Steering at a distance: research centres funding schemes as instruments for university change

Oxford University Press 2024

In addition to promoting reforms, governments foster change in university systems through funding, competition and new policy instruments. Little research has been conducted on how research centres funding schemes support organisational changes in universities and on their institutional and policy barriers. This article addresses the research centres funding scheme implemented by the regional government of Galicia (Spain) in 2016. The approach is observational and based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with key actors. The regional government sought to encourage organisational differentiation by increasing the autonomy of centres inside the universities and to enhance strategic research agendas, reinforcing the scientific authority of the centres’ directors. We found that the design and operation of the instrument in the context of the existing university governance system, and the interaction with other funding instruments within the policy mix, may create barriers that hinder the effectiveness of the funding scheme.

Research funding instruments; University change; Organisational autonomy; Authority sharing; University governance; Centres of excellence; artículo

Open access content. Open access content
openAccess

English

CTK oai:digital.csic.es:10261/342444
Science and Public Policy (Paper accepted for publication)
10.1093/scipol/scae005
1471-5430
1431957449

CSIC
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