Many research funding agencies have recently adopted what I define here as the new impact agenda. Naturally, funding agencies want to know what is the impact of the research they have funded. The new impact agenda is ambitious and demanding, but it has some important challenges too. To be sure, assessing the impact of research … Continue reading
The traditional view is that universities must transfer their knowledge in order to foster innovation. This is a one-way direction. My argument is that a two-dimensional view is needed, acknowledging that economic and societal actors engagement with universities’ knowledge production is equally crucial. “How can we encourage the commitment of universities to knowledge transfer?” This was the main … Continue reading
This is a crucial question when designing any innovation policy, yet a very difficult one to answer. There is a broad acknowledgment that education, training and skills are important for the economic and social advancement of any society, here including innovation performance. However the lack of conceptual clarity in the academic literature on these matters … Continue reading
University rankings have become a widespread phenomenon during the past decade. Even if criticised for their lack of transparency and methodological bias, these rankings have rapidly grown in influence. A recent independent auditing of university rankings issued few days ago culminates several years of work towards improving the reliability and the accountability of this sector. … Continue reading
Susana Borras Blog 