Research and development activities by companies play a crucial role in enabling economic growth in various countries. Support and activation of company-driven applied research and development are often carried out by universities through EU-funded projects. In these projects, the focus is often on skill development and learning, which in turn contribute to competitiveness and growth. However, assessing the impact of these projects can be challenging.

The rapid pace of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and society demands agile and quick solutions. Research and development project applications, funding, and indicators operate at different speeds. We need to modify and develop our education systems and shape our research and development projects to fit into this rapidly changing environment in order to be able to also evaluate the quality and impact of innovation activities in this kind of network. Thus, it is clear that we need concrete tools and models for conducting qualitative assessments more swiftly and flexibly.

Traditionally, an optimal method for qualitative evaluation is standardized surveys, where a specific group responds to questions before and after interventions. However, the extended duration of development projects poses challenges for survey interpretation. Over time, the survey’s target group may change due to natural mobility. Additionally, individual participants may not have time to engage in every agreed-upon activity, considering other environmental factors simultaneously.

Therefore, we must consider the natural rhythm and realities of the target group, often micro- or small businesses. We need tools and methods to assess skill development in smaller increments and with greater agility. This is especially relevant for small companies, where the focus of development often lies with the entrepreneur-CEO. Main focus should be in how we can collect a cohesive and comparable picture of project and organizational impact from these smaller components.

In the context of university-industry cooperation, we have observed and documented R&D development projects, their impacts, and participants’ learning experiences in 30 projects over the years 2018 - 2024. Altogether more than 600 individuals were involved in the projects from over 400 SMEs. From these projects we have picked out 4 specific projects to explore more thoroughly examples of measuring impacts.

This forthcoming article will present alternatives to support qualitative evaluation and serve as a first step toward a more accurate and realistic measurement framework for business skill development.

Keywords: University-industry cooperation, impact, applied university, workplace learning, development.