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This study seeks to describe the planning and implementation in Finland of a campus‐wide management information system using a rigorous planning methodology.

The structure of the management information system is planned on the basis of the management process, where strategic management and the balanced scorecard approach have important roles.

The balanced scorecard approach is useful not only in accomplishing the objectives, measures and targets of the institutional strategy but also in the planning of the management information system.

The findings of the study are useful for educational administrators, project managers, software developers and usability specialists.

This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of campus‐wide information systems applying the balanced scorecard approach as a basis for the management information system to translate the strategy into action.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the network strategies of academic libraries and presents an approach to the evaluation of strategic plans and their implementation.

The balanced scorecard approach is used as a framework for organisations to communicate and implement their strategic plans.

It is shown in this study that the balanced scorecard also provides a general framework for the evaluation of the strategy and performance from different perspectives.

The concept of the strategy map is used to illustrate the objectives of the strategic plans of the consortium of libraries.

This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of the strategic planning of libraries. The findings of the study are useful for those who seek to achieve cost‐efficiency with the increased and networked cooperation of libraries.

This study aims to present a general conceptual framework which can be used to evaluate quality and institutional performance in higher education.

The quality of higher education is at the heart of the setting up of the European Higher Education Area. Strategic management is widely used in higher education institutions and is a strong candidate for the general framework of management. The balanced scorecard approach has been designed as a mechanism to communicate and implement the strategic plan and make it more understandable to stakeholders.

The concepts of quality and strategy maps provide the tools that can be used to describe the conceptual framework to describe the quality assurance system and institutional performance.

The quality and performance of a higher education institution are evaluated by national quality assurance agencies and many other stakeholders having various objectives and interests. The evaluation is based on the backgrounds and subjective experiences of the evaluators. Therefore there is clearly a need for a common and rational framework for the evaluation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the maintenance of the process‐based quality assurance system in a higher education institution.

The paper introduces the process management as the essential element of quality assurance in higher education and discusses the external quality audit of the quality assurance agency, extends the study to the quality management between the external audits and presents the procedure of internal quality audits. Finally, the results of the study are discussed and summarised. Action research methodology was adopted in this study. The paper shows that the process‐based quality assurance system makes the organisation responsive, agile and enables the achievement of strategic objectives.

The audit group must first evaluate the necessary improvements in the process. If no improvements are found, the quality deviations must be reported. The audit helps the institution take corrective actions to amend the process descriptions or maintain the processes.

The paper shows that the necessary processes of a higher education institution can be systematically described and audited.

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework combining the approaches of the innovation pedagogy, strategic planning of higher education and the research, development and innovation (RDI) in order to support the export of higher education.

The export of education can be included in the framework by taking the innovation pedagogy as a starting point – an approach developed for the universities of applied sciences with the emphasis of efficient leaning in projects and the institution's external impact. Strategic management defines strategic objectives, which take into account the European education policy and the regional and international demand for higher education. The empirical part of the paper is based on the study of the Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) focusing on the networked applied research and development activities and the combination of the education and the RDI activities using learning in the projects approaches.

The building of the strategic partnerships seems to be one of the main instruments of the export process and to use the support of the external broker organization outside of the universities. The advantages of the student learning in the RDI projects are: the drop‐out rates can be decreased, the length of study can be shortened, the transfer of knowledge can be increased, the supervision of students can be increased, the experience of students from projects increases the employment opportunities and the integrated model of innovation pedagogy can be exported to other countries.

The framework presented in the paper could be developed towards mechanisms of sharing the knowledge concerning different global learning ecosystems.

The purpose of this study is to describe the desired learning outcomes of innovation pedagogy which supports innovations and regional development in higher education.

The study is based on the socio‐cultural theory and the constructivist view of learning developed to encompass the social and cultural customs of a particular community and its ways of operating.

The study extends the individual‐based learning used in many contexts to include collaborative and networked learning to support innovations.

The results are useful for those who want to outreach and engage in regional development and increase the external impact of the higher education institution.

This study seeks to develop and describe the benchmarking approach of enhancement‐led evaluation in higher education and to present a cross‐evaluation process for degree programmes.

The benchmarking approach produces useful information for the development of degree programmes based on self‐evaluation, evaluation visits and analyses.

The cross‐evaluation of degree programmes can result in recommendations not only for the improvement of the degree programme, but also for that of the whole institution and the evaluation process.

The results of the study are useful for those who want to improve the quality culture of higher education institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to provide higher education institutions with strategies of continuing education and methods to communicate and implement these strategies.

The balanced scorecard approach is used to implement the strategy. It translates the strategy into tangible objectives, measures and targets and balances them into four different perspectives: customer, finance, internal processes, and learning.

The strategy of focus combined with the strategy of cost‐efficiency is applicable for higher education institutions. These strategies can be adjusted, for example, to profitable growth in continuing education.

The balanced scorecard approach can be used widely in higher education institutions and with slight modifications in other public sector organisations. The customer perspective typically includes the desired objectives in the public sector, contrary to the private sector where it is reasonable to place finance at the top of the perspectives.

The study also presents a useful example of how the strategy can be described using the concept of a strategy map and numerical balanced scorecards.

It turns out that the strategies of focus and cost‐effectiveness and the balanced scorecard approach, developed in the business literature, can be successfully applied in continuing education.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the strategic planning of the Centre for Mechanical Engineering, which is a joint venture of educational institutions and companies in Southwest Finland.

The paper presents the strategies of focus and cost efficiency and how the selected strategies can be adjusted according to the Centre's place in its life cycle. The initial phase of the Centre emphasises the importance of a growth strategy.

The strategies are described using the balanced scorecard approach, which allows organisations to articulate and communicate their strategies to their employees and stakeholders.

This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of implementing strategies in higher education. An example is presented of how strategy can be described using a strategy map.

This study seeks to show how higher education institutions can plan regional strategies to increase their external impact on the environment.

The balanced scorecard approach is used to provide a general framework to communicate the strategy.

The approach is useful in accomplishing the strategic themes and objectives.

The study presents an example of how higher educational institutions are able to plan their joint regional strategy.

This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of strategic planning in the network of educational institutions. The findings of this study are useful to administrators of educational institutions aiming to plan a regional strategy and improve the external impact of institutions.