Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development: An OECD (IMHE) Evaluation Discussion Workshop

In January 2005 the OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) launched a new evaluation project among member countries to strengthen the competitiveness and viability of regions and the higher education institutions that are engaged with them. The new project will, over two years, evaluate the current contribution of HEIs to regional development through self-evaluation and international peer review processes to enhance engagement activity between HEIs and the regions in which they have a presence, and lay the foundations for international exchange and benchmarking for improvement in this area. One region and its universities from each of 12 OECD member countries are involved in the project. The Sunshine Coast region and its universities are the Australian participants in the project. The process of evaluation in the project includes: *Self-evaluation by the region, and its universities, with international peer review and re- evaluation; *International benchmarking for improvement drawing on the experiences of the 12 participating countries and their regions and universities; *Comprehensive dialogue and collaboration within the region, with government, and between regions and HEIs internationally; *Facilitating an international network of engagement relationships over the long run to further stimulate improvement through evaluation