A legitimate political ambition for universities to accommodate several, often conflicting, objectives has resulted in political overreach with limited coordination across initiatives. Greater autonomy and coordination of the core tasks can strengthen the societal value of the universities’ contribution.
DFIRbrief 58: Simplified Governance of Danish Universities (pdf)
Following discussions with research spokespersons of six political parties about their visions for the societal role of Danish universities, DFIR examined whether the current governance and funding structure supports the universities in delivering on their four core tasks: research, innovation, education and dissemination.
The analysis shows that different tasks are governed through different regimes and logics, but that the legitimate political ambition for universities to address several, often contradictory, aims has produced political overreach. This is reflected in the complexity of governance instruments, the frequency of reforms and the extent of detailed regulation.
Political overreach diverts resources away from the universities’ core activities and creates counterproductive competition among Danish universities. The use of identical KPIs in the funding structure reinforces competition within the sector rather than supporting the institutions’ distinctive strengths internationally. Frequent reforms continuously introduce new procedural and organisational requirements, draw resources away from core tasks and, in recent years, have been implemented with limited dialogue with the sector. Governance instruments and reforms have also resulted in a level of detailed regulation that may contribute to growing political mistrust.
DFIR assesses that there is societal value in granting universities greater autonomy and coordinating the core tasks through dialogue and collaboration across the sector. Through national coordination, Denmark and Danish researchers can strengthen their international competitiveness. DFIR’s proposals include:
Simplifying, coordinating and strengthening the strategic framework contracts and existing regulation
Allocating new resources to cover the estimated implementation costs of future reforms
The Department of Accounting at Copenhagen Business School has contributed with a background report that maps how the universities’ societal tasks are currently governed and funded.
