3 rd EUA Funding Forum

Transcription

1 3 rd EUA Funding Forum 6-7 October 2016 Hosted by the University of Porto Call for contributions Deadline 29 February 2016 INTRODUCTION Following the success of the 2012 and 2014 editions of the Funding Forum, EUA is proud to organise the third Funding Forum at the University of Porto, Portugal, from 6 to 7 October Through a mix of plenary and parallel sessions, the Forum will combine practice-oriented discussions with presentations of current developments in higher education funding. The Funding Forum is a unique, inclusive platform open to all higher education funding stakeholders university leaders and managers, researchers, students, public authorities, public and private funders & partners. This year s Forum will focus on efficiency, value for money and more broadly the value of universities activities for society and the economy. In order to structure the debate, this platform seeks to encourage the involvement of all stakeholders, fostering the exchange of best practices and enhancing their understanding of these issues in order to facilitate the implementation of funding reforms in higher education systems. PARTICIPANTS The Forum, dedicated to the financial sustainability of higher education, will provide a platform for debate and exchange of best practices among: - University leaders and senior managers - National/regional funding agencies and councils - European and national policy makers - Researchers in higher education funding - Other funders (business sector, foundations) - Student organisations - Other stakeholders as relevant. CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS We invite contributions from practitioners in higher education institutions, institutional leaders, policy makers and researchers in the field. The Forum is an excellent opportunity to present current practice or research and test new ideas, and to elicit feedback from colleagues and stakeholders. All contributions are expected to seek to stimulate a discussion with forum participants, thus enhancing peer-learning. Page 1 of 5

2 The deadline to submit contributions is 29 February Proposals received after this date will not be considered. The contributions will be presented (PowerPoint format) and discussed during parallel sessions. Please note that participants will be free to select which session to attend based on the abstracts, which will be included on the Forum website. Thus, we encourage all contributors to pay special attention to their abstracts, which must be concise, correspond to the content of their presentation and appeal to the participants. Giving explicit titles of a reasonable length to presentations may also contribute to capturing the attention of a wider audience at the Forum. Contributions are encouraged to address topics within the following broad areas, which will provide the main thematic structure of the Forum. Contributions should highlight experiences, good practices and challenges. Perspectives from institutions and system-level perspectives (public authorities, higher education sector organisations) focusing on higher education institutions and systems of Europe. Private return on investment & social return on investment of higher education Impact of funding schemes in terms of access and equal opportunities Reinforcing societal support for public financing of higher education Regulatory frameworks: inhibiting or fostering efficiencies The campus as strategic asset optimising real estate Asset sharing challenges and benefits (infrastructure & equipment) Making informed decision to improve efficiency (e.g. data generation challenges, full costing) Using debt financing in universities lessons learnt Economic impact of international students The regional dimension (focus on the financial aspects) Other topics with clear relation to funding issues Other topics related to higher education funding that are not listed above may also be considered. Guidelines can be found as annex 1 to this call (see below). Presentations should: - last no more than 20 minutes and will be followed by a discussion - have clear learning outcomes for participants - avoid jargon and generally be designed for an international audience (in English) - include questions for discussion with the audience Submission requirements Contribution proposals should be submitted exclusively via the form in annex by 29 February 2016.

3 Evaluation criteria The contributions will be assessed by the EUA team on the basis of the following criteria: The contribution has a clear focus that will be of interest to the Forum participants and the topic fits the overall theme of the forum. The argumentation and structure are logical, coherent and understandable. The contribution provides a substantial basis for discussion and has the potential to sustain a lively discussion. No proposal for commercial purposes will be accepted. Presentations based on case studies are critical and self-reflective and identify clearly the success factors and obstacles in implementation. In the submission form, the candidate presenter is also requested to indicate whether he/she has experience in presenting in English to international audiences. While this is not a direct selection criterion, in case of doubt the organisers will seek to assess this aspect through a videoconference call with the candidate presenter before the final selection is made. The EUA team will select the contributions deemed of the highest quality and will seek to preserve a reasonable geographical balance representative of Europe s varied higher education systems. The number of selected contributions will be limited to the number of slots allocated in the programme. Where candidates are affiliated to a Higher Education Institution, the organisers will take into consideration EUA membership of the institution. PROCEDURE The filled-in submission form (in annex) should be sent in Word format by 29 February 2016 by to EUA at funding@eua.be. Please do not send a hard copy or a PDF file. The authors will be informed if their contribution has been selected for presentation at the forum by mid-april The organisers reserve the right to request a conference call with the candidate presenter before the selection is finalised. Selected proposals may receive comments on how the proposal should be amended before presentation at the Forum. Presentations will be posted on the Forum website after the event. In order to assist contributors, a FAQ sheet (frequently asked questions) is included as annex 1 to this call for contributions. PUBLICATION Please note that the selected contributions may be published subsequently on the EUA website.

4 TIMELINE 29 February 2016: Deadline for sending contribution proposals via the submission form in Word format to Proposals received after this date will not be considered. Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed. Mid-April 2016: Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent by to all authors. Before that candidate presenters may be contacted for a conference call with the organisers. Information regarding the day and time of sessions at the Forum will be provided closer to the event. 6-7 October 2016: The 3 rd Funding Forum takes place.

5 ANNEX 1: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) 1. May a contribution be submitted by co-authors from different institutions? Answer: Proposals submitted jointly by two or several authors are most welcome. You are free to co-author it either with someone from your institution or someone from another institution/organisation. As an example, a joint contribution presenting a funding reform from both points of view of a public authority/agency and of an institution would be of interest to the audience of the Forum. Please note that only one author will be invited to present the contribution at the Forum. 2. Can the authors selected under the call for contributions be funded to participate in the Forum? Answer: Selected authors will be fee-waived. Travel and accommodation expenses remain the author s responsibility and will not be covered by the organisers. 3. I am based in an institution that is located outside of Europe. May I still submit a proposal under the call for contributions? Answer: Yes. Your proposal will be reviewed on the same basis and following the same criteria as other proposals; however please note that the focus of the Funding Forum is on higher education systems of European countries. 4. Will all proposals selected under this call for contributions be published automatically? Answer: The PowerPoint presentations selected for the Forum will be made available on the EUA website after the event. Please note that the full papers of the selected presenters may also be published subsequently. 5. What do I have to do after my proposal has been selected? Answer: By mid-april 2016, you will be notified by about whether your proposal has been accepted. This will indicate how you should then proceed, including in relation to the registration process. It is expected from all contributors to provide a PowerPoint presentation before the event. 6. Are papers that have been already published / presented elsewhere eligible under this call for contributions? Answer: The fact that your paper was already published under other circumstances does not constitute an excluding criteria. Your proposal should still fulfil the evaluation criteria as stated in the call for contributions, and be of relevance for the Forum s purposes. Please indicate on the submission form if your contribution has been published (or is in the process of being published) and where (journal, conference). Should you have any further questions related to the call for contributions, please contact the EUA team (funding@eua.be).