Assessment and analysis of research environment of university

Abstract

The problem of research environment low level is one of the key obstacles on the way to higher competitiveness and attractiveness of Russian universities at the international academic market. The article presents the results of a study aimed at identifying problem areas in the research environment of Tomsk Polytechnic University and processes for further analysis and investigation in order to identify limiting factors. The present study is the first step towards the development of mechanisms for managing university research environment. The study was performed in several stages. First, a survey with structured questionnaire was conducted among the employees of Tomsk Polytechnic University, and the results of the study of the current state of cooperation with Russian-speaking scientific diaspora were analyzed. As a result, three main problem areas in the scientific sector in Russia and TPU, in particular, were identified, they are: Bureaucracy, Supporting research activities with resources and integrated system of scientific research results commercialization. Further, an analysis of structural units of TPU and their functions in the context of specific problem areas was performed. Then a cause-and-effect diagram of problems in the research environment was built. Finally, the processes in the organization of TPU activities for further analysis were identified in order to develop management mechanisms for research environment improvement. Limitations of the study lie in the fact that the survey was conducted only in one university, and only 25 questionnaires were received, which, however, conforms to the format of operational research. The results of the study will be used in further work on the development of research environment at the university. The value of the article is, above all, in the proposed methodology of the evaluation and analysis of the research environment consisting of several stages, and the practical relevance of the methodology: it can be applied to any university interested in improving efficiency of management of the processes related to research activities.