Research Policy in Leading Russian Universities: Eff ects of ‘New Managerialism’

This article analyzes the effects of «new managerialism» on the results of scientific research in universities. New managerialism implies decision-making based on quantitative indicators. This paper summarizes the international and Russian approaches to the assessment of scientific achievements at universities. It analyzes instruments for fostering scientific productivity, such as contracts with the faculty and the formation of centers of excellence, to identify the advantages and limitations of tools currently used at Russian research universities. Our analysis of international literature showed that evaluation of research results is becoming more complex as it is conducted regularly, not annually. The contract system indirectly affects the results of research but does not contain any strict quantitative requirements. Centers of excellence, which receive additional funding to accelerate the production of scientific knowledge, achieve this goal in most cases, but this system does not automatically create the Matthew effect. The article analyzes the specific characteristics of new managerialism in Russian universities by using the example of a program aimed at the creation of laboratories led by prominent scientists, the Project 5-100, and the system of contracts with the faculty. The study has revealed that these tools have contributed to the increase in publication activity. However, there are indications that this growth has reached its limits. Prospects of further development can reside in the use of a wider range of indicators to characterize the impact of scientific results on social and economic development and in increasing the share of long-term contracts.

1. Edgar F., Geare A. Factors Influencing University Research Performance. Studies in Higher Education, 2013, vol. 38, no 5, pp. 774–792. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2011.601811. (In Eng.).

2. Yudkevich M., Gorelova O. Akademicheskii inbriding: prichiny i posledstviya [Academic Inbreeding: Reasonsand Consequences]. University Management: Practice and Analysis, 2015, no 1, pp. 73–83. (In Russ.).

3. Lovakov A., Yudkevich M., Alipova O. Inbreds and Non-Inbreds among Russian Academics: Short-Term Similarity and Long-Term Differences in Productivity. Higher Education Quarterly, 2019, vol. 73, no 4, pp. 445–455. DOI: 10.1111/hequ.12226. (In Eng.).

4. Roshchina Ya. M., Yudkevich M. M. Faktory issledovatel’skoi deyatel’nosti prepodavatelei vuzov: politika administratsii, kontraktnaya nepolnota ili vliyanie sredy? [Factors of University Lecturers’ Research Activity: Administration Policy, Contractual Incompleteness, or Impact of the Environment?]. Voprosy obrazovaniya/Educational Studies, 2009, no 3, pp. 203–229. (In Russ.).

5. Balatsky E. V. Institut effektivnogo kontrakta v nauke: problemy i resheniya [The Institution of Efficient Contract inScience: Problems and Solutions]. Upravlenie naukoi i naukometriya, 2017, no 3, pp. 35–60. (In Russ.).

6. Kraynov G. N. Budet li effekt ot effektivnogo kontrakta v sisteme vysshego obrazovaniya? [Will the Effective Contract in the System of Higher Education Bring Any Results?]. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii/Higher Education in Russia, 2017, no 5, pp. 52–58. (In Russ.).

7. Nikulina I. E. Effektivnyi kontrakt v vuze kak draiver povysheniya kachestva truda nauchno-pedagogicheskikh rabotnikov [Effective Contract at the University as a Driver of Work Quality Improvement of Scientific and Pedagogical Workers]. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii/ Higher Education in Russia, 2018, vol. 27, no 5, pp. 9–19. (In Russ.).

8. Prakhov I., Rudakov V. The Determinants of Faculty Pay in Russian Universities: Incentive Contracts. NRU Higher School of Economics. Series EDU «Education». 2018, no 47/EDU/2018. Available at: https://publications.hse.ru/mirror/pubs/share/direct/223403319.pdf (accessed 08.08.2020). (In Eng.).

9. Antosik L., Shevchenko E. Otsenka vliyaniya effektivnogo kontrakta na publikatsionnuyu aktivnost’ prepodavatelei: keis regional’nogo universiteta [Assessment of the Impact of the Effective Contract System on the Publication Activity of University Faculty: The Case of a Regional University]. Voprosy obrazovaniya/Educational Studies Moscow, 2018, no 3, pp. 247–267. DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2018-3-247-267. (In Russ.).

10. Poldin O., Matveeva N., Sterligov I., Yudkevich M. Publication Activity of Russian Universities: The Effects of Project 5-100. Voprosy obrazonaniya/Educational Studies Moscow, 2017, no 2, pp. 10–35. DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2017-2-10-35. (In Eng.).

11. Matveeva N., Sterligov I., Yudkevich M. The Russian Excellence Initiative: Is it Really Excellence that is Promoted? Working papers. National Research University – Higher School of Economics, 2019. 30 p. WP BRP 49/EDU/2019. Available at: https://wp.hse.ru/data/2019/05/20/1509096657/49EDU2018.pdf (accessed 08.08.2020). (In Eng.).

12. Agasisti T., Shibanova E., Platonova D., Lisyutkin M. The Russian Excellence Initiative for Higher Education: a Nonparametric Evaluation of Short-Term Results. International Transactions in Operational Research, 2020, vol. 27, no 4, pp. 1911–1929. DOI: 10.1111/itor.12742. (In Eng.).

13. Rowlands J. Academic boards: Less Intellectual and More Academic Capital in Higher Education Governance? Studies in Higher Education, 2013, vol. 38, issue 9, pp. 1274–1289. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2011.619655. (In Eng.).

14. Rowlands J. What is Academic Governance? Academic Governance in the Contemporary University. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., 2017. Pp. 47–69. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-2688-1_3. (In Eng.).

15. Middlehurst R. Changing Leadership in Universities. In: T. Schuller (ed.) The changing university? Buckingham, Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, 1995. Pp. 75–92. (In Eng.).

16. Knowledge, Higher Education, and the New Managerialism: The Changing Management of UK Universities. R. Deem, S. Hillyard, M. Reed (eds.). Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007. 258 p. (In Eng.).

17. Kohtamäki V. Academic Leadership and University Reform-Guided Management Changes in Finland. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2019, vol. 41, no 1, pp. 70–85. DOI: 10.1080/1360080X.2018.15534992. (In Eng.).

18. Naidoo R. The Competition Fetish in Higher Education: Varieties, Animators and Consequences. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2016, vol. 37, no 1, pp. 1–10. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2015.1116209. (In Eng.).

19. Global Rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education: Understanding the Inf luence and Impact of Rankings on Higher Education, Policy and Society. E. Hazelkorn (ed.), London and New York, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. 372 p. (In Eng.).

20. Bowen W. G., Tobin E. M. Locus of Authority: The Evolution of Faculty Roles in the Governance of Higher Education. Princeton University Press, 2015. 400 p. (In Eng.).

21. Campbell D. F. J., Carayannis E. G. Epistemic Governance and Eepistemic innovation policy in higher education. Technology, Innovation and Education, 2016. DOI: 10.1186/s40660-016-0008-2. (In Eng.).

22. Yating Huang, Sun-Keung Pang & Shulin Yu. Academic Identities and University Faculty Responses to New Managerialist Reforms: Experiences from China. Studies in Higher Education, 2018, vol. 43, issue 1, pp. 154–172. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2016.1157860. (In Eng.).

23. Siekkinen T., Pekkola E., Carvalho T. Change and Continuity in the Academic Profession: Finnish Universities as Living Labs. Higher Education, 2019, no 79, pp. 533–551. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-019-00422-3. (In Eng.).

24. Kalgin A., Kalgina O., Lebedeva A. Otsenka publikatsionnoi aktivnosti kak sposob izmereniya rezul’tativnosti truda uchenykh i ee svyaz’ s motivatsiei [Publication Metrics as a Tool for Measuring Researchers’ Productivity and Their Attitude to Motivation]. Voprosy obrazovaniya/Educational Studies Moscow, 2019, no 1, pp. 44–86. DOI: 10.17323/1814-9545-2019-1-44-86. (In Russ.).

25. Söderlind J., Geschwind L. Making Sense of Academic Work: the Influence of Performance Measurement in Swedish Universities. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 2019, vol. 3, no 1, pp. 75–93. DOI: 10.1080/23322969.2018.1564354. (In Eng.).

26. Lind J. K. The Missing Link: How University Managers Mediate the Impact of a Pperformance-based esearch Funding System. Research Evaluation, 2019, vol. 28, issue 1, pp. 84–93. DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvy038. (In Eng.).

27. Research Excellence Framework (REF) Review: Building on Success and Learning from Experience. An Independent Review of Research Excellence Framework. (2016). Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541338/ind-16–9-ref-stern-review.pdf (accessed 26.05.2020). (In Eng.).

28. Arnold E., Simmonds P., Farla K., Kolarz P., Mahieu B., Nielsen K. Review of the Research Excellence Framework. Evidence Report. Technopolis group, 2018. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/768162/researchexcellence-framework-review-evidence-report.pdf (accessed 08.08.2020). (In Eng.).

29. Agyemang G., Broadbent J. Management Control Systems and Research Management in Universities: An Empirical and Conceptual Exploration. Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2015, vol. 28, no 7, pp. 1018–1046. DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-11-2013-1531. (In Eng.).

30. Aspromourgos T. The Managerialist University: An Economic Interpretation. Australian Universities Review, 2012, vol. 54, no 2, pp. 45–60. (In Eng.).

31. Baker S. Sudden Shift to Teaching-Only Contracts Ahead of REF Census. Times Higher Education, 2020. Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/sudden-shift-teaching-only-contracts-ahead-ref-census (accessed 26.05.2020). (In Eng.).

32. Thoenig J.-C., Paradeise C. Organizational Governance and the Production of Academic Quality: Lessons from Two Top U. S. Research Universities. Minerva, 2014, vol. 52, no 4, pp. 381–417. (In Eng.).

33. Heinze T., Shapira P., Rogers J. D., Senker J. M. Organizational and Institutional Influences on Creativity in Scientific Research. Research Policy, 2009, vol. 38, no 4, pp. 610–623. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2009.01.014. (In Eng.).

34. Kok S. K., McDonald C. Underpinning Excellence in Higher Education – an Investigation into the Leadership, Governance and Management Behaviours of High-Performing Academic Departments. Studies in Higher Education, 2017, vol. 42, no 2, pp. 210–231. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2015.1036849. (In Eng.).

35. Luukkonen T., Nedeva M., Barré R. Understanding the Dynamics of Networks of Excellence. Science and Public Policy, 2006, vol. 33, no 4, pp. 239–252. DOI: 10.3152/147154306781778966. (In Eng.).

36. Borlaug S. B. Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection in Research Funding: Centers of Excellence in Norway and Sweden. Science and Public Policy, 2016, vol. 43, issue 3, pp. 352–362. DOI: 10.1093/scipol/scv048. (In Eng.).

37. Hicks D., Katz J. S. Equity and Excellence in Research Funding. Minerva, 2011, no 49, pp. 137–151. DOI: 10.1007/s11024-011-9170-6. (In Eng.).

38. Safavi M., Håkanson L. Advancing Theory on Knowledge Governance in Universities: a Case Study of a Higher Education Merger. Studies in Higher Education, 2018, vol. 43, issue 3, pp. 500–523. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2016.1180675. (In Eng.).

39. Langerfeldt L., Benner M., Sivertsen G., Kristiansen E., Aksnes D., Borlaug S. B., Hansen H. F., Kallerud E., Pelkonen A. Excellence and Growth Dynamics: A Comparative Study of the Matthew Effect. Science and Public Policy, 2015, vol. 42, issue 5, pp. 661–675. DOI: 10.1093/scipol/scu083. (In Eng.).

40. Azoulay P. Small Research Teams ‘Disrupt’ Science More Radically than Large Ones. Nature, 2019, vol. 566, pp. 330–332. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00350-3 (accessed 16.06.2020). (In Eng.).

41. Wu L., Wang D., Evans J. Large Teams Develop and Small Teams Disrupt Science and Technology. Nature, 2019, vol. 566, pp. 378–382. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0941-9 (accessed 16.06.2020). (In Eng.).

42. Powell K. The Future of the Postdoc. Nature, 2015, no 520, pp. 144–147. DOI: 10.1038/520144a. (In Eng.).

43. Whitaker M. Which Publications Matter at Which Stages of Your Career? The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2019. Available at: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Which-Publications-Matter-at/247192 (accessed 16.06.2020). (In Eng.).

44. Panova A., Yudkevich M., Litvinova L., Alipova O. Russian Academic Profession in Knowledge Society. TheMain Results of the Faculty Survey in 2017–2018. Working paper. National Research University «Higher School of Economics», 2019, Series WP10. Available at: https://cinst.hse.ru/data/2019/08/01/1484729551/APIKS%20eng.pdf (accessed 18.05.2020). (In Eng.).

45. Fursov K., Roschina Y., Balmush O. Determinants of Research Productivity: An Individual-level Lens. Foresight and STI Governance, 2016, vol. 10, no 2, pp. 44–56. DOI: 10.17323/1995–459X.2016.2.44.56. (In Eng.).

46. Volkova G. L. Kharakter zanyatosti nauchnykh kadrov vysshei kvalifikatsii [Type of Employment of Scientific Workforce of the Highest Qualification]. Ekspress-informatsiya «Nauka. Tekhnologii. Innovatsii». National Research University – Higher School of Economics, Мoscow, 2019. 2 p. Available at: https://issek.hse.ru/data/2019/07/11/1478908054/NTI_N_135_11072019.pdf (accessed 18.06.2020). (In Russ.).

47. Dezhina I. The State of the Research and Innovation Sphere. Russian Economy in 2010. Trends and Outlook, Issue 32. Moscow, Gaidar Institute Publishing, 2011. Pp. 340–364. (In Russ.).

48. Tsyrlina G., Feigel’man M., Malinkina E. Po sledam megagrantov-1 [In the Aftermath of Megagrants-1]. Troitskii variant-Nauka, 2019, no 294, p. 2. Available at: https://trvscience.ru/2019/12/24/po-sledam-megagrantov-1/ (accessed 18.06. 2020). (In Russ.).

49. Agasisti T., Abalmasova E., Shibanova E., Egorov A. The Causal Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Universities Performance: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Russian HE WP BRP 221/EC/2019 / NRU Higher School of Economics, 2019, Series WP BRP «Economics/EC». 27 p. Available at: https://publications.hse.ru/mirror/pubs/share/direct/335362757.pdf (accessed 08.08.2020). (In Eng.).

50. Avanesova A., Shamliyan T. Comparative Trends in Research Performance of the Russian Universities. Scientometrics, 2018. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-018-2807-6 (accessed 08.08.2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2807-6. (In Eng.).