Research to Practice: How the LTA Research Hub is Strengthening Evidence Across Erasmus+

What makes research valuable? Is it the number of studies published, the quality of the methodology, or the insights they generate? While each plays an important role, research creates its greatest impact when it informs decisions, shapes policy and reaches the people who can put it into practice.

Hosted in Bonn, Germany, from 22nd to 24th June 2026, the meeting was organised by the LTA Coordinator Polish National Agency (FRSE), in cooperation with the German NA BIBB, which hosted the sessions, and German NA DAAD.

The room was a crowded one, bringing together the core LTA Research Hub network, which consists of over 10 NA’s, alongside SALTO Green Transition, SALTO Digital, SALTO Training & Cooperation TCA, SALTO Education & Training and SALTO Inclusion & Diversity, and representatives of the RAY Network as strategic partners.

Three days gave the group plenty to get through. The agenda moved from a first look at the Research Hub’s development, to a deep dive into the metadata analysis of research collected so far, to updates from National Agencies and strategic partners on their own research activities, before turning to the bigger question of where the network goes after 2027.

Threaded through all of it was a recurring focus: the Research Hub website and the AI chatbot taking shape alongside it.

Building a single-entry point for Erasmus+ research

The LTA Research Hub was established with an ambitious objective: to strengthen the evidence base of Erasmus+ by bringing together research, methodologies, publications, activities and expertise from across the programme into a single collaborative network.

Central to this vision is the development of the Research Hub website, a dedicated platform that will serve as the programme’s single-entry point for Erasmus+ research. Scheduled to launch in early 2027, the platform will allow users to discover research outputs, explore methodologies, connect with partners and access news and resources from across the network.

Alongside the website, the network and its partners are developing an AI-powered chatbot trained exclusively on verified materials contributed by network members. Rather than drawing information from general internet sources, the chatbot will respond only using trusted research, reports and knowledge submitted by stakeholders, ensuring that users receive evidence-based answers grounded in the Erasmus+ ecosystem.

Expected to become publicly available in late 2027, the chatbot will undergo extensive testing and stakeholder feedback before its release.

What the metadata is already telling us

One of the meeting’s central discussions focused on the network’s first large-scale metadata analysis, which examined the research collected so far to identify patterns, strengths and knowledge gaps across Erasmus+ priorities.

The findings revealed several interesting trends.

Most existing research has been conducted at the national level rather than transnationally, while quantitative and mixed-method studies significantly outnumber purely qualitative research. Yet despite this national focus, recommendations emerging from the research tell a different story.

Although national and transnational studies contribute a relatively similar number of publications, transnational research generates almost twice as many recommendations for future policy and practice.

For democratic participation, the findings were particularly striking.

Among the four Erasmus+ horizontal priorities, participation currently has the fewest dedicated research materials, yet it produces more recommendations than all the other priorities combined.

The result highlights both the growing importance of participation across the programme and the need for further dedicated research to uncover what enables meaningful civic engagement.

The analysis reinforces an important message: participation is no longer simply a programme priority; it is an area where demand for evidence is rapidly outpacing policy outputs.

SALTO PI’s contribution to the network

Beyond the formal sessions, Research and Resource Coordinator, Christopher Radovici, presented SALTO Participation and Information’s own research activities, its internal use of research and data, and its plans.

During the panel discussions, the team also participated in conversations on stakeholder perspectives for the website, on how the chatbot should function, on the future of the network, and on research priorities for Erasmus+.

Alongside the programme, SALTO PI held a series of discussions with strategic partners, fellow SALTOs and National Agencies, exploring openings for collaboration in the months ahead.

“A single study tells you what happened; an interconnected network tells you what to do about it,” said Christopher. “SALTO PI is here to make sure participation research doesn’t just get counted but gets used.”

What comes next

The meeting opened several opportunities for SALTO PI within the network:

• Deepening collaboration and establishing itself as an active partner in the LTA Research Hub.
• Boosting the network’s dissemination and visibility through the Participation Pool.
• Conducting thematic and sector-specific studies jointly with other members of the network.
• Drawing on the network’s knowledge and databases to strengthen SALTO PI’s own research into Erasmus+ materials on democratic participation, with particular attention to recommendations and policy input.
• Taking on presentation and moderation roles on participatory research at future network meetings.
• Pursuing cross-SALTO research at the points where different priorities overlap.

Turning research into participation

For SALTO Participation & Information, joining the LTA Research Hub offers an opportunity to strengthen the way research is shared, interpreted, and applied across the Erasmus+ community.

As the Research Hub moves towards its 2027 launch, and as the network reshapes itself for the next programme period, SALTO PI’s ambition is straightforward: to turn the gap between research and recommendations on democratic participation into a bridge.

“Research only matters at the point where it meets a decision,” said Christopher. “Our role in the Hub is to shorten that distance, and to turn evidence on participation into something policymakers can actually implement.”

The meeting identified several opportunities for future collaboration, including increasing the visibility of the network’s work through the Participation Pool, developing thematic and sector-specific research alongside other network members, exploring cross-SALTO studies where programme priorities intersect, and taking a stronger role in facilitating conversations around participatory research and democratic participation.

The Research Hub will also become an important source of evidence for SALTO PI’s own work, enabling the team to identify emerging trends, compare recommendations across countries and better understand how participation is being researched throughout Europe.