Evaluating university social linkage activities: how to take into account the organizing and executing agents

Purpose To propose a model and a method for the evaluation of university social linkage activities from the perspective of the agents who organize and carry them out, and to validate this proposal by applying it to a set of activities of this type carried out in a higher education institution in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach The validation of the proposal presented is carried out through interviews with representative samples of the different groups of agents, based on questionnaires that collect the relevant factors according to the different types of agents, as well as the application of a content analysis technique to the results of the interviews. Findings The results obtained corroborate the applicability of the proposal for improving the organization and execution of university social linkage activities. The results of its application to this type of activity in a higher education institution have provided relevant indications for improvement. Originality/value This work contributes to the literature on the evaluation of university social linkage activities, since there is not, to date, a model and a method for the analysis of such activities from the perspective of their organizing and executing agents.