Governance and Performance in the German Public Research Sector: Disciplinary Differences (Higher Education Dynamics, 32)

ISBN 10: 9400732686 / ISBN 13: 9789400732681

Published by Springer, 2012

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Governance and Performance in the German Public Research Sector: Disciplinary Differences (Higher Education Dynamics, 32)
• Publisher: Springer
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9400732686
• ISBN 13: 9789400732681
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

2007b: 115 ff.; Jansen 2007c: 236 ff.). “Governance patterns” here means a chain of interconnected mechanisms which can be observed empirically. “Governance p- terns” can be roughly de?ned as “complex regulatory structures coordinating the actions of interdependent actors”. Governance patterns can relate to hierarchical as well as to lateral coordination mechanisms. Enforcement can be based on law, p- fessional norms or informal and implicit norms or customs. Moreover, the regulatory structures or individual mechanisms inside them can be established and sanctioned by public as well as by private actors. There is in fact not necessarily an actor in charge of controlling outcomes as for instance in market competition. In the next section, I will introduce the reader to the changing role of the state in science policy. The third section presents the governance model for the p- lic research sector which was developed by the research group and underlies the 1 contributions in this anthology. The ?nal section gives an overview of the papers.

From the Back Cover

Today, higher education and research institutions are confronted with variable and sometimes contradictory demands from state, industry and society. They have to face growing volatility in education policy, and a research paradigm that sees an accelerating rate of knowledge growth as well as the internationalization of the knowledge process itself. It is vital that academics and policymakers stay abreast of the impact that policy changes have on education and research in tertiary institutions. Based on a sector-specific theory model for the governance of research organizations, this book outlines evidence of the effects of the so-called ‘new public management reforms’ in the German university and public research sector. The volume aims to shed some light on the differences between the disciplines in input, throughput, profiles of output and the typical conditions of knowledge production, disparities that are currently little understood and are thus not reflected in government policy asministers implement new governance forms in the research system. It analyzes in detail these new forms, and demonstrates how they affect knowledge production and research performance from the level of research group up to that of the system itself. The authors focus on a set of disciplines that represent the breadth of research divisions in major universities: natural science fields oriented to basic research (astrophysics), two application-oriented fields from the natural sciences (nanoscience and biotechnology), a social science field (economics) and a humanity field (medieval history).