Destroying Creativity? Universities and the New Public Management

Grönblom, Sonja; Willner, Johan

doi:10.4337/9781849802345.00016

“…While universities find themselves at different stages of each of these processes, which themselves manifest different implications, these changes are generating significant debate around some of the problems associated with universities moving too close to market society (Aronowitz, 2000;Bailey, 2008;Bok, 2003;Grönblom & Willner, 2009;Levin & Greenwood, 2008;Lundvall, 2002;Sparkes, 2007;Sugden, 2004;Wilson, 2009).…”

Section: Academia and Market Forcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academia and Public Policy: Towards the Co-generation of Knowledge and Learning Processes

Aranguren¹,

Larrea²,

Wilson³

2012

Interactive Learning for Innovation

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Building from the context of ongoing debates around the changing roles of universities in society, this paper contributes to analysis of academia-society interface in two important respects. First, the paper considers the underresearched subset of relations that exist between academia and public policy. It is argued that academia-policy relations bear similarities to academia-market relations; like imperfect markets, policy environments tend to be characterised by concentrations of power. Thus similar concerns to those evident in debates around the commercialisation of university activity are relevant. Second, the paper explores the issue of balance in the role of the academic with regards public policy though an auto-reflective case analysis of an emerging experience in the Basque Country region of Spain. An aim is to reflect on the very fine (and frequently controversial) line between policyoriented academic research and policy consultancy. The analysis highlights some of the benefits and issues with integrating action research principles into research projects, and suggests the significance of co-generation of knowledge and learning processes between academics and policy-makers. In turn this has specific implications for the time-horizon of relationships (long-rather than short-term) and for doctoral training (in research methodologies appropriate for such processes).

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“…While universities find themselves at different stages of each of these processes, which themselves manifest different implications, these changes are generating significant debate around some of the problems associated with universities moving too close to market society (Aronowitz, 2000;Bailey, 2008;Bok, 2003;Grönblom & Willner, 2009;Levin & Greenwood, 2008;Lundvall, 2002;Sparkes, 2007;Sugden, 2004;Wilson, 2009).…”

Section: Academia and Market Forcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reflections on our experience with the above cited projects lead us to argue that movements towards the research principles associated with enquiry and with action research, when used effectively, and at least with regards academiapublic policy relations, can be of great help in preserving the line between research and consultancy. In a research environment that is subject to the new public management principles (Levin & Greenwood, 2008;Grönblom & Willner, 2009) and/or where pressures to design and publish research are required to interact with powerful external interests, there are serious dangers in crossing that line and producing research as "product" in the mould of a consultancy relationship. Crossing the line can both play to powerful interests, potentially skewing research, and create dependence of the policy agent on the consultant/researcher.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Academia and Public Policy: Towards the co-generation of knowledge and learning processes

2009

Orkestra Working Paper Series in Territorial Competitiveness

0

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Building from the context of ongoing debates around the changing roles of universities in society, this paper contributes to analysis of academia-society interface in two important respects. First, the paper considers the underresearched subset of relations that exist between academia and public policy. It is argued that academia-policy relations bear similarities to academia-market relations; like imperfect markets, policy environments tend to be characterised by concentrations of power. Thus similar concerns to those evident in debates around the commercialisation of university activity are relevant. Second, the paper explores the issue of balance in the role of the academic with regards public policy though an auto-reflective case analysis of an emerging experience in the Basque Country region of Spain. An aim is to reflect on the very fine (and frequently controversial) line between policyoriented academic research and policy consultancy. The analysis highlights some of the benefits and issues with integrating action research principles into research projects, and suggests the significance of co-generation of knowledge and learning processes between academics and policy-makers. In turn this has specific implications for the time-horizon of relationships (long-rather than short-term) and for doctoral training (in research methodologies appropriate for such processes).

show abstract

“…Academia has been going through a process of change, which some authors say is increasingly mimicking the aims, modalities and values of traditional business (Sugden, 2004;Wedlin, 2008;Grönblom and Willner, 2009;Wilson, 2009;Parker, 2011). In particular, the competition for funding has endorsed the use of specific incentive systems that are aimed at influencing the motivations of academics and the capacity of departments to obtain research funds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%