On 25 March 2013, in response to the Call for Proposals (EACEA/35/12) within the framework of Tempus IV — Reform of higher education through international university cooperation published by the European Commission on 5 December 2012, the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) in conjunction with the consulting firm Dynamic University developed and submitted the project “Benchmarking Club of Arts Academies”, providing for cooperation the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Poland), the Institute of Art, Design and Enterprise – a University in Lisbon (Portugal), Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I.Surikov, St. Petersburg Repin State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and Novosibirsk State Academy of Architecture and Fine Arts (Russia). Dynamic University was involved as the strategic consultant of the project in the process of developing the project application as well as in the implementation of this ambitious initiative.

The project was developed with the wider objective to support the modernisation of arts HEIs of the Russian Federation by establishing a platform for international institutional co-operation in order to improve strategic planning policies and practices, implement systematic quality management processes, encourage organisational development and drive performance in alignment with the national development priorities.

The project with the duration of 36 months has 4 specific objectives:

1. To establish a network involving arts HEIs of Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Russian Federation that serves as a platform for institutional learning through cooperation.
2. To enhance the human capacity of project partners - higher education institutions in quality management in general and benchmarking in particular.
3. To equip the project partners – higher education institutions with methodologies and information systems for undertaking collaborative benchmarking and alumni surveys within their respective institutions and draw on this experience.
4. To drive knowledge transfer, build awareness and hence stimulate other arts HEIs in Russia to absorb the lessons from this novel initiative.

The project provides for the establishment of a Steering Committee comprising the rectors of the involved arts academies headed by Prof.Aleksejs Naumovs, the Rector of the Art Academy of Latvia, as well as a Working Group comprising representatives of the project partners and headed by Līna Dzene, the CEO of Dynamic University. One of the primary tasks of the Working Group will be to develop benchmarking indicators for arts higher education institutions as well as:

• to develop an analytical information system for benchmarking in order to enter, aggregate and analyse data, thereby approbating the developed benchmarking indicators;
• to develop a Strategic Arts Alumni Monitor (SAAM) – alumni online survey tool for dynamic management, analyses and visualisation of the alumni data; and
• to develop a benchmarking manual for arts HEIs.

TEMPUS programme project "Benchmarking Club of Arts Academies" was developed based on the strategic objective outlined in the AAL Strategy Action Plan 2012–2020 prepared by Dynamic University in 2011–2012 within the framework of the PROGRAMME FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION funded by the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation. The Plan recognised the importance and necessity of such benchmarking initiative within the context of the AAL's strategic development as well as served as a confirmation of the successful cooperation between the AAL and Dynamic University achieved so far in supporting the continuity of the AAL's strategic planning process and outlining the Academy's firm commitment to achieve excellence in higher education in arts. Many versatile benchmarking projects for higher education institutions have been implemented on a European scale so far. Unfortunately, none of them have involved arts HEIs. Moreover, considering the specific nature of the operation and study programmes of arts HEIs, the indicators featured in global ratings of HEIs and benchmarking manuals and guidelines are nor suitable for benchmarking arts HEIs and evaluating their performance.

FYI: The primary task of the European Union programme TEMPUS is to support the modernisation and reforms of higher education in the European Union's surrounding regions. Tempus promotes institutional cooperation and focuses on the reform and modernisation of higher education systems in the Partner Countries. It promotes cooperation in higher education, involving the EU Member States and Partner Countries. The programme will particularly promote voluntary convergence with the achievements in the field of higher education in the EU that are derived from the Strategy “Europe 2020”, the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (“ET 2020”) and the Bologna Process.