ANECA publishes the second report of the international ESG-PBP Alignment project

17/10/2025

The ESG-PBP Alignment project, coordinated by ANECA, has published a report with proposals for the future harmonization of the quality assurance frameworks of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the Ibero-American Knowledge Area (EIC). This report is the conclusion of the second phase of the project and outlines proposals to bring the perspectives of both regions closer together in terms of quality assurance.

The quality assurance frameworks compared in both regions were, respectively, the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and the SIACES Principles of Good Practice (PBP), both acronyms giving the project its name.

Based on an initial comparative report on these frameworks carried out during the first phase of the project, this second report outlines proposals to facilitate dialogue, mutual learning, and cooperation between ENQA and SIACES in this area. The proposals are intended to stimulate debate rather than prescribe solutions, providing a basis for further reflection with a view to the future revision of these frameworks and the strengthening of mutual trust.

Once again, this second report has benefited from the valuable participation of a team of people from ten quality agencies in both regions (A3ES, ANVUR, AQUA, CNA Chile, CNA Colombia, CONEAU, Hcéres, JAN, QAA, and the coordinating agency), as well as the secretariats of ENQA and SIACES.

The work has mainly consisted of drawing up a proposal of elements that could be incorporated into each of the reference frameworks for future alignment with the other. All of this is based on the shared reflections of all the entities that have made up the project's working group.

The establishment of a joint proposal for the alignment of the ESG and the PBP with a view to potential mutual recognition in the future not only represents a qualitative leap in the relationship between the two spaces, but also, in the words of the presidents of both organizations at the beginning of this publication, the fruitful conversation generated in this project on the harmonization of quality frameworks paves the way for this collaboration to continue and consolidate in the future.

Full information on the project and its results can be found on the ANECA website: https://www.aneca.es/proyecto-enqa-