The strategic research agenda of academics and the involvement of non-academic peers in research in regimes of academic nested hybridity

ABSTRACT

The involvement of non-academics in academic research is key to boosting knowledge exchange and ensuring that academic research is more effective in contributing to tackling the challenges faced by organizations and citizens. Although incentives, together with new organizational and knowledge producing modes, have fostered this involvement, the literature has found that the willingness of academics to collaborate with non-academics is mixed and related to individual traits and preferences, conflicting working logics, and other constraints. This study contributes to this literature by assessing the strategic research agendas of academics as a novel factor in determining their willingness to involve non-academic peers in research activities. The findings underlined the critical importance of academics’ strategic research agendas in determining their engagement with non-academics in their research. The findings also showed conflicting logics, suggesting that PhD training, career progression, and organizational incentives fostering knowledge output activities need to be considered and adapted.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic profession
• strategic research agendas
• non-academic peers
• nested hybridity
• science and society policies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The relation of mobility, measured through Job Changes, was quite interesting. It seems to suggest that a degree of job stability in the same place is needed, except if the job change is with a sector other than higher education. The need to stay put in a university may relate to the time needed to foster relations with local non-academic organizations and individuals, which requires time and trust building (Johnson 2010).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by doctoral grant SFRH/BD/108241/2015 from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and co funded by the European Social Fund and the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Education. This research was also funded by the Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee Council (Hong Kong) through a project entitled ‘Characterizing researchers’ research agenda-setting: an international perspective across fields of knowledge’ (project number: 27608516).

Notes on contributors

Hugo Horta

Hugo Horta is an Associate Professor and Master of Education Program Director at the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong. He is also the chairperson of the Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (CHER). His main topics of interest refer to academic research processes, outputs and outcomes (including research agendas), academic mobility and academic inbreeding, and career trajectories of PhD holders.

João M. Santos

João M. Santos is an Integrated Researcher at Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, specializing in data analysis and science studies. His main research goal is finding out more about how scientists define their research agendas, so that we can better understand how the way to scientific discovery is paved. Beyond his work on research agendas, João also does scientific work in the fields of higher education, public policy, communication, data analysis, and psychology.

Paulo Maia Loureiro

Paulo Maia Loureiro is about to defend his doctoral thesis of the Engineering and Public Policy program at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon. He collaborates in research projects of Science Technology and Society studies and Higher Education studies, since 2011.