The Higher Education System Performance Framework 2018-2020 details the national priorities and key objectives of government for higher education, as set by the Minister for Education and Skills.

This framework is used by the HEA to conduct a process of strategy and performance dialogue with HEIs. The main aims of this process are to improve system and institutional performance, enhance system accountability and enable the HEA to manage system risks.

Performance compacts were agreed between individual HEIs and the HEA in early 2019 and are available under the individual institutional profiles. The compacts reflect the individual missions, capacities, strengths and priorities of each institution and explain how they will contribute to regional, national and system objectives, as set out in the System Performance Framework 2018-2020.

The 2018-2021 strategy and performance dialogue process will build on the learnings and process from earlier cycles. The HEA will monitor and assess individual institutional performance against the mission-based performance compacts and will use this information to verify the overall contribution of HEIs at a system level to meeting national priorities and objectives, as set out in the framework. Further information on the process is available here.

The findings from the first round of strategy and performance dialogue are set out in the Higher Education System Performance 2014-2017 report.