HEInnovate is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the OECD that helps higher education institutions become more entrepreneurial, innovative and future-ready. It offers a complete framework for change, guiding HEIs from reflection to action. With HEInnovate, universities can assess their current position, design action plans and access practical resources to turn ideas into impact.

HEInnovate helps institutions strengthen their innovation and entrepreneurial capacity by providing a structured framework to identify strengths and areas for development across eight key dimensions. It also supports continuous improvement with tailored guidance through Action Cards, training materials and case studies from peer institutions. In addition, the tool encourages internal dialogue and collective reflection among diverse stakeholders, and it enables institutions to measure change over time by tracking progress through repeated assessments.

HEInnovate is also a requirement for institutions applying for EIT Higher Education Initiative funding. Completing the self-assessment demonstrates your institution's commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship, providing the foundation for creating an Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP), which serves as the basis of the EIT HEI application process.

HEInnovate can be initiated by anyone within a university who is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship. You don't need to be in a leadership position to get started. Typically, one person or small group acts as a "champion" or coordinator, taking the initiative to create a group on the platform and drive the process forward. This champion could be a faculty member, an administrator, someone from a technology transfer office, an entrepreneurship centre staff member, or anyone motivated to strengthen their institution's innovative capacity.

Universities are strongly encouraged to invite diverse stakeholders to participate in completing the self-assessment and to join in subsequent discussions and action planning. This includes university leadership, academic staff, administrative staff, students and student representatives, entrepreneurship staff and external stakeholders where appropriate.

Yes, the 2026 Erasmus+ Programme Guide recommends that European Universities Alliances use HEInnovate to support their activities. HEInnovate provides a structured, evidence-based framework that helps alliances navigate their complex organisational structures by offering a common language and comparable metrics for productive cross-border dialogue. The tool enables alliances to build shared understanding while respecting institutional diversity, identify complementarities and synergies across partners, develop alliance-wide innovation strategies, demonstrate coherent impact to funders and fulfil reporting requirements with evidence-based data.

The Community for Educational Innovation (CEI) is a collaborative community of practice uniting educators, institutions, businesses and policymakers to advance educational innovation across Europe. It offers a platform for exchanging ideas, exploring best practices and engaging in thematic activities such as webinars and study visits. It fosters dialogue on how to equip learners with key skills, shaping education systems that drive innovation and societal impact.

CEI is developed under the HEInnovate initiative, and it also functions as a hub for institutions using HEInnovate to reflect on their innovation journeys and share experiences. Becoming a part of the community is easy and free. To register, you only need to complete the CEI Registration Form.

You can complete a basic self-assessment as a guest, but registration is strongly recommended. Registered users benefit from permanent access to results, deeper analysis tools (radar charts, bar charts, downloadable reports), group functionality for collaboration, and tailored action recommendations. Guest assessments are automatically deleted after 90 days and you cannot return to review or compare results without the unique link. Registration is quick, free and unlocks the full potential of HEInnovate.

The self-assessment is structured around the HEInnovate eight dimensions of an innovative higher education institution. Each dimension contains 4-5 statements that you rate on a scale from 1 to 5 based on your institution's current practice. On the scale, 1 represents the lowest and 5 the highest score. A 'not applicable' (N/A) option is also available.

You have the flexibility to complete the self-assessment for all eight dimensions (38 statements in total) or focus only on the dimensions most relevant to your institution's priorities and context. This allows you to tailor the assessment to your specific needs while still benefiting from the structured framework. The self-assessment is available in several EU languages, which you can select from the drop-down menu before starting.

1. Register or log in at heinnovate.eu.
2. Select “Self-Assessment” and choose to complete it individually or with a group.
3. Answer the statements honestly, based on your institution’s context.
4. Review and submit your results.

While both options are valid, group assessments are strongly recommended. They capture multiple perspectives, reveal where perceptions align and differ, create stronger buy-in for action plans and generate richer discussions. Groups typically include leadership, faculty, administrative staff, students and sometimes external stakeholders to ensure comprehensive institutional representation.

From your dashboard, create a group with a clear, recognisable name. Use the "Invite members" function to send email invitations directly or copy the group link to share via your own communications. 

Important: Encourage invited participants to register before completing the self-assessment, rather than completing as guests. Registered users can share their role, faculty, and institution, allowing the group administrator to analyse results by different groups (e.g., do students see things differently than professors? How do results compare across partner institutions?). Guest users don't share this information, severely limiting analysis capabilities.

As a group administrator, you can track completion status and manage participants through your dashboard.

HEInnovate is not a benchmarking tool between institutions. You cannot see individual results from specific institutions and other institutions cannot see yours. However, registered users can now compare their results with aggregated, anonymised data from groups of institutions sharing similar characteristics, such as institutions in your country, institutions of similar size, or other relevant groupings. This allows you to contextualise your results without compromising institutional privacy.

Yes, your personal data is protected and handled in accordance with GDPR. Access to personal data is restricted based on the "need to know" principle. Self-assessment results are only visible to you as the registered user and, if you are part of a group, to the group administrator who created that specific group.

The European Commission and its contractors use aggregated and anonymised data for statistical purposes and to improve the platform. Personal data is stored securely on protected servers located within the European Union. For full details on how your data is processed and protected, consult the privacy policy on the HEInnovate website.

The self-assessment is just the beginning of your HEInnovate journey (Step 1: Reflect). The complete transformation process follows three additional steps: Engage by organising a workshop to discuss results with stakeholders and identify priorities. Plan by using Action Cards to generate concrete ideas and develop an action plan with clear objectives and timelines. Act by implementing your plan and monitoring progress over time. 

The discussion step transforms data into dialogue and is critical for building shared understanding and commitment to change. When you bring together leadership, staff, students and other stakeholders to discuss the self-assessment outcomes, you create a common language to talk about innovation and entrepreneurship in your institution. This conversation helps explain patterns in the results, explores why different groups might perceive things differently, identifies what's working well and should be built upon, surfaces barriers and gaps that need attention and builds consensus around priorities for action. This step ensures everyone has a voice in shaping the way forward and creates stronger buy-in for implementation.

Action Cards are a practical toolkit that helps institutions move from discussion to concrete action. Based on your self-assessment results, you'll receive personalised institutional profiles with recommended Action Cards tailored to your scores. Each card provides suggested actions and strategies, discussion questions to spark dialogue and examples from other institutions that have addressed similar challenges. Use them during planning workshops as thought starters to brainstorm priorities with colleagues, apply them to specific challenges you've identified in your results discussion, or incorporate them into strategic planning sessions to structure your action development process.

You can use the Action Cards as discussion prompts for your priority areas, then structure your ideas using the Action Planning Template to develop actions by timeframe: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Consider grouping related activities into coherent Work Packages with assigned leaders, key performance indicators and clear timelines. This structured approach makes implementation more manageable and progress monitoring more systematic.

Yes, HEInnovate is designed for continuous improvement. Many institutions repeat the self-assessment annually or every two years to track their progress across the eight dimensions. Your saved results allow you to compare scores over time, identify where improvements have been made and adjust your action plans accordingly.

HEInnovate offers extensive resources to guide your institutional transformation, including the Training Manual with facilitation tips, sample workshop agendas. and step-by-step guidance for each stage of the journey. It also provides case studies showcasing good practices in innovation and entrepreneurship from institutions worldwide and testimonials from institutions that have used HEInnovate, describing their experiences and practical tips. All materials are freely accessible on the HEInnovate website and regularly updated.

Yes, HEInnovate offers several levels of support to help you facilitate workshops. The Training Manual is available online with detailed guidance, including sample agendas, facilitation techniques and group exercises for both results discussion workshops and action planning sessions. You can also join regular information sessions and webinars that demonstrate how to use the tool effectively throughout the entire journey.

For more hands-on support, you can participate in Train-the-Trainers sessions (both online and on-site) that provide interactive training to help you become a HEInnovate facilitator at your institution. Finally, you can request a workshop facilitated directly by the HEInnovate team at your institution through the contact form on our website or via email at info@heinnovate.eu.