Multi-level governance in higher education research

It is a common understanding that the historical steering function of the nation state has been challenged by other coordination modes. Scholarly debate has highlighted the blurring boundaries of the sovereign state along three dimensions relating to society, sub-national units and international arenas. Such shifts in the tasks of the state have been primarily explained by the retreat of the welfare state, by the increasing relevance of supranational entities such as the European Union (EU) and by globalization forces engendering growing inter-dependencies out of the control of sovereign states (Hooghe and Marks, 2003; Piattoni, 2010; Scharpf, 1997). Additionally, in order to legitimize policies in democratic settings, states have increasingly involved a growing number of disparate stakeholders in policy processes. This can also be seen in higher education: reforms have granted institutional autonomy to universities, signalling changes in the division of competencies and distribution of responsibilities between governments and higher education institutions; public-private partnerships have been enhanced to increase societal relevance and socio-economic development at both national and regional levels. And the increasing role of Europe — in particular, the construction of the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area — has added an additional governance level to higher education

The irresistible rise of managerial control? The case of workload allocation models in British universities

This chapter investigates the role and practice of Workload Allocation Models (WAM), as managerial devices used at system and institutional level to coordinate academic work. Our data is drawn from a survey in five British institutions with 581 respondents overall. WAM appear to be widely known, understood and used, however, in the perception of academic staff, they do not reflect accurately the allocation of time to academic activities. In this sense, our analysis points to the limits of WAM to manage academic work at institutional level. Specifically, it highlights the differences in how WAM are used according to employment contracts – combined teaching and research, teaching-only, research-only and to terms of employment – open-ended and fixed-term contracts. Our findings point to the significant persistence of academic normative frameworks, in which research is considered a key activity for career prospects regardless of job descriptions. Overall, our chapter illustrates how the tensions between academic and managerial logics play out in the practice of WAM, and discusses the implications thereof at systemic, institutional and academic levels

In and Out of the ERA: System and Institutional Resilience in the UK and Switzerland: A Policy Briefing

The aim of this policy paper is twofold, on the one hand the characteristics of the higher education sectors in the UK and in Switzerland are outlined, focusing on their potential for resilience vis-à-vis increasingly difficult relations with the EU. On the other hand, potential avenues for cooperation in higher education and research are identified, in order to strengthen the UK and Swiss positions at European and global level

Strategic management of academic human resources: A comparative analysis of flagship universities in Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Austria

This chapter investigates whether and how institutional autonomy enhances strategic management of academic human resources. National regulatory frameworks, available resources, university policies, and practices at the working floor are compared in four European flagship universities. Disciplinary affiliation is taken into consideration through the selection of history and chemistry. The cases reflect different trajectories where substantial changes have been implemented in governance systems when it comes to centralization of decision making, to standardization of procedures, to re-configuration of actors and their room to maneuver. While professorial self-governance in personnel matters remains significant, new boundary conditions constrain substantially choice options in accordance with national, institutional, and disciplinary features. Uncertainty, identity, and flexibility emerge as major dimensions in human resources management, pointing to tensions but also to opportunities for strategic change

Patterns of strategies in Swiss higher education institutions

This paper contributes to the debate on strategic capability of academic organizations by presenting three case studies of Swiss Higher Education Institutions. Strategies are conceived as instruments by which universities manage their organizational processes and deal with their environments in order to select a portfolio of activities and find an appropriate position in the higher education system. Our findings show that strategies are at the same time a matter of intentions and actions: first, they relate to current HEI's position within the national Higher education system—and to relevant normative models—as well as to the degree of institutional autonomy. Second, even within participatory governance structures, organizational strategies appear to be initiated by the academic administrators, then substantially shaped and subscribed by academics at different stages. In this perspective, the dynamic relation of formal and informal processes holds diverse functions from making academics accept a strategy, to controlling and coordinating decentralized organizational structure