<scp>ReSurveyEurope</scp>: A database of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe

AbstractAimsWe introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, including potential research questions.ResultsReSurveyEurope includes resurveyed vegetation plots from all habitats. Version 1.0 of ReSurveyEurope contains 283,135 observations (i.e., individual surveys of each plot) from 79,190 plots sampled in 449 independent resurvey projects. Of these, 62,139 (78%) are permanent plots, that is, marked in situ, or located with GPS, which allow for high spatial accuracy in resurvey. The remaining 17,051 (22%) plots are from studies in which plots from the initial survey could not be exactly relocated. Four data sets, which together account for 28,470 (36%) plots, provide only presence/absence information on plant species, while the remaining 50,720 (64%) plots contain abundance information (e.g., percentage cover or cover–abundance classes such as variants of the Braun‐Blanquet scale). The oldest plots were sampled in 1911 in the Swiss Alps, while most plots were sampled between 1950 and 2020.ConclusionsReSurveyEurope is a new resource to address a wide range of research questions on fine‐scale changes in European vegetation. The initiative is devoted to an inclusive and transparent governance and data usage approach, based on slightly adapted rules of the well‐established European Vegetation Archive (EVA). ReSurveyEurope data are ready for use, and proposals for analyses of the data set can be submitted at any time to the coordinators. Still, further data contributions are highly welcome.</jats:sec

Understanding the governance of the engaged and entrepreneurial university in the twenty-first century: Towards a new research and policy agenda

This paper develops insight into the way in which twenty-first century universities worldwide have performed in the changing world and challenges that they have undergone, in order to address the ever-changing demands of the global knowledge-based economy within the innovative ecosystem. It firstly reviews current theory and practice on entrepreneurial universities. It also analyses the current dispersion of science outside academia, via laws, policies and processes of marketization more broadly. It addresses governance issues which are relevant for both researchers and policy makers, and lastly, sketches the contours of a new research and policy agenda for entrepreneurial universities via reformulating their “third task”. The issues and questions on this agenda provide focal points in discussions and policy debates on the current state and governance of the ‘entrepreneurial’ university. They reflect the importance of (1) rethinking the relation between publicly funded universities cooperating with private parties, (2) the kind of professionals delivered to society by universities, (3) the role of universities as entrepreneurs in innovation ecosystems, (4) the relation between societal relevance and commercial relevance of research, (5) implications of increased dispersion of research activities outside academia, and (6) the independence of academics cooperating with private partners in research projects