Evidence-based policy in Erasmus+
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Résumé of the seminar By Bogdan Sot One of the crucial notions raised during the seminar concerned exploiting the Erasmus+ programme in terms of research. Apparently, this exploitation has been so far only partial. The accumulated pool of data that could be analysed is very rich in terms of variety and content (many different questions answered by beneficiaries/mobility participants). The data is also rich in terms of the encompassed time period. Knowledge which it can reveal remains to a large extent an unknown, nonetheless promising, terra incognita. If we take usability of that data into consideration, we could detect that Erasmus+ data is more usable than that of its predecessors. That is because more modern and comprehensive tools were used to store the data and display it. On the other hand, data from previous programmes has the value of time that passed from the days of mobility to the present stage of the individual’s life. Another important notion relates to the nature of the accumulated data, which is chiefly declarative. For that reason it may have the bias of selfperception. Generally, to be more credible, such data could be accompanied by information on mobility effects, coming from sources other than just the statements of mobility participants. Some findings basing on declarative data may not be very credible and should be used with caution. The data, accumulated by projects and mobility reporting, is valuable by being so widespread, and the more trustworthy it is, the better and stronger its impact on real-life educational policy. Having this in mind, one could think about cross-national research targeted at assessing its credibility. The results of such research could be used for redesigning reporting tools for the sake of this or future programmes, so they become better “transmission belts,” translating accumulated data and findings based on them into policy. In the light of seminar discussions, the issue that undoubtedly deserves more attention is the impact of projects. As emerges from research done by French and UK colleagues, the impact section of the application does not draw much attention from applicants and is often inadequately evaluated in quality assessment carried out by NAs. Apparently, there is room for international research, which would i.a. assess the link between content of the impact section of the application perceived as the ex-ante stage, the quality score it has received during assessment and ex-post evaluation of real project impact. Research results would contribute to establish a set of common impact indicators. The seminar has also shown that there are many important areas that could be further explored, e.g. language skills improvement by sectors or
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Bogdan Sot has been working in the Research and Analysis Unit of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System since 2016 and in the Polish NA since 2010. He holds a Master’s degree in international economics awarded by the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
