University Research: The Social Contribution of University Research

Abstract

Research has never been more central to the mission of the university, and research performance is the primary factor that regulates university status and is seen to signify the innovation “firepower” of the global competition state. A striking feature of the present period is the growing pluralization of research power as more nations and institutions secure a prominent role in world science, especially nations in East Asia. Yet, paradoxically, even while research has become ever more central, to the point where its symbolic and economic importance have been markedly exaggerated, the policy conception of university research has gravely narrowed. With all the focus falling on science and technology, especially of an applied kind, there is insufficient attention given to the social sciences and to the broader role of creative and interpretative scholarship, including work in the humanities and the arts. Nor is the economistic performative model that dominates research management and funding optimal for creative work in science and technology. We also need to ask questions about whether that model is optimal for the spread of knowledge within universities, and its broader social dissemination, including relations between university and non-university research. On the positive side, the immense growth of open-source knowledge, and spread of research knowledge through that medium, underpins the wide rollout of capacity in social innovation.