Benchmarking para Tomada de Decisões Estratégicas: a Utilidade do U-Multirank

Strategic decision making by universities is a requirement for institutions to achieve their unique set of short- and long-term objectives. A university wide strategic plan frames these objectives. When this is set, measurable targets can be determined; where are we now and where do we want to be. As argued in this book chapter, benchmarking is equally relevant for strategic plans. It shows where universities are compared to others and what can be learned. U-Multirank can be used to this end, as it is a multidimensional transparency tool with 35 indicators covering the broad range of universities’ activities, while comparing data from 1,700 higher education institutions from around the world. U-Multirank allows the identification of benchmark universities, assessment and comparison of performance of the benchmark universities, and the analysis of underlying processes that leads to the performance. Using the ‘Universidades Estaduais Paulistas’ as examples, we describe how U-Multirank can used as a benchmark tool by university decision and policy makers.