Indicators of the Third University Mission: Perspectives to Measure Universities Contributions to Society

Abstract

The university-society relationship, called the third university mission, is constantly changing in an attempt to keep up with social, economic and cultural demands. Measuring the university's activities and sharing it with society is to meet the principles of governance, such as transparency, accountability and responsibility. This article aims to identify possible indicators of the third university mission and the main concepts and constructs related to the theme. Although similar, the research differentiates the concepts 'third mission' (European concept) and 'extension' (Latin American concept) according to the portfolio of their indicators and the scope of the terms. A systematic literature review (RSL) and bibliometric analysis were carried out using the Systematic Search Flow (SSF) method. It is concluded that measuring the activities of the third university mission and its social impacts, despite all academic and governmental efforts, is not an easy task. The difficulty lies in the multiple activities and interpretations of what the third mission is, however, as a result of the research the main indicators that cover the theme will be presented.