The European Commission highlights as a priority the creation of new frameworks for more autonomous and accountable universities. However, perceptions and terminology of institutional autonomy vary greatly in Europe. To reliably compare systems more systematic mapping of universities’ autonomy and accountability through a set of common indicators is necessary. Comparability is crucial as autonomy is often linked to concepts like institutional performance, excellence, quality, efficiency.The project will create such an “autonomy scorecard” which will enable governments to benchmark their progress on governance/autonomy reforms vis-à-vis other systems and give policymakers feedback on their reforms from an institutional perspective. The scorecard will record trends and progress on a yearly basis, thus contributing to the consolidation of the European Higher Education Area by improving comparability and promoting modernisation of the sector.The project is a unique opportunity to streamline data previously collected by EUA from 36 counties and build upon findings of prior research EUA has undertaken to develop an in-depth understanding of all elements of institutional autonomy. The project will gather a team of experts, develop a specific methodology, collect & analyse multilevel data through academic expertise and practitioner experience & create a set of at least 40 detailed comparable indicators which will be tested and validated in a multidimensional approach.Governments will be consulted to ensure the indicators’ usefulness for policy development. Beyond policy benchmarking, the outcomes will provide a robust conceptual basis for researchers to reliably establish correlations between autonomy and concepts such as performance, funding, quality and others.A final report (hardcopy and free download) as well as an easily updatable pilot online tool and dissemination at all EUA and other stakeholder events will ensure widespread impact amongst all target groups.