After two years of virtual meetings and remote work, the 18 partners of ESAGOV project finally met, for 3 days, at the University of Béjaia, for a workshop on Piloting process for Strategic plan revision and for a partners meeting. Beyond the human significance to meet again in presence, this meeting has been a relevant moment in the project life.

For several years now, the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research initiated a major reform to strengthen the university governance. Together with the quality assurance, one of the tools defined by the reform was the strategic plan (projet d’établissement), which must reflect the strategic vision of the HEI. To get the highest level of commitment from the academic community in implementing it, this strategy should be the result of a participatory approach. ESAGOV was born with the purpose of supporting the involved HEI in this process.

After a series of preliminary activities carried out despite the pandemic (definition of an action plan for the revision of the strategic plan, training of trainers, training at the local level), the Algerian partners are now at the crucial stage of piloting the revision process. These three days were therefore an opportunity to discuss at two levels: at Algerian level and at partnership level. At the Algerian level, it has been a space for dialogue among the universities to show all the results of their institutional work, exchange their practices, their tools, their strengths and weaknesses and to encourage a collective awareness and dynamic on this process. At the partnership level, the workshop allowed participants from both sides of the Mediterranean to talk about management issues, ministry/HEI relations, monitoring tools and indicators, self-evaluation and risk assessment.

It has also contributed to realize that thanks to their efforts in sensitizing their academic community, the participatory approach in the HEI involved is now effective and productive. The presence of 3 rectors and the Ministry of Higher Education testified to the importance given to the project, but above all the decisive role and responsibility of the university leadership in the process of revising the strategic plan and the permanent support from the Ministry.

ESAGOV partners are now engaged in the last phase of the project that will be concluded by the presentation of their renewed strategic plans during the final conference of the project, which will take place in Algiers in January 2023.