HEInnovate in the EU policy context
HEInnovate is a self-reflection tool for higher education institutions, developed jointly by the European Commission and the OECD. It helps institutions assess and strengthen their innovation and entrepreneurship capacity across eight key dimensions. It responds to a set of evolving expectations shaping higher education across Europe.
Beyond their traditional roles in education and research, higher education institutions are increasingly expected to engage with their ecosystems and contribute to social and economic growth. They must equip students with future-proof skills, respond to societal challenges such as climate change and the digital transition, and play an active role in regional and national innovation ecosystems. These expectations are reflected across a range of EU policy frameworks, which call on institutions to strengthen their entrepreneurial and innovation capacities as part of Europe's broader competitiveness and skills agenda.
The competitiveness agenda
The need for higher education institutions to drive innovation and skills development has gained new urgency in the context of Europe's competitiveness agenda.
In 2024, two landmark reports placed education, research, and innovation at the centre of EU strategic debate. The Letta report on the future of the Single Market (April 2024) called for a "fifth freedom" dedicated to research, innovation, knowledge, and education. The Draghi report on European competitiveness (September 2024) identified the innovation gap, skills shortages, and insufficient research investment as fundamental obstacles to Europe's global position. It emphasised the central role of universities in driving innovation, developing talent, and bridging the gap between research and market application.
Building on these analyses, the European Commission presented the Competitiveness Compass in January 2025, a roadmap guiding its work over the 2024–2029 period. Skills development features as one of five horizontal enablers of competitiveness.
Skills and human capital
Not long after that, in March 2025, the European Commission launched the Union of Skills, a comprehensive strategy to strengthen Europe's human capital and address skills shortages. It brings together the European Education Area, the European Skills Agenda, and the European Research Area under one strategic framework, organised around four strands: building skills for quality jobs through education; upskilling and reskilling the workforce for the digital and green transitions; facilitating the circulation of skills across the EU; and attracting, developing, and retaining talent.
Cooperation across borders
The European Strategy for Universities (2022) calls for deeper transnational cooperation to strengthen the contribution of universities to Europe's resilience, recovery, and transformation. The European Universities Initiative are a flagship initiative in this direction. They bring together higher education institutions across borders into deep, structural partnerships that promote joint education, research, and innovation activities.
Innovation, entrepreneurship, and EU funding
Several EU programmes directly support higher education institutions in building their innovation and entrepreneurship capacity.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) brings together business, research, and education through its Knowledge and Innovation Communities. The EIT Higher Education Initiative (EIT HEI) helps institutions build their capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship education, providing funding, coaching, and access to Europe's largest innovation ecosystem.
The Alliances for Innovation, under Erasmus+ Key Action 2, bring together higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, and enterprises to foster innovation, design new curricula, and address skills mismatches. In 2026, the Alliances for Education and Enterprises under this action specifically address skills gaps in sectors crucial for Europe's competitiveness, in line with the Union of Skills. Furthermore, a new lot-pilot for 2026 only, the STEM Skills Foundries, supports innovative, multidisciplinary partnerships between higher education, vocational education and training, and business in line with the STEM Education Strategic Plan.
How HEInnovate supports these goals
HEInnovate offers higher education institutions a structured approach to meet the policy goals outlined above — from enhancing competitiveness and equipping graduates with future-proof skills, to increasing transnational cooperation and preparing for EU funding opportunities.
Through its self-assessment, institutions can develop an evidence-based understanding of their innovation and entrepreneurship capacity across eight key dimensions, highlighting strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement. The process fosters a common language that unites leadership, staff, students, and partners around a shared vision for change. Practical tools, such as Action Cards, planning templates, and case studies, help turn reflection into tangible initiatives. For European Universities alliances, a dedicated HEInnovate Guide for Alliances supports joint reflection and strategy development among partner institutions.
Because it directly supports several of the EU policy objectives described above, HEInnovate is increasingly embedded in EU tools, policies, and funding instruments. As an Erasmus+ tool, it is referenced in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide and recommended for use in Erasmus+ funded projects such as the European Universities alliances and the Alliances for Innovation. It also features in the EHESO Strategic Transformation Toolbox as a resource for institutions seeking to address future challenges. HEInnovate plays a particularly central role in the EIT Higher Education Initiative: completing a self-assessment is a requirement for institutions applying for EIT HEI funding, and the resulting action plan serves as the foundation for an Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP), opening the door to funding, partnerships, and networks across education, business, and research.
In a policy landscape that increasingly calls on higher education to drive innovation and skills development, HEInnovate equips institutions with the tools to reflect, plan, and act.