SAC - Executive Seminars Aug. 1997

Roundtable E. Research & Society : The 3rd von Humboldt - Virtual

Definitions:

What is society(ies)?

Government - federal, state, local

constituents - taxpayers

haves vs. have nots

Business/industry/

Demographic groups - Age cohorts:

GenX, Retirement, GenNext, Busters

Relationship between community & society

_C_ommunity vs _c_community

Technical,

community of interest, (learned , discussion, professional associations)

interdisciplinary,

geographic,

international,

K-12 system

What is Research?

Intellectual contribution

- Basic Scholarship

- Applied Scholarship

- Instructional Development

- Value Added

- Creative Development

Codification of knowledge to create new knowledge

- Discovery

- Often driven by dollars

Research model: basci, to applied, instrutional - to socialize research

How to transfer that research knowledge to society?

Industry model: Applied Research -> Development - >Manufacture

In 21st century, accountability to society for the benefit of society; selection of the research questions as directed by needs of society than on the inherent worth of the question.

Applied Research Commercialization

BASIC Research

<-- university --> | <-- Industry -->

Attributes of research for society that we can identify today: plus / deltas

- collaboration

- accountability

- value added

- culture

- research culture in doubt (scientific integrity, conflict of interest, intellectual property)

- communication - culture conflict - industry (intellectual assest closely held vs. university research/public funding widely disseminated)

- Partnership with non-educational entities

- Amount of overlap between research and instructional initiatives is relatively small in most institutions.

See increase in collaborative efforts, partnerships that will be an upheaval in their current methods. More competitive, results oriented. Culture change will be as dramatic as the teaching changes:

Mega trends, change in nature of research and researchers:

partnerships (priv/public)

Trans-institutional research issues

teams

Geopolitical shifts in $$ / power

large scale

Universities more market driven

Competitions among U.'s for research dollars - distribution of dollars

Third von Humboldt - (1st - Prof is center, 2nd - (current model - Dept is center) - emerging is a 3rd (research program)

global

electronic publications

Academic values and rewards

legal (intellectual property)

moral - (re-skilling of faculty)

accountability may shift from peers to the society groups (case for basic research)

funding sources (less federal, more corporation)

Federal Research has remained relatively flat since 1960

Private Research will increase

International Research will increase

K-16 Concept? Split of Research vs. Instructional?

Loss of our own sense of community

Researcher loyalty is to go where the money is and to ally with fellow researchers in the field rather than with those researchers on the physical campus.

Inter-disciplinary research is growing

Will we see research out-sourced? Consolidations among Research U.'s.

U.'s commercializing its assets - intellectual property, tech transfer

So, we must make choices regarding to whom U. - based research must be accountable; we can't talk about society as a whole. - U. - based reserach agendas must set priorities and understand which constituencies it will be satisfying/disappointing.

Question: Do we need to shift the U.S. research agenda, in place since 1945, to become more of an incubation and application environment?

Queston: No long-term view or education regarding the value of basic research? How to do a better job of telling our long-term story regarding the value of basic research?

CONCLUSIONS of Questions discussion

Role of Institution is unclear?

Society is multiple stakeholders

- Goal conflicts not unlikely

Old University / Government partnership model for research is under assault

- What needs to remain / what needs to change? (e.g. peer review)

What is new model?

- Corp. model ?

- Japan, Inc.?

Major breaks in how we communicate to society about research.

Loss of our own sense of community - re-forming of new communities.

Research roles for higher education in 21st Century

-- Basic Research

^*Applied Research Cooperative

^ Instructional Development - (maybe short-term outsource*)

^ Development

-- Manufacturing / Delivery / Commercialization (There is a public policy, core-competency, instutional policy). This may not be a core-competency, but $$ may drive.

Other nation's models - national policy - science, industry.

How prepared is higher education to meet these roles today?

Change reward system (clinical profs)

Culture:

traditional hide-bound.

U.'s are not nimble.

Values diversity of opinion - peer review

weak partnering skills

"loose coupled" authority system

weak institutional bonds

Accountability to society - internal vs. external accountability

Infrastructure - Old Physical Plan

Good network base

Mixed credibility. / mixed communications / perceptions.

Mktg - poor communications

High Research Quality.

Existing funding model is institutional based, should become the Virtual Von Humboldt - center is the research program - beyond place and time.

What roles should others play?

PR across the board:

govt.

k- 12

general public

within higher ed

Funding agencies need to change funding models - a new von Humboldt

New standards of accountability

- Accreditation

-cognizant groups

What Roles for technology? NOTE: technology is the driver for change in discussion.

Eliminate time / space barriers

Help "Partially " disenfrancished

Improve efficiency of research

Improve quality of research

New ways of looking at data

Can help research communication problems

MARS Web pages

What institutional /individual/collaborative actions are possible in the next year to better achieve this vision? How will we measure it?

Higher Ed/ NSF Task Force

Task Force on Research Incentives

Learned societies

Universities become network-based publishers of their own intellectual assets

Network-based sponsored research

Non-traditional self-studies

Research strategic plan to address the forces at work at our Institutions

- mandated by accreditors

AAU articulate 'A Research Enterprise at Risk' 3rd von Humboldt (virtual)

Work better with researchers to examine their needs.

Examine rules of conduct - policies, legal, intellectual property, information policies