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The Third Mission Strategies Disclosure Through the Integrated Plan

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Governance and Performance Management in Public Universities

Abstract

The chapter presents fresh knowledge of how Italian public universities incorporate third mission strategies within the Integrated Plan. The results show that the Integrated Plan can be considered a valid tool to communicate to internal and external stakeholders’ information about the strategies, the actors, and the structures involved in the third mission activities.

The third mission is complementary to the other two missions of universities: teaching and research. It includes a batch of activities related to technology transfer and innovation; continuing education; and social engagement through which universities open their boundaries to the external environment to create value for the society and the region in which they are rooted.

This present research provides fresh knowledge of how Italian public universities incorporate third mission strategies within the Integrated Plan. From a methodological point of view, content analysis is conducted on a sample of Integrated Plans prepared by the largest Italian public universities. Results show a medium level of disclosure, evidencing how the Integrated Plan may represent a useful tool to communicate to internal and external stakeholders’ information about the strategies, the actors, and the structures involved in the third mission activities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.anvur.it/en/activities/vqr/

  2. 2.

    https://www.anvur.it/attivita/vqr/vqr-2004-2010/

  3. 3.

    https://www.anvur.it/attivita/vqr/vqr-2011-2014/

  4. 4.

    https://www.anvur.it/attivita/vqr/vqr-2015-2019/

  5. 5.

    https://www.anvur.it/en/activities/ava/

  6. 6.

    https://www.censis.it/formazione/la-classifica-censis-delle-universit%C3%A0-italiane-edizione-20192020

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Correspondence to Natalia Aversano .

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Aversano, N., Nicolò, G., Sannino, G., Tartaglia Polcini, P. (2022). The Third Mission Strategies Disclosure Through the Integrated Plan. In: Caperchione, E., Bianchi, C. (eds) Governance and Performance Management in Public Universities. SIDREA Series in Accounting and Business Administration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85698-4_6

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