CARIMA Annual Conference 2013 and Training Workshops
Enhancing capacity for grant writing and
research/project management
CHANGING TRENDS AND STAKEHOLDER
EXPECTATIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS:
IMPLICATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH
Josepha Foba Tendo
Douala, 10 december 2013
1
STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION
 Part one: Changing Expectations of HEI
Stakeholders and stakeholder spectrum
 Part two: Emergence of Research Management
Functions in HEIs
 Part three: Reflections
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
CHANGES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS AND
SPECTRUM: RELEVANCE FOR
EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
3
The Driving Force-THE KNOWLEDGE
ECONOMY (Some definitions)
 “One in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge
has a come to play a predominant part in the creation of
wealth”(DTI Competitiveness White Paper, 1998)
 “..economic success is increasingly based on the effective
utilisation of intangible assets such as knowledge, skills and
innovative potential as the key resources for competition
(ESRC, 2005)
 “Larger than just an increased commitment to R&D. It covers
every aspect of the contemporary economy where knowledge
is at the heart of the value added….”(Kok Report, 2004)
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Implications for knowledge producers like HEIs
 Increased interest of the productive sector in HEI outputs-graduates
and research
 Increased recognition of HEIs as development partners by
governments
 Increased demand for access
 Improved opportunities for HEI-industry collaboration
 PARADIGM SHIFT IN EXPECTATIONS AND HEI-SOCIETY
RELATIONSHIPS, AS WELL AS THE ORGANISATION AND
FUNCTIONING OF HEIs
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
THE PARADIGM SHIFT: BEFORE
 Emphasis on contribution of research to the growth of




knowledge
Internal disciplinary requirements dictated the
development of education and research. Discipline bound
academic departments operated like guilds
Sustenance and growth of the discipline was an end in itself
Society viewed universities as ivory towers
NB: Despite this isolation, universities have through the
ages contributed to societal and cultural development
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
THE PARADIGM SHIFT: AFTER
 EMPHASIS ON SOCIETAL RELEVANCE OF RESEARCH
 Its emergence is largely attributed to the emergence of
knowledge and learning economies
 Universities are expected to be more open, responsive,
accountable, transparent and relevant
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
THE TWO MODES OF RESEARCH
 Gibbons provides a conceptual framework to this shift by
introducing the concept of ‘Mode 1’ and ‘Mode 2’
research
 Mode 1 Characteristics: Insular, homogeneous,
autonomous, hierarchical and aligned with academic
disciplines (Academic departments function like guilds)
 Mode 2 Characteristics: Socially accountable,
heterogeneous, undertaken in a context of application
and collaboration
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
More specifically
Mode 1
Mode 2
 Governed by academic interest
 Governed by a discipline of application
 Exists as the extension of the
Academic discipline
 Relevant applied research is the start and
 Relates to a single academic
discipline
 Spans over a number of disciplines,
trans disciplinary
 Knowledge for the sake of new
knowledge
feeds into facilitation
 Aims to make knowledge useful to
applications
 Emphasis on the production of new
knowledge
 Emphasis on configuration of existing
 Concerns a homogeneity of skills
 Relies on heterogeneity and
and hierarchical structure
 Operates in relative isolation
 Relies only on peer review as a
measure of success
knowledge
organizational diversity
 Operates in collaboration with industry
and other partners
 Relies also on useful application as a
measure of success.
Important consequences of this shift
 Need to develop more appropriate management structures-The so-
called hybrid management structures, featuring traditional disciplinespecific organisation of academic activities alongside specialised
research or research and training units.
 Diversified spectrum of stakeholders and potential partners (public
and private research institutes/centres, NGOs, local governments,
grassroot communities)
 A diversified spectrum of actors required to take research from idea to
the market (researchers, financial, business development, legal and
communication experts)
 Growing trend of applying management approaches and models from
the business world to the research (Note the frequent use of the phrase,
‘research enterprise’)
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Consequences for structuring of
research has been the emergence and
increasing importance of;
 Multidisciplinay research
 Specialised research units (laboratories and centres)
 Research clusters
 Research networks
 Project-based research
 Research programmes
CARIMAProject
– Central
African Research
and
Innovation
Association
RIMI4AC
- A programme
of the ACP
Group
of States,Management
with financial assistance
of the European Union
Other important trends have been;
 Internationalisation and globalisation of research
 Increased commercialisation of research results
 Rapid growth of enrolments into higher education
 Diversification of funding sources, accompanied by
increasing competition and demands for
accountability and compliance
CARIMAProject
– Central
African Research
and
Innovation
Association
RIMI4AC
- A programme
of the ACP
Group
of States,Management
with financial assistance
of the European Union
Resulting challenges
 Effectively engaging with a much wider spectrum of
actors/stakeholders
 Striking the right balance between the traditional
missions/values of universities and the university as a
development partner in the knowledge economies
 Strategic planning and Sustainability
 Adequately addressing contractual and compliance
requirements
 Managing risks-financial, reputational
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Related challenges
1. Writing successful grant applications in a context
of increased competition
2. Effective communication of research to a more
diversified stakeholder spectrum
3. Management of IP
4. More demanding reporting requirements
5. Managing and exploiting ever increasing and
complex information on research, researchers,
stakeholders and funding agencies.
CARIMAProject
– Central
African Research
and
Innovation
Association
RIMI4AC
- A programme
of the ACP
Group
of States,Management
with financial assistance
of the European Union
IN ADDITION TO THE NEED FOR
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES,
COMPETENCES AND SKILLS-SET
REQUIRED TO MANAGE THE RESEARCH
ENTERPRISE HAVE CHANGED
CONSIDERABLY AND CONTINUE TO
EVOLVE TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES
CARIMAProject
– Central
African Research
and
Innovation
Association
RIMI4AC
- A programme
of the ACP
Group
of States,Management
with financial assistance
of the European Union
Relevance for research management
functions
 Addressing challenges of Mode 2 research
requires skills and time that the researcher, in
most cases does not have.
 This provides the rationale for the increasing
importance of research management functions,
offices, managers and administrators.
CARIMAProject
– Central
African Research
and
Innovation
Association
RIMI4AC
- A programme
of the ACP
Group
of States,Management
with financial assistance
of the European Union
 Ideally, this group of actors should support the
researcher by taking on most of the activities that
do not have to do with the conduct of research
itself
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Emergence of research management
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Definition and functions
 Definition: Any action that the (university) can take to
improve the effectiveness of research….. (ACU, 2013)
 Embraces anything that institutions can do to prioritise
research and to maximise the impact of their R&I
activity.
 Involves functions under the following broad
categories;
 Research Development
 Monitoring and Evaluation
 Regulation
 Facilitation of project management
 Support for dissemination/commercialisation/uptake
R&I Management
STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE
REGULATION
Vs
FACILITATION?
20
Examples of actions /activities
 Measures to improve awareness of funding and




collaboration opportunities
Measures to promote collaboration
Assistance with grant writing and submission
Contract negotiation
Measures to provide an enabling institutional framework
and improve the institutional research culture (NB: The
importance of an enabling and nurturing institutional
environment cannot be overemphasized and this has
strong implications for sustainability).
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Examples of measures to build
enabling and nurturing environments
 Development and effective implementation of policies and strategic




plan
Systematic induction of new staff (both administrative and research
staff) to the institutional/national research environments
Institution of continuous professional development training
programmes and definition of clear career profiles/paths for both
support staff and researchers
Institution of a coherent and permanent information and sensitisation
programme targeting both internal and external stakeholders
Institution of incentives to recognise and promote excellence
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
REFLECTIONS
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
23
Reflections on the Local/regional
Context (Cameroon and CEMAC)
 Local research faces many critical challenges & issues,
such as;
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lack of critical mass, both for the conduct and management of
research.
Very limited access to the international pool of research funding and
training opportunities
Need for more efficient structuring of research
Insufficient awareness and promotion of research support/facilitation
functions
Absence of institutional policies and programmes for developing
researchers and research administrators
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Reflections (cont’d)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Very low staff to student ratios
Involvement of the lecturer/researcher in Administration
Need for more collaboration at the national and regional
levels
Need to more effectively mobilise endogenous funding
for research
Relatively weak industry base
Communicating research to a stakeholder community
that is not science literate.
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Reflections on context Continued
 Isolation and low visibility of actors
 Weak national and regional collaborations
 Low presence of local actors in the local productive
sector
 Low contribution of Africa (notably Central Africa) to
global scientific output, as well as poor innovation
indicators
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
CAN WE CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS AS USUAL?
What strategies for stimulating and catalysing our
research and innovation systems?
WHAT WAY FORWARD FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE
MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH?
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Africa’s contribution to Knowledge
CARIMA – Central African Research and Innovation Management Association
Thank you for your kind attention
RIMI4AC Project - A programme of the ACP
Group of States, with financial assistance of
the European Union