it should be
an ongoing management process and have a structured methodology. Both
will contribute to ensuring impact of the benchmarking activities. It also has
to be flexible to incorporate innovative ways of obtaining the needed information.
For that reason, a single approach should not be expected.
Third, benchmarking is not a cookbook that requires only looking up ingredients
and using them for success. On the contrary, benchmarking is a discovery
process and a learning experience.
44 A Practical Guide - Benchmarking in European Higher Education