A prActicAl guide Benchmarking in european Higher education

A STEP BY STEP APPROACH
Since the aim is to collect objective hard data for objective measurement and
goal setting, clear definitions of the type of data required are necessary to
avoid misinterpretations. Misunderstandings easily occur, in particular in
transnational benchmarking exercises, due to national differences even in
basic concepts e.g. ‘staff member’, ‘student’, ‘government budget’.
Benchmarking Italian Universities
A benchmarking initiative was established in Italy in 1999, following
preliminary work in 1998. There have been six Good Practice projects of
which the first three were financially supported by the Ministry for Higher
Education. Since 2003 the programme has been self-financed by the
participating universities. In total 36 Italian public higher education institutions
have been involved in one phase or another, growing from 10
institutions in 1999 to 21 at present. The coordination is in the hands of a
research group at the Politecnico di Milano; however the design and
implementation are highly participative, involving both top managers
and officers in each participating university.
The aims of the benchmarking initiative are related to the area of administration,
and intended to improve its performance. First viewed as a
one-off activity, it became a permanent activity due to its success. A
replication of the study is under discussion with Spanish universities.
The benchmarking activity focuses on the sub-units of the higher education
institution, such as the central services with a particular focus on
administration. The areas currently covered comprise student services,
human resource management, logistics and procurement, as well as
accounting and research support. The main focus of the benchmarking
initiative lies both on inputs and outputs. A time-line approach was
chosen since it enables comparisons between institutions over several
years. In the benchmarking exercise both quantitative and qualitative
methods are used.
See http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=528357
76 A Practical Guide - Benchmarking in European Higher Education