MANAGING THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY THE CHALLENGES OF RESEARCH MANAGEMENT

1. MANAGING THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITYTHE CHALLENGES OF RESEARCH MANAGEMENT EUA Workshop Barcelona, 18-19 June 2004 Luc WEBER, University of Geneva Member of the EUA Board

2. A VERY WARM WELCOME TO ALL OF YOU

3. ORGANISER OF THE WORKSHOP • Organiser: EUA • What is EUA? • What is the mission of EUA? • How is EUA serving its members? • Contributing to and influencing the policy debate in Europe (EHEA, ERA, GATS…) • Preparation in conventions, conferences, working groups, Board and Council meetings • Drafting and publication of declarations (Salamanca, Graz, Glasgow) and statements, as well as speeches by Board and Council members at various meetings • Mobilizing and serving the members • Institutional evaluation of Universities; creation of quality circles • Seminars for new elected rectors • Research projects on the mapping of social sciences, doctoral programmes, financing research… Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

4. AIMS OF THE WORKSHOP • Recent developments: the role of Universities and the crucial importance of research are recognized • European Council: Lisbon and Barcelona objectives (competitiveness and the 3% target) • EU Commission: from the Communication “Towards a ERA” (2000) to the Communication on “The Role of Universities” (2003) and the Liège conference • Bologna Process: introduction of the 3rd cycle (PhD) • European Research Council – reactions from EURAB, ESF, EUA and the research community • Forthcoming initiative to reinforce regional development (Universities as a factor of regional development/innovation) • Increasing differentiation of HE institutions: the traditional distinction between universities and professional HE institutions is going to be replaced by a distinction between the “intensity” of (basic) research and the dedication to teaching at Bachelor level. Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

5. AIMS OF THE WORKSHOP (2) • Challenges for research Universities: to respond to new developments and improve their research capacity and competitiveness • But HOW? • Obviously, more money (better researchers, buildings, equipment, etc..), better teacher/student ratios, ….. would greatly help! • However, whether this dream comes true or not, there is a more fundamental question: HOW CAN A UNIVERSITY (BETTER) MANAGE ITS RESEARCH? • EUA Initiative as a service to its members • Organize two workshops to respond to these questions • Programme outline by Bernadette Conraths, Senior Adviser to EUA, and Inge Knudsen (EUA staff), • See Programme Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

6. MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH ANDFINANCING RESEARCH A few preliminary comments

7. MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH • The fundamental question: can we improve the research performance by better management at institutional level? • The response is not straightforward: • Examples of excellent research universities where research management is strongly decentralized (Cambridge, Harvard, ETHZ, Geneva) • Research competence is massively at the base of the hierarchical pyramid! • The well established subsidiarity principle (the researchers are best placed to know what to do and to make it possible (search for the necessary funding)) • Researchers want to be recognized individually • Researchers do not like to be “patronized” by or even be accountable to their institution Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

8. MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH (2) • However, there are good arguments in favour of managing research (implementing a research policy) at the institution level • Not all researcher are “geniuses” • “Geniuses” are not necessarily good entrepreneurs and negotiators • Universities are not all “top class” and should therefore develop specific research targets (for ex. to serve their community…..) • More and more research is more efficiently done if the scale of the project is important (obviously CERN, ESO/ESA, some social science projects, but also smaller initiatives) • The cost of research and of attracting good researchers is increasing rapidly; it is impossible to do everything: priorities and posteriorities must be fixed to avoid a general fall into mediocrity • The research leaders themselves would appreciate to be supported in matters of funding, transfer of knowledge (IPR, patents), recruitment of good researchers, etc… • ………. Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

9. MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH (3) • How to proceed (two levels): • Strategic: Universities should develop long term strategic plans and set out their priorities and posteriorities in research and teaching, including collaboration with other institutions • Strategic plans must be established on the basis of broad consultations and be implemented as far as possible by means of financial incentives (should not be imposed!) • Flexibility must be secured to support new and unforeseen priorities or interesting projects Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

10. MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH (4) • Managerial: Universities should develop a set of services to support research at department level, for example: • A recruitment policy strictly based on merit • Merit reward schemes (salaries, staff, equipments) • Fund raising activity • Partnership search • A rigorous system of quality audit (assurance), possibly with financial consequences (rewards and penalties) • Promotion of inter-disciplinarity • Promotion of the University image nationally and internationally • Legal advice in matters concerning IPR, patents, research contracts • And many other services to identify in this workshop… • ………….. • Remark: implementing a voluntary research policy is easier in young universities than in well established ones, because there is little memory of a past characterized by almost total freedom and there are fewer people to “move”. Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

11. FINANCIAL QUESTIONS: COSTING • Costing of research: two problems • Overhead: research is more expensive than what appears at first sight because of the importance of indirect costs: • Solution: charge significant overheads (not 10-15%, but 50-60%!?) (when applicable) • Question: how to share this additional income between the departments, the university, as well as those disciplines which do not (cannot) engage in contract research? • Full costs or marginal costs? • Funding of research (research councils, FP) is based on marginal costs • It is assumed that the infrastructure and the necessary staff are available! This means that the best way for a university to get into financial trouble is to compete aggressively for these funds! • Therefore, to be sustainable, funding of research should be calculated on the basis of total costs • …………. Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

12. FINANCIAL QUESTIONS: FINANCING • Due to the increasing recognition of the importance of research, additional funds will (hopefully) be available, provided one goes (or lobbies) for them: • National funding formulas for universities should also cover the research effort, • European universities should dramatically increase their fundraising efforts (creation of service?) • The creation of a future ERC as well as the new European regional policy will bring fresh money, but increase competition • Improve exploitation of IPR (however, the US experience shows that it is not an important source of additional funding) • Tuition fees to improve the teacher/student ratios (but not to cross-subsidize research as in the US!) • ………. Weber, The Challenges of Research Management

13. I HOPE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A FRUITFULL WORKSHOP AND THAT YOU WILL BENEFIT FROM IT