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CATALISI Methodology

36

Months

11

Partners

8

Countries

CATALISI is built upon 2 blocks:

4 facilitators

Support the transformation of Higher Education Institutions through acceleration services, knowledge transfer, and the implementation of co-designed activities.

7 Implementers

Higher Education Institutions that implement new reforms in their structures as demonstrators of change in specific domains and intervention areas.

3 Domains and
14 intervention areas

The CATALISI Universities have identified 14 key areas of intervention that each of them considers necessary to address today’s global challenges in the field of Research and Innovation (R&I). 

CATALISI’s message is clear: Universities must be beacons of innovation, choosing to prioritize areas that create real, positive impact in their ecosystem

Research careers and talent support

Recognition of qualifications & research careers

Ensuring transparency and standardisation in recognising academic qualifications and career progression across institutions and countries.

Modernising evaluation frameworks to value diverse research outputs, open science practices, and societal impact beyond traditional metrics.

Integrating digital tools, platforms, and AI to enhance learning, research, and administrative processes in universities.

Facilitating researcher mobility across institutions and countries to foster knowledge exchange, career development, and innovation.

Promoting continuous skills development and education opportunities to meet evolving workforce and societal needs.

Investing in skills, training, and career opportunities to enhance the capabilities and impact of researchers and university staff.

Creating equitable opportunities and inclusive policies to ensure diversity in research and academia.

Research modus operandi

Mainstreaming of open science and digitisation of research

Embedding open-access practices and digital tools to enhance transparency, collaboration, and accessibility in research.

Strengthening the connection between universities and society through collaborative research and community-driven solutions.

Positioning universities as key drivers of regional development, entrepreneurship, and knowledge transfer.

Encouraging cross-institutional collaboration to optimise the use of research facilities, data, and expertise.

Sustainable Research and Education

Sustainability in education & funding

Ensuring long-term financial stability and accessibility in higher education through diversified funding models and resource efficiency.

Implementing eco-friendly policies in energy use, waste management, transport, and infrastructure to create greener, more sustainable university campuses.

Promoting environmentally and socially responsible research practices, including ethical funding, sustainable methodologies, and long-term knowledge impact.

Living Lab

Leverage a co-creation methodology for university innovation development

Counselling

Empower HEIs through
mentoring and coaching

Transformational Pathway

Enhance HEIs’ ability to respond to societal challenges effectively

ACCELERATION SERVICES

HEIs Institutional Change

Predictive Study 
on Skills Antecipation

Support in re-thinking investments in education and training

Community of Practice

Share experiences and good practices on institutional changes

Capacity Building 
and Outreach

Invest in human resources to foster economic growth, social development, and innovation

Catalyst Hub

Digital platform designed to facilitate cooperation

LIVING LABS (LLs)

Leverage a co-creation methodology for university innovation development

Living Labs are guided by the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL).

A participatory and collaborative framework that emphasizes co-creation, stakeholder engagement, and real-world settings for innovation.

Living Labs are practical, real-world environments where new ideas and strategies are tested and refined with stakeholders including university staff and students and external partners. These labs allow for the elaboration of targeted and effective action plans within selected intervention areas.

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COUNSELLING

Empower HEIs through mentoring and coaching

Counselling is guided by EY.

During the development of transformational pathways and action plans, HEIs are guided on specific problems, solvable in short period of time.
Counseling services, including mentoring and coaching, play a crucial role in offering guidance and best practice examples to universities. Moreover, the counselling service is designed as a cross-cutting service to all other acceleration services as it gives constant and accessible guidance throughout the duration of the whole project for all HEIs involved.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL PATHWAY

Enhance HEIs' ability 
to respond to societal challenges effectively

Transformational Pathway is guided by EY.

Enhance HEIs’ ability to collaborate, innovate, and respond to societal challenges effectively. 

After the state of affair assessment of the individual HEI in the LLs environment, a transformational pathway will set an agenda for each HEI to better achieve its institutional transformation and get tangible results at a scheduled time.

The pathways will be tailored with the facilitators and different local stakeholders through an approach of practices-exchange.

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PREDICTIVE STUDY ON SKILLS ANTICIPATION

Support in re-thinking investments in education and training.

This study is carried out by EY.

It analyzes trends in labor markets to determine which skills will be essential for future workforce needs.

A predictive study on skills anticipation can plays a crucial role in shaping curriculum development, ensuring that Higher Education Institutions remain responsive to the evolution of key macro-trends, such as environmental, social, political and technological changes. This study helps to foster lifelong learning opportunities and the re-skilling and up-skilling for researchers’, who will be better able to adapt to future challenges.

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Community of Practice (CoP)

Share experiences 
and good practices on institutional changes

 This service is led by Agency for the Promotion of European Research (APRE). 

A collaborative group of practitioners, formed by Academia and other quadruple helix actors.

This service serves as community where members can collaboratively address challenges, exchange insights on innovation, provide advice and guidance on methodology and work towards institutional transformations. By connecting a wide array of stakeholders, CoPs foster a culture of continuous improvement and support HEIs in better aligning their strategies with regional, national, and European innovation goals.

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CAPACITY BUILDING AND OUTREACH

Invest in human resources to foster economic growth, social development, and innovation.

The service, carried out by APRE,

It analyzes trends in labor markets to determine which skills will be essential for future workforce needs.

It aims to provide HEIs with methods, skills and capabilities to develop transformation strategies related to specific RRI principles and topics in a participatory way, relying on knowledge sharing, mutual learning, Twinning schemes and tailor-made webinars on specific RRI topics. Through the use of this service, universities can address challenges more effectively, by fostering a collaborative environment conducive to meaningful progress and sustainable change in the higher education landscape.

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THE CATALYST HUB

Digital platform designed to facilitate cooperation

The CATALYST Hub is lead by F6S Innovation and is structured into three key areas: Learning, Funding and Collaboration.

It aims to facilitate the identification of funding opportunities, collaborations for researchers to increase the R&D investments. It fosters stronger connections between academia and industry, helping to bridge the gap between research outputs and market needs.

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