Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Abstract

The project “Social network tools and procedures for developing entrepreneurial skills in PhD programmes” (prodPhD) aims to implement innovative social network-based methodologies for teaching and learning entrepreneurship in PhD programmes. The multidisciplinary teaching and learning methodologies to be developed will enable entrepreneurship education to be introduced into any PhD programme, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to engage in entrepreneurial activities. However, the use of the output of the project will depend on the nature and profile of the research or scientific field. In this context, key performance indicators (KPIs) form the base on which the quality and scope of the methodologies developed in the project will be quantified and benchmarked. The project’s final product will be an online tool that higher education students can use to learn entrepreneurship from a social network perspective. Performance measurement is one of the first steps of any project and involves the choice and use of indicators to measure the effectiveness and success of the project’s methods and results. All the KPIs have been selected according to criteria of relevance, measurability, reliability, and adequacy, and they cover the process, dissemination methods, and overall quality of the project. In this document, each KPI is defined together with the units and instruments for measuring it. In the case of qualitative KPIs, five-level Likert scales are defined to improve indicator measurability and reliability. The KPIs for prodPhD are divided into three main dimensions, depending on the stage of the project they evaluate. The three main dimensions are performance and development (which are highly related to the project’s process), dissemination and impact (which are more closely correlated with the project’s output), and overall project quality. Different sources (i.e., European projects and papers) have been drawn upon to define a set of 51 KPIs classified into six categories, according to the project phase they aim to evaluate. An Excel tool has been developed that collects all the KPIs analysed in the production of this document. This tool is shared in the Scipedia repository.