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EUA Funding Forum underway in Barcelona


18 October 2018

The 4th EUA Funding Forum is taking place at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain. Under the theme “Frameworks that empower, universities that deliver”, the event focuses on the capacity of universities to deliver on their missions in an efficient way.


A high-level panel of visionary university leaders from different parts of Europe, together with national and European policy makers and stakeholders are discussing how universities have implemented strategies on improving efficiency, effectiveness and value for money to various degrees across Europe.

“Since the 2008 global economic crisis, universities have been under high pressure to increase performance on multiple fronts, while competition for public funding has become fierce. Therefore, efficiency has become a focus of national higher education and R&I policies,” explained Thomas Estermann, EUA Director of Governance, Funding and Public Policy Development.

Notably, the event is also host to the launch of the new EUA “University Efficiency Hub”. The new online portal is a pilot created under the USTREAM project. It 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. This complements EUA’s new USTREAM report “Efficiency, Effectiveness and Value for Money: Insights from Ireland and Other Countries”.

Participants at the Funding Forum are also seeing the very first findings of the 2018 EUA Public Funding Observatory, which has been capturing public funding trends in Europe since 2008. In this context, participants are discussing the current funding landscape and the possible implications and strategies that can help universities improve efficiency and reinforce capacity to deliver on their core missions.

Finally, the Funding Forum programme is also addressing the European context, providing an occasion to discuss how to make the next generation of European funding programmes, like Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, more efficient and effective.

A biennial event, the Funding Forum is a unique, inclusive platform offering higher education funding stakeholders the chance to explore the sector’s latest funding trends, opportunities and challenges. The 4th Funding Forum was held on 18-19 October 2018.

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