Conference Agenda

While the study of European university alliances is flourishing (Gunn 2020; Lambrechts et al. forthcoming), there is far less academic interest in local university alliances and networks. As the regional scale is always thoroughly investigated in studies of university collaborations, the smallest level of analysis, namely the local scale, is, at best, overlooked and, at worst, disregarded. Nevertheless, this type of alliance or network still exists, particularly in capital cities, with some managing to sustain themselves over time - the University of London, for example, has done so since 1836. Local university alliances and networks deserve greater consideration as they are complex and thought-provoking because they involve superimposing scales and require a fine-grained analysis. In the context of Europeanisation (Irion and Volf 2023) and internationalisation (De Wit and Altbach 2021) of knowledge infrastructures, where exchanges are both more numerous and faster, the existence and sustainability of local university alliances and networks are particularly difficult to explain. In particular, it is difficult to determine whether they have a specific policy agenda through their local anchorage, which would justify stakeholders' attachment to this type of organisation.

Therefore, assessing the success of local university alliances and networks means identifying and taking into account their specific characteristics in relation to supranational university alliances and networks, the evaluation of which is already well-documented (EC 2025; Roth et al. 2025). However, there is still a need to systematise how such local organisations conceptualise and operationalise success, particularly in contexts that differ structurally and strategically from supranational initiatives. Grouping these issues, this paper aims to examine the success criteria as narrated by universities joining forces at the local level through a comparative analysis of university alliances and networks, all located in European capital cities. The empirical part of this paper will therefore answer the following questions: What are the stated objectives, and to what extent do local university alliances and networks narrate these as having been achieved (RQ)? Does interest in these alliances and networks persist over time, and if yes, how does it correlate to their perceived success (RQ’)? How does communicating on their structures help these organisations demonstrate legitimacy and accountability (RQ’’)? To answer these questions, we present a three-part analysis: first, we analyse the narratives surrounding shared policy goals and the unique self-promotion of local university alliances and networks; second, we examine their time-resistance through an analysis of their media presence; and third, we explore how they showcase their effective governance and organisational performance.

To do so, organisational theory offers us tools to focus on narratives that shape the institutional identities of local university alliances and networks and foster their legitimacy (Kohvakka 2021). Indeed, such collaborations exist in a fluid political environment where many of them are emerging, and some are dissolving. The nature of these organisations varies, and political agendas constantly influence them, making systematic analysis difficult (Vukasovic and Stensaker 2018). Local issues, especially in capital cities, add complexity and create new opportunities for participation: while local university alliances and networks may seem based on similarity, they also raise unique identities and regionalism issues (Moawad and Schendzielorz, forthcoming). Additionally, as posited by organisational theory applied to higher education, meta-organisations serve as a pivotal conduit through which members can attain legitimacy (Zapp et al. 2023). Narratives used by university alliances and networks thus become instrumental tools through which these organisations not only enable (or restrain) the activities of their stakeholders, but also articulate and legitimise their status by making sense of themselves as an institutional order where implicitly legitimating language coexists with explicit normative claims (Berger and Luckmann 1967; Fenton and Langley 2011).

Sustainability has become one of the key dimensions of higher education performance, as reflected in global sustainability rankings such as UI GreenMetric, QS Sustainability Rankings and THE Impact Rankings. These systems influence institutional strategies and governance across Europe, linking institutional performance to sustainability expectations. In Hungary, participation and performance levels vary significantly across universities, raising system-level questions about how sustainability processes operate in the national higher education sector and what organisational factors shape them.

The study focuses on three questions:
(1) How do Hungarian universities perform in major sustainability rankings, and what methodological or institutional factors shape their ranking positions?
(2) Which governance models, strategic documents and institutional processes influence sustainability work within the Hungarian higher education system?
(3) What impact can academic libraries—as organisational hubs of knowledge management, educational support and research support—have on institutional sustainability performance, and how can this impact be measured?

The study is based on document analysis and literature review. It examines institutional development plans, sustainability strategies, ranking-related data reporting and library service portfolios. Two internationally recognised standards provide a background framework for interpreting library contributions: ISO 16439:2019 — Information and documentation — Methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries, and ISO 2789:2022 — Information and documentation — International library statistics. These standards support comparability and align with performance measurement perspectives relevant to higher education research.

Understanding the international context is essential: Hungary currently does not appear in either the IFLA SDG Stories or the EBLIDA E-PANEMA sustainability showcases. This indicates that Hungarian libraries’ sustainability activities are not yet visible in the international discourse, even though they engage in work—such as open science support, SDG-focused educational activities, research data management and green operations—that is increasingly valued in sustainability rankings.

Preliminary findings point to fragmented sustainability governance, inconsistent documentation practices and uneven SDG integration across Hungarian institutions. Although several universities appear in global rankings, their positions are significantly influenced by methodological differences across ranking systems (environmental indicators, governance metrics, SDG performance). The contribution of academic libraries is not yet well recognised, but they hold substantial potential—especially when their activities are documented and communicated through evidence-based, standard-aligned approaches.

This study contributes to understanding system-level developments in higher education by analysing organisational and evaluation mechanisms that shape sustainability ranking performance. It also demonstrates how academic libraries, through clearer visibility of their evidence-based contributions, can become measurable actors in strengthening sustainability efforts within both the Hungarian and the broader European higher education landscape.

The paper examines the rapid expansion of higher education (HE) in Europe since the last decades of the 20^th century, which is also fostered by European politics, striving, inter alia, for more social equality by allowing larger parts of the population to obtain HE. The paper analyses the recent development of tertiary education rates across Europe and conducts an international comparative analysis regarding the relation of graduate rates and the demand for graduates in the labour markets. This analysis is done within the theoretical frameworks of a hypothetical dynamic balance (labour market equilibria) between the shares of highly educated workers on the labour markets and related qualification structure of labour forces in respective countries and five generic EHEA regions.

Higher education is a complex societal system that has many functions and one of them is the supply of qualified specialists to the labour market; thus, one can speak of more balanced or less balanced situations on national and regional markets of labour forces. As at any market place, the two sides of the supply and demand equation are the dynamic factors. At each given point of time and at each particular location, whether at national or regional levels, these factors constitute a dynamic equilibrium, which is taken as a given reality by all actors on this market. Using the conceptual language of game theorists, these equilibria can be perfect or imperfect ones. In the case of an imaginary perfect equilibrium on the labour market, one has a quantitatively and qualitatively balanced supply of and demand for professionals and specialists. In the case of an imperfect equilibrium, or, to be more precise, of imperfect performance equilibrium, one deals with the situation when the supply of highly educated specialists either exceeds the real needs of the related niche on the labour market, or is below the market demand. In the cases of perfect equilibria, the system is stable or stagnant, while in the case of an imperfect equilibrium the system becomes more dynamic and gains a momentum of change.

The study operates with statistical data from UNESCO and ILO databases for a sample of 44 countries of the EHEA, as well as the USA as a reference country. results of the empirical study show the general prevalence of the demand for graduate workers over the supply of tertiary graduates for most European countries, except for several Post-Soviet countries. The authors conclude that ‘universal HE’ – participation rates where at least 50% of the relevant age group enters tertiary education (Marginson, 2016 & Trow 2010) – should be understood as the preferred development only under certain conditions. These conditions are, inter alia, as follows: (a) sufficient demand for graduates on the labour markets and (b) preservation of the overall quality of professional education and training. It should be also remarked that in some countries, the HE enrolment has risen up to 75%, as is the case, for instance, in the USA, Russia and some OECD countries in the southern and northern regions of the European Education Area.

In this paper we interpret the term “perfect equilibrium” as a formal statistical feature that stands in a logical opposition to “optimal equilibrium”. A perfect equilibrium could be understood as an ideal (“imaginary”) model and not as an optimal balance. In this sense, the former should be seen as a statistical or theoretical abstract, when supply and demand on the labour market are equal. In case of an optimal equilibrium one should assess whether or not such a balance would enable the most successful social and economic development of a country.

Reforms across European HE have enhanced the economic and managerial dimensions of governance (Magalhães et al., 2013). In the Finnish context, this development can be seen for example on the competitiveness discourse associated with globalization and the introduction of NPM. In Finland, the adoption of NPM-related principles has been influenced especially by the OECD, which has played a significant role in disseminating managerial and market-oriented ideas within public administration (Julkunen, 2006). To stimulate universities’ research outputs in global competition, performance-based funding systems have been introduced across different social contexts (Hicks 2012). In Finland this performance steering is conducted by the Ministry of Education and Culture (henceforth MEC).

Performance steering and the power dynamics between MEC and universities include fundamental contradictions (Silvén et al. forthcoming). At the legislative level, universities are considered as autonomous organisations with self-governance and academic freedom (Universities Act, Section 3). Parallelly, however, MEC intervenes—through strong political and performance steering—in tasks that fall within the scope of university autonomy (Tomperi 2009), such as research and the student selection. Therefore, this performance calibration from the policy level can be seen as top-down governance toward universities, that should be autonomous institutions (Silvén et al. forthcoming). Universities Act reform of 2009 made universities financially autonomous on paper but in practice still accountable to the state’s objectives through different performance contracts (Kohtamäki 2023). The internal funding model of many universities follows the indicators used by the MEC (Kivistö et al. 2021), which raises the question of how genuine the organisational autonomy of Finnish universities is in practice (cf. Poutanen 2023).

Inside universities, these contradictions can be observed, for example, in university management’s communication, where the autonomy of universities and academic freedom are emphasised on the one hand, while on the other hand the universities’ accountability towards MEC is highlighted. This goes both ways as MEC uses considerable political steering towards universities but can always plead to university autonomy when it is suitable for them. In other words, they are able to steer the universities actions but legally do not have any responsibilities on the end results of this financial governance.

Universities funding models and performance management in universities have been extensively studied at both international and national levels (e.g. Kivistö et al., 2019; Kallio et al., 2020). Most research, however, has been conducted at the macro level, leaving a clear research gap for micro-level analysis. Especially under studied is how university rectors understand their role in relation to performance management between the MEC and academic community.

With this presentation I am diving into the power dynamics between the MEC and universities regarding the university funding model. I am especially focusing on how university rectors describe the power dynamics of this financial steering and negotiations between the ministry and universities. The aims of my study are to: i) recognise the influence of the university funding model set by the MEC has over how research is steered at the universities, ii) explore the agency universities have in relation to MEC funding model and, iii) analyse the role of the university rectors in relation to performance management between the Ministry and academic community.