Outcome Agreements have been reached for the first time between the Department for the Economy and each of the three universities in Northern Ireland.
Effective initially for academic year 2024/25, the agreements have been conceived as a way of making it easier for the universities to demonstrate how the wide-ranging work that they do contributes meaningfully to the achievement of the strategic priorities of the Minister and the Department.
Progress against the actions recorded in the agreements will show how the public funding the institutions receive is being used to help address key public policy challenges.
Outcome Agreements are novel in the Northern Ireland context and are intended to encourage and facilitate open conversations between the sector, the Department, the Minister and wider society. It is anticipated that the development of future agreements will be an iterative co-design process which will build on the learning from this first year of operation.
Each agreement will build on the last to develop a multi-year narrative of progression towards shared aspirations.
This process should mean that Outcome Agreements are able to evolve in a way that allows their value as a facilitation and reporting tool to increase over time.