Resumen de The policy approach for the third mission of universities: the Spanish case (1983 – 2018)

Eva de la Torre García, Carmen Pérez Esparrells , Fernando Casani Fernández de Navarrete

• Following the international trend, Spanish universities have long ago included among their fundamental tasks the third mission of universities and have advanced in the formalisation and structuration of knowledge transfer, life-long learning and outreach activities. The development of the third mission was not gradual, but shaped by the evolution of the regulatory and funding frameworks affecting higher education. A comprehensive revision of the Spanish regulatory changes and programmes supporting the third mission of universities overtime indicates that the policy agenda has been traditionally supportive mostly to knowledge transfer and innovation activities, although more support is necessary in many fields. Consequently, the production process for knowledge transfer is nowadays further developed than the one for continuing education and social engagement. Notwithstanding, even the true potential of knowledge transfer is still to be achieved due to weak incentives for researchers to transfer knowledge to society and managerial and cultural barriers that still remain. Besides, this issue is relevant to higher education managers and policy makers because it entails that part of the activity of universities and their contribution to society is not fully visible