Norwegian higher education futures

The paper deals with the future of Norwegian higher education as part of a Nordic project on higher education futures. To identify future scenarios for Norwegian higher education (HE), the paper uses the theoretical lens of historical institutionalism to focus on scenario building. Like in the other Nordic countries, Norwegian HE and research are characterized by easily accessible and free public HE provision, high participation rates, and a high level of investment in HE and research. However, the question is this: If we look back at the development of Norwegian HE the last decades, to what extent can we expect present developments to persist and to what extent can we expect more or less sharp breaks and deviations from past and present developments? Departing from an institutionalist position, two historically grounded visions and related scenarios are identified: an academic excellence scenario and a national service scenario. The scenarios reflect tensions between different visions of the shape, emphasis, and orientation of HE and research. The empirical focus is on the developments of HE along five dimensions: growth, systemic integration, academic drift, labor market relevance, and governance. First, the conceptual approach is presented, outlining the use of scenarios and an institutionalist approach to thinking about the future of HE. Secondly, the paper outlines the five trends regarding past and ongoing developments. Third, some ideas about future developments are outlined, before the conclusion is drawn.publishedVersio

Organizations as penetrated hierarchies:environmental pressures and control in professional organizations

Organizational control and environmental influences on organizational behavior are central themes in organization studies, yet little effort has been made to bring them together. In this paper we seek to contribute to filling this gap by investigating and conceptualizing environmental influences on organizational control. The paper examines patterns of organizational control and their environmental couplings through three parallel case studies of public universities in three European countries. We provide a systematic characterization of the space of configurations of control in professional knowledge-intensive organizations along the two axes of centralization of power and formalization of social relationships. We show that environmental characteristics do matter for the contestation and selection of control models. Finally, we unpack and conceptualize the synergetic influence of three environmental characteristics (institutional pressures, resource environment, and external social relationships) as providing sources of legitimacy and power for specific control regimes. </jats:p

Scandinavian Higher Education Governance – Pursuing Similar Goals through Different Organizational Arrangements

Under embargo until: 2022-02-03The differences and similarities among the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have been discussed by social scientists on several occasions. Focusing on higher education (HE) governance systems, this paper raises three questions. (1) What are the differences and similarities among the three countries? (2) How can the similarities and differences be explained? (3) Are the similarities strong enough to justify the common label of a Scandinavian model of HE governance? The three HE governance systems are briefly described and compared. They are then analyzed as, respectively, outcomes of partisan politics or politico-administrative regimes. The paper argues that similarities such as publicness, massive investments, and emphasis on access are best explained in terms of partisan politics, while the variation in governance arrangements can best be explained by path dependencies following choices made at critical junctures within similar politicoadministrative regimes.acceptedVersio

What Stimulates Researchers to Make Their Research Usable? Towards an Openness Approach

Ambiguity surrounding the effect of external engagement on academic research has raised questions about what motivates researchers to collaborate with third parties. We argue that what matters for society is research that can be absorbed by users. We define openness as a willingness by researchers to make research more usable by external partners by responding to external influences in their own research practices. We ask what kinds of characteristics define those researchers who are more open to creating usable knowledge. Our empirical study analyses a sample of 1583 researchers working at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Results demonstrate that it is personal factors (academic identity and past experience) that determine which researchers have open behaviours. The paper concludes that policies to encourage external engagement should focus on experiences which legitimate and validate knowledge produced through user encounters, both at the academic formation career stage as well as through providing ongoing opportunities to engage with third parties.The data used for this study comes from the IMPACTO project funded by the Spanish Council for Scientific Research - CSIC (Ref. 200410E639). The work also benefited from a mobility grant awarded by Eu-Spri Forum to Julia Olmos Penuela & Paul Benneworth for her visiting research to the Center of Higher Education Policy Studies. Finally, Julia Olmos Penuela also benefited from a post-doctoral grant funded by the Generalitat Valenciana (APOSTD-2014-A-006).Olmos-Peñuela, J.; Benneworth, P.; Castro-Martínez, E. (2015). What Stimulates Researchers to Make Their Research Usable? Towards an Openness Approach. 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Institutional Conditions and the Responsibilities of Universities

The focus of the paper is on institutional values and organizational forms in universities. Before starting the analysis, a theoretical framework for understanding institutional change is outlined. It is based on a conception of universities that focuses on the interconnection between organization and social values. In the second part I discuss institutional values, and certain characteristics of organizational forms. The discussion focuses on values with an international reach, and how they relate to specific national experiences of which universities are a part. It gives an overview of different types of institutional ideals and their social and historical underpinnings. One reason why it is important to highlight these values is that they nourish fundamentally different notions about the nature of academic work – about the academic production process, the way in which it needs to be organized and to what extent academics can be trusted to organize their own affairs without outside interference. The third part of the paper focuses on how processes of change play out empirically in different national settings. To what extent can we observe a global process of modernization? To what extent and how do the outcomes, the new organizational forms, vary across nations? To what extent do these forms promote institutional leadership in academia? Finally the paper discusses how different types of knowledge regimes condition different versions of academic leadership.Dette paperet retter søkelyset mot institusjonelle verdier og organisasjonsformer i universitetssektoren. Først skisseres et teoretisk utgangspunkt for å forstå institusjonell endring. Det er basert på en oppfatning av universiteter som retter søkelyset mot forbindelsen mellom organisering og sosiale verdier. I den andre delen diskuterer jeg institusjonelle verdier og visse trekk ved organisasjonsformene i sektoren. Diskusjonen fokuserer på verdier med internasjonal utbredelse og på hvordan de forholder seg til spesifikke nasjonale erfaringer som universitetene er en del av. Det blir videre gitt en oversikt over ulike typer av institusjonelle idealer og det sosiale og historiske grunnlaget for dem. En grunn til at det er viktig å belyse slike verdier er at de gir næring til høyst forskjellige forestillinger om det særegne ved akademisk arbeid – om den akademiske produksjonsprosessen, måten den bør organiseres på og i hvilken grad akademikere er i stand til å organisere sitt arbeid uten inngrep fra utenforstående. Den tredje delen av paperet fokuserer på hvordan endringsprosesser utfolder seg i praksis i ulike nasjonale sammenhenger. I hvilke grad står vi overfor en global moderniseringsprosess? I hvilken grad og hvordan varierer utfallene, de nye organisasjonsformene, på tvers av landegrensene? I hvilken grad fremmer disse formene institusjonelt lederskap i akademia? Til slutt diskuterer paperet hvordan ulike kunnskapsregimer legger forholdene til rette for ulike former for akademisk lederskap

Hierarchy and Specialization. On Institutional Integration of Higher Education Systems

Over the last decades higher education systems in much of the Western world have become more integrated. Whilst public authorities have had to develop strategies for how higher education systems should be organized, higher education institution have been forced to clarify their preferences and develop strategies in order to position themselves in relation to other higher education institutions. The paper first sketches a conceptual point of departure for the analysis of the relationship between institutions in higher education systems. Then it discusses how recent attempts at integrating higher education systems may affect the relationship between the institutions along two dimensions: a) according to the degree of standardization and hierarchization, and b) according to the degree of specialization and functional division of labor. Thirdly the development is situated in a wider context where the relationship between different types of institutions are considered in relation to global trends in higher education: in particular the extension of the concept of knowledge, the developemnt of mass education and the universal proliferation of research based knowledge. Finally it discusses briefly a number of relevant topics for further studies in the field and considers briefly some possible future developments.I løpet av de senere tiår har høyere utdanningsystemer i store deler av den vestlige verden blitt stadig tettere integrert. Mens myndighetene har måttet utvikle strategier for hvordan slike systemer skal organiseres, har utdanningsinstitusjonene selv måttet klargjøre sine preferanser og utvikle stratgegier for å posisjonere seg i forhold til andre høyere utdanningsinstitusjoner. Paperet skisserer først et begrepsmessig utgangspunkt for å analysere forholdet mellom institusjoner i høyere utdanningssystemer. Deretter diskuterer det hvordan de siste årenes integrasjonsforsøk kan tenkes påvirke forholdet mellom institusjonene langs to dimensjoner: a) etter graden av standardisering og hierarkisering og b) etter graden av spesialisering og funksjonell arbeidsdeling. For det tredje plasseres denne utviklingen inn i en videre sammenheng der forholdet mellom ulike typer av institusjoner ses i forhold til globale utviklingstrekk i høyere utdanning: spesielt utvidelsen av kunnskapsbegrepet, fremveksten av masseutdanning og den almenne spredningen av forskningsbasert kunnskap. Til slutt diskuterer paperet noen relvante tema for videre forskning på feltet og vurderer en del mulige utviklingstrekk