Research Policy and Research Practice in the Global Research Economy

URL of this page: http://www.skeptron.uu.se/broady/sec/r-respol.htm

Staying "ahead of the field" in the production of knowledge is seen as crucially important to national economies in a globalised and highly competitive world. This research project directly addresses this important policy area through a study of research policy and practice in Sweden in two academic disciplines: Economics and Sociology. Research in these fields is important for economic and social development, but has tended to lose out in the competition for funding to research in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields. As such, research that investigates research policy and practice in the social sciences in the current economic and political context is needed. This project also investigates the social composition of the research communities in these areas to address questions about who sets the research agendas, makes decisions about research funding, conducts research and controls access to research publication, and in what ways this impacts on what knowledge is produced. Most studies of research and knowledge production have tended to ignore these issues. The project has a global outlook since such a perspective brings into sharp focus critical features of national research infrastructures; features which would be much less clear within a purely one-dimensional national exploration. Significant theoretical development will also be achieved in terms of: intersectional analysis within higher education and research policy analysis.

Project Coordinator: PhD Paula Mählck <paula.mahlck@edu.uu.se>

Participating researchers:
PhD Mehrdad Darvishpour <http://www.mdh.se/hvv/research/research_groups>
PhD Måns Fellesson and PhD Keith Pringle <http://www.soc.uu.se/>

The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council VR/UVK (2011-2012)

The project will be carried out in close collaboration with:
Institute for Policy Studies on Education at London Metropolitan University <http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/ipse/>
Prof. Carole Leathwood, who is the International Adviser of the project <http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/ipse/staff/carol-leathwood.cfm>