15 lis IRO predstavio novi policy brief o društvenom angažmanu u visokom obrazovanju na sastanku Vijeća Europe u Parizu
U ponedjeljak, 12.10.2026. smo u Parizu na sastanku Vijeća Europe predstavili naš novi policy brief za društveni angažman u visokom obrazovanju – više u objavi niže.
What is the democratic mission of higher education? And how can universities strengthen democracy not only through academic freedom, democratic governance, civic education and widening participation, but also through the way they engage with society?
These questions were at the heart of the Council of Europe Expert Working Group on the Democratic Mission of Higher Education, which met in Paris on 12 October.
We contributed to the discussion through a new policy brief, “Community engagement: A democratising mission for higher education”.
Our central argument: In times of democratic backsliding and declining trust in institutions, community engagement can strengthen higher education’s democratic mission by connecting teaching and research with societal challenges and recognising communities as partners in shaping knowledge and solutions.
Our policy brief highlights two challenges:
Community engagement is still too often treated as an optional third mission, rather than an integral part of teaching, research and institutional identity.
Engagement is frequently understood as universities helping communities, rather than working together to define problems, co-create knowledge and develop solutions.
This distinction matters for democracy. Genuine partnerships can make universities more responsive, inclusive and trusted institutions, while giving communities a stronger voice in knowledge creation.
But how do we move from principles to policies?
While European initiatives provide universities with resources to strengthen community engagement, public authorities still lack practical guidance on how to support it systematically through national higher education policies.
This is why we proposed a potential new Council of Europe project for 2027:
Guidelines and Toolkit for Member States: Linking Community Engagement in Higher Education and Research to the Democratic Mission of Higher Education.
The proposal would help public authorities:
Connect community engagement with democratic participation, dialogue, inclusion and trust.
Develop supportive policies through funding, incentives, recognition and quality assurance.
Use tools for policy self-assessment, participatory action planning and peer learning.
The guiding principle: support institutional learning and transformation, rather than introduce another layer of compliance or rankings.
At the Institute for the Development of Education (IDE), we support public authorities, higher education institutions and international organisations through policy research, evaluation, strategic advice and capacity-building, with expertise in the social dimension of higher education and community engagement.