Purpose -This paper aims to explore the possibilities of combining foresight techniques and intellectual capital management, as two approaches of participatory strategic management, in higher education institutions. The objective is to generate concrete benefits for prospective strategic management in the academic sector. It also aims to focus on how it may be possible for universities to address the challenges of major change management programmes by implementing foresight and intellectual capital management models.Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews recent literature both on conceptual issues and experiences in relation to foresight and intellectual capital. The paper presents an ongoing project focused on the development of a vision for the future of the higher education system in Romania and a frame to differentiate Romanian universities.Findings -A proposal of an integrated use of foresight and intellectual capital management for universities is suggested. The case study presented illustrates how foresight provides an excellent approach to address the question of how to develop a shared vision of the future and jointly define a strategy to best adapt an organization to the new context, and intellectual capital management models play a role in strategic management, resource allocation and monitoring of objectives and organization performance.Practical implications -The issues addressed in the paper could provide the starting point for better integration of strategic management in higher education institutions.Originality/value -The paper explores two concepts closely related but that have not been analysed together: the relationship between Intellectual capital approaches and foresight.

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This article provides new insights into the role of public universities in regional development by looking at their involvement in Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3), a key element of the current European Cohesion Policy. In the latter, stakeholders from the triple or Quadruple Helix (public, private, research and nongovernmental sectors) jointly identify areas for research, development and innovation (RDI) investment. The analysis focuses on the region of Catalonia, which hosts a mix of higher education institutions (HEIs) with different characteristics and different relationships with local innovation stakeholders. The authors examine in-depth one of the main RIS3 funding instruments recently implemented in the region: the Research and Innovation Smart Specialization Strategy for Catalonia Communities. The Communities support the implementation of action plans for industrial research and development, jointly defined by research and private-sector stakeholders in RIS3 strategic areas. The instrument embeds the characteristics of a continuous EDP and enables exploration of the challenges and opportunities that emerge when researchers engage in strategic market-oriented RDI activities. The article highlights how HEIs are evolving and adapting to the new policy environment and concludes with policy implications.

European universities are immersed in an intensive transformation process to order to transform themselves into more autonomous and competitive organisations. Adapting to the new demands implies the introduction of management systems, traditionally used by firms, in order to govern universities according to criteria of efficiency and effectiveness. In recent years, the idea of managing and reporting on intangibles and Intellectual Capital in universities has been acquiring progressive importance in Europe. The Chapter provides a comparative analysis of the most significant European experiences in managing and reporting Intellectual Capital in higher education institutions addressing two main issues: the identification of the benefits and obstacles of implementing IC frameworks in these particular institutions and reflect on the necessary degree of standardisation of indicators to allow comparability. To this purpose, three types of initiatives are analysed: the case of Austrian universities, which are compelled by law to report annually on their IC; five initiatives developed by individual institutions on a voluntary basis, and an attempt to build a homogeneous IC framework for European universities.