In 2007, the Federal Government and the Länder agreed on the Higher Education Pact 2020 in order to provide the necessary capacities at higher education institutions for all those willing to study in times of high demand. To this end, the Federal and state governments raised funds of around 34 billion euros during the programme period of the Higher Education Pact from 2007 to 2020 and made available at least 4.5 billion euros for the additional funding in the years 2021 to 2023.
In December 2021, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) commissioned the German Science and Humanities Council to conduct an ex-post evaluation of the Higher Education Pact 2020. The evaluation is to include an assessment of the achievement of objectives, the impact and the economic efficiency of the funding programme. The objectives of the evaluation are to assess the effects of the Higher Education Pact 2020 on the German higher education system, to make recommendations for future federal and state programmes and to generate knowledge on higher education policy for the federal and state governments within the framework of their respective constitutional competencies. The evaluation shall also consider which steering effects have been achieved by the cooperation of the Federal Government and the Länder on the one hand, and the cooperation of the Länder and higher education institutions on the other, within the framework of the Higher Education Pact 2020.
In this context, the DZHW is to undertake Länder analyses for the German Science and Humanities Council, which will be included in the evaluation of the Higher Education Pact 2020. The methodological basis is formed by extensive document analyses for which, on the one hand, the annual GWK reports on the implementation of the Higher Education Pact are taken into account and, on the other hand, relevant documents provided by the individual Länder, in particular contractual agreements with the higher education institutions (e.g. framework, target and special agreements), information on additional Länder programmes and results of analyses and evaluations in the Länder.
Guiding questions are how forecasts on the development of the number of first-year students were handled, which measures were taken, which intended and non-intended effects were observed, whether conflicts of objectives or other difficulties arose and how these were handled, how the achievement of objectives is assessed and whether different types of countries can be identified, for example with regard to how the funds were passed on, spent and, if necessary, the flow of funds was controlled.
In a first step, an analysis scheme will be created on the basis of the GWK reports, which will then be filled with information from these reports and the Länder materials. As a result, dossiers on the individual Länder and comparative analyses will be compiled and submitted to the German Science and Humanities Council.
