The establishment of formal research groups in higher education institutions

Abstract

This article explores the significance for academic staff members of research groups established and formalised as part of research strategies at university faculties. It also explores the levels of participation and stresses the importance of such group-related activities with regard to the level of participation, perceived impact on research quality and researcher training. The study is based on data from a survey and in-depth interviews with academic staff at Norwegian universities as well as document reviews. It provides evidence that formalised research groups can have a positive effect on the quality of individual research as well as researcher training. The study reveals significant differences between fields of science with regard to the importance of such groups for research activities and quality. Nevertheless, it finds that they contribute to more institution-based research, and also in subjects and qualifications where the research has primarily been conducted on an individual basis, such as in the humanities. These groups cannot simply be understood as a legitimating device for scientific communities due to changing funding and steering criteria; rather they manifest themselves as modes of academic work serving as a supplement to, rather than substitute for, other forms of cooperation.

Fostering team innovation and learning by means of team‐centric transformational leadership: The role of teamwork quality

“…Scientific teams need to demonstrate a particularly high degree of innovation and learning because generating knowledge is the essence of scientific endeavours. Furthermore, there has been a shift from individual-based to team-based work structures in the scientific work context (Cooke & Hilton, 2015;Vabø, Alvsv ag, Kyvik, & Reymert, 2016), which makes scientific teams a particularly relevant setting for studying team innovation.…”

Research collaboration in groups and networks: differences across academic fields

“…Formal research groups have now been introduced in all fields as subunits within departments (Vabø et al 2016). In medicine and health, technology and the natural sciences, this policy for the most part has been a formalization of already existing groups, while in the humanities and the social sciences this development represents something new.…”

“…The purposes of the formalization of these groups are to enhance research collaboration, strengthen research leadership, create good scientific and social environments of academic staff and doctoral students, contribute to the implementation of research strategies, and establish an organizational platform to increase external research funding. This has also been part of a trend where research and education increasingly have been organized across academic fields (Michelsen and Vabø 2014; Vabø et al 2016). …”

“Meet our group!”:

“…Research groups are currently the basic organizational unit for the development of research activity at universities (Vabø, Alvsvåg, Kyvik & Reymert, 2016;Wuchty, Jones & Uzzi, 2007) and therefore it is essential to examine how they communicate and distribute knowledge and how they promote themselves. In a research context where institutions compete for resources and where collaboration, public communication and education for all are becoming an essential part of the scholarly endeavour (Herman & Nicholas, 2019), universities and funding agencies expect groups to produce research outcomes with social and international impact and to engage in outreach activities (see Spanish Strategy for Science and Technology and Innovation, 2012).…”