Transcript Universities in Europe: Ebbs and Flows of Institutional

The new meanings of leadership in
autonomous universities:
Between expectations and realisations
Univ. Prof. Dr. Ulrike FELT
Department for Philosophy of Science and
Social Studies of Science
University of Vienna
[email protected]
http://www.univie.ac.at/wissenschaftstheorie/virusss
Workshop: Governance & Leadership: Developing New Policies and Skills
Ulrike Felt, Leuven 5.12.2003
Debate on the changing boundary conditions for the
university system in Europe
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Changing relation to the „outside world“:
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withdrawal of the state as the financier of the university system
scientific and economic systems become ever closer intertwined (knowledge
economy)
new actors claim the right to participate in the shaping of the universities
Revisit the tasks of the university
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shift in the expectations expressed by society with regard to teaching (the 3% BIP goal
and ist impact for human ressource production)
adaptation of the knowledge production system to this new socio-economic role
(transdisciplinary knowledge production, patenting, etc.)
Universities should become stragegic partners in different knowledge production
contexts
New form of competitiveness between universities on the national and international
level
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Internal reorganisation of universities and the
consequences for the concept of leadership #1/3
• Shift from „collegial decision making“ to „executive
systems“
– need for leadership as a consequence of increased autonomy
– leadership in the university is not linked anymore to the fact of being
member of the academic community
• Engagement with a variety of new actors in the shaping of
universities
– students participate in many cases as consumers
– entering different stakeholder relationships
• Societal presence in „internal“ government structures
– Creation of boards on the highest level of decision making including
„external“ representatives (different national models)
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Internal reorganisation of universities and the
consequences for the concept of leadership #2/3
• Financing of the universities:new procedures and structures
– Financing through contracts (result bound)
– Multiplying the sources where funding comes from
– New internal distribution structures
• Enlargening the categories of academic staff and increasing
staff „flexibility“
– Reforms of the contract policies with regard to academic staff
(tenure vs. non-tenure)
– Doctoral students and post-docs as a new academic
workforce
– inclusion of practitioneers on a part-time basis
– Staff development/HR management becomes a central issue
for universities
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Internal reorganisation of universities and the
consequences for the concept of leadership #3/3
• Quality assurance mechanisms play a more central role than
ever in the academic domain
• extension of the peer group
• more academia-external criteria enter the evaluation
(patents, research money acquired, etc.)
• time-scale of evaluation gets shorter
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Central roles of leadership
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leadership and power distribution (task identification and sharing) within the
institution become central factors that shape the ways in which organisations
change and can change in the presence of external expectations and new
demands;
Providing a clear vision of the internal structures and creating a shared aim is
the necessary prerequisite to enable to position the institution within society
and to exercise leadership also toward the “world outside” universities;
actors within universities actively interact with elements/structures in their
environment in order to shape and control their relations of dependencies;
strategic choice are made within the limits imposed by their environment ,but
the potential radius of action can be widened when creative and adaptative
internal institutional environments are provided;
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Potential tensions encountered
• Potential tensions appear between individual, societal and
institutional interests
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Societal/economic interests – sustainable knowledge production
individual creative development – institutional commitment
academic freedom – institutional efficiency
protection of the person – flexibility of the institution
Assuring compatability between academic institutions – implementing
difference
• Medium-term planning – grasping short term occasions
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003
Central „battle fields“ to implement new governance
structures
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Develop procedures that allow collective goal negotiation/production accross
different disciplinary fields and constellation of interests -> central to the
positioning process
implement a clear model of shared responsibilities (not blind delegation) within
each institution
shape a clear vision of what result oriented working means and how this can be
formulated on a contractual basis
Investigate new and adaptative concepts of humanressource management and
development on all different levels
Invest in the improvement of the administrative structures in order to be able to
realise the „new universities“
Create structures which allow for internal transparency in distribution and
decision making procedures
Ulrike Felt, Leuven, EUA Workshop, 05.12.2003