This paper is based on the work of an expert team invited by the Ministry of Education of Finland to develop criteria and an evaluation framework for societal and economic engagement for use in university performance management. The paper maps out possible indicators for the societal and economic engagement of universities in the light of national and international examples. Finally, it presents a proposed framework for assessing the societal and economic engagement of universities and a possible set of outcome measurements which take due account of the major factors governing strategic planning and resource allocation. The model presented in the paper for evaluating the societal and economic engagement of universities seeks to take into account the different circumstances in which individual universities operate and their strategic choices, with due consideration for comparability and national objectives. The goal underpinning the model is to strengthen the autonomy of the universities. At the core of the assessment model are five "assessment baskets": (1) engagement in innovation activities, (2) engagement in the labour market, (3) engagement in socio-ecological development, (4) engagement in the regional environment, (5) engagement in social debate.