Alumni Relations Best Practice in Europe

With the funding support of Grundtvig, part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, CASE Europe has been taking part in a project to enhance best practice in Alumni Relations within Europe.

Five institutions, from four different countries, are currently taking part in the project:

• Johannes Kepler Society (Johannes Kepler University, Austria)
• University of Birmingham (UK)
• University of Navarra (Spain)
• University of Reading (UK)
• University of Siegen (Germany)

Staff and Alumni representatives from all institutions have met in Austria, in December 2008, and Spain in April 2009 and Liverpool in August 2009. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Germany in October 2009.

The group as chosen to focus on a variety of areas that will enhance the services they provide to their Alumni and create better, more efficient networks. Discussions at the last meeting included:

• Key performance indicators in alumni relations through benchmarking
• The working relationship between fundraising and alumni relations and how these disciplines can work effectively together
• Volunteer management in alumni relations
• How alumni relations activities can use online communities and social media to advance their programmes

The report of the Alumni Go Europe project is now available online.

Separate to the Grundtvig project, but still focusing on alumni relations, is the International CASE Alumni Relations Survey (ICARS). The survey, conducted via the CASE Benchmarking Toolkit, is a yearly exercise enabling members across the world to measure their progress in a global context.

For further information, please contact Laure-Anne Garnier, European projects manager, CASE Europe, at garnier@case.org. However, if you would like to register to take part in the annual International CASE Alumni Relations Survey please email research@case.org.

Last updated 16 July 2010