Raising the summit or flattening the agora? The elitist turn in science policy in Northern Europe

ABSTRACT

This contribution focuses on how one hegemonic idea – excellence – which has significant impact on science and higher education policy was translated in two Nordic countries: Norway and Sweden. Building on key concepts emanating from political science and organizational sociology, the article assesses how excellence was locally translated by policy makers, leading to the rise of a series of policy measures aimed at fostering excellence in science across the board. In doing this, we investigate a key empirical dimension: the policy mechanisms or instruments launched at national levels (two Nordic countries) in the form of centers of excellence.

KEYWORDS:

• Excellence
• travel of ideas
• translation
• science policy
• centers of excellence
• Nordic countries
• multilevel governance (MLG)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. For an overview of the various, existing Nordic councils per policy area consult: http://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-of-ministers/council-of-ministers.

2. According to the European Research Council (ERC) ‘[t]he term “frontier research” reflects a new understanding of basic research. On one hand it denotes that basic research in science and technology is of critical importance to economic and social welfare. And on the other that research at and beyond the frontiers of understanding is an intrinsically risky venture, progressing in new and the most exiting research areas and is characterized by the absence of disciplinary boundaries.’ Online available at: https://erc.europa.eu/glossary/term/267.

3. Since 2007, about 4,500 projects have been selected for funding out of more than 43,000 applications. According to the ERC, over 20,000 scientific publications acknowledging ERC funding have appeared in peer-reviewed high impact journals in the period 2008–2013.

4. For a list of all 43 clusters of excellence hosted by Germany’s universities visit: http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/list/index.jsp?id=EXC.

5. Online available at: https://www.interreg-baltic.eu/about-the-programme/programmeinbrief.html.

6. Online available at: http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/s3-in-baltic-sea-region

7. A total of 88 CoEs hosted at 14 institutions were evaluated.

8. A total of 53 CoEs – from three separate schemes – hosted at 20 institutions were evaluated.

9. Norway and Sweden are excluded from this table, and shown in more detail below.

10. In addition, state-wide programs have also been pursued, for example, in Hesse, Saxony-Anhal,t and Thuringia (consult OECD 2014, p. 44).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lars Geschwind

Lars Geschwind is associate professor in Engineering Education Policy and Leadership at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and affiliated researcher at Uppsala University. His latest publications include Mergers in Higher Education – The Experience from Northern Europe (Dordrecht: Springer, Higher Education Dynamics Series, with Romulo Pinheiro and Timo Aarrevaara, 2016).

Rómulo M. Pinheiro

Rómulo Pinheiro is professor of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Agder. He is also a senior researcher at Agderforskning and a visiting professor at the University of Tampere. He is currently leading a comparative research project on the effects of changes in leadership structures of Nordic universities.