European Universities and Knowledge Alliances in their territorial innovation ecosystems

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly expected to contribute to regional development and transformative innovation and heralded as actors of change in the context of the twin transitions and European recovery and resilience. Knowledge Alliances and European University alliances are two ERASMUS+ funding initiatives for HEIs that enable the translation of this broad strategic agenda into an individual and local context and the negotiation of the global (excellence) – local (relevance) dichotomy and potential alignment of their missions. The potential for HEIs to contribute to and participate in regional innovation ecosystems and European and global education, research and innovation agendas is under-exploited. This report explores the role of these two initiatives in strengthening this interaction.