KT Metrics Report

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Knowledge Transfer Metrics – Towards an EU-wide set of harmonised indicators

An Expert Group was assembled by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) to examine how best to advance towards an EU-wide set of harmonised metrics for knowledge transfer (KT) in publicly funded research organisations (PROs), including universities. The Expert Group was established in partnership with the ENRIITC Associate, the European Association of KT professionals (ASTP), with the purpose of making use of ASTP’s experience of managing a pan-European data survey.

The tasks identified were to:

  • Explore with those active in knowledge transfer across EU Member States the appetite for harmonised metrics and the factors that would influence their adoption;
  • Review the 2009 seven core and seven supplementary performance indicators for PROs and test their validity in 2019;
  • Recommend a set of harmonised core indicators and a methodology for their adoption.

When developing the recommendations for this “third mission,” that also includes teaching and research, the Expert Group considered the wide-range and diversity of the internationally adopted KT indicators that are in practice today, and pointed out that in many counties the indicators cross over different channels of industry engagement. With that, they determined 10 recommendations for the development of common and consistent European indicators for KT.

The core indicators are:

  1. Scope of KT Indicators
  2. Set Core Indicators
  3. Used Evidence-based Case Studies
  4. Track KT’s development
  5. Set Common Definitions
  6. Implementation Expert Group to Gain Consensus
  7. EU-wide collection and reporting
  8. Create an integrated database
  9. Involve Governmental Bodies
  10. EC cross programme consistency

The group established that the EU-wide data should be collected by a credible, neutral organisation, and that KT’s success is the responsibility of PRO leadership. For this reason, they should be a big part of the ongoing conversation.

For more information about the Group’s results, download the full report here.