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The purposes of this paper are twofold: a presentation of the theoretical basis of benchmarking and a discussion on practical benchmarking applications. Benchmarking is also analyzed as a productivity accelerator. The authors study benchmarking usage in the private and public sectors with due consideration of the specificities of the two areas. Special attention is paid to the presentation of the current picture of higher education and conditions for the application of benchmarking. The chosen examples of benchmarking projects conducted in higher education illustrate the spectrum of benchmarking usage. The authors conclude the paper with a recommendation for the employment of benchmarking in the higher education environment, especially in the light of competition pressures and rapid economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the start of the Twenty-First Century, European universities must play a number of roles in terms of social and economic development. In particular, they must increasingly serve as engines for local and regional development, thus filling a niche that only seems logical for them. At the same time, universities will form élites, particularly local élites; however, those universities that are world-class institutions will and should educate global élites. In performing the latter role, European universities in the Twenty-First Century will reassume a role, seized by American universities in the Twentieth Century, which they had successfully played in the Nineteenth Century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]