Over the past decades, science funding shows a shift from recurrent block funding towards project funding mechanisms. However, our knowledge of how project funding arrangements influence the organizational and epistemic properties of research is limited. To study this relation, a bridge between science policy studies and science studies is…

University research capacity building has now become an increasingly important task in both developed and less developed countries. In this capacity building endeavour, research late-developer universities in particular need to develop a sound research organizational structure. However, what elements are needed in organizing and structuring…

In 2004, all national universities in Japan, which had previously been legally subordinate to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), became separate National University Corporations. With this change, the importance of securing competitive funding increased significantly, and university researchers have had to…

This article begins by raising issues around the way in which ethical approval for research is managed in university settings, where committees often base their assumptions on a principlist approach making a number of assumptions that we consider to be contestable, such as a neat separation between researcher and researched. However, collaborative…

A university's income will rise if it changes its policy on charging for commissioned research and for applications to external funding agencies to one of full cost recovery. However, there are a number of technical and policy implications to be appreciated before embarking on the pursuit of additional income. (MSE)

Stanford University (California) and the United States Navy have settled a dispute over 12 years of charges for research overhead, and the Navy has issued a rule requiring universities to negotiate multiyear overhead rates when appropriate data are available. Stanford agreed to pay back a total of $3.4-million. (MSE)

Discussion of cost management in international research projects looks at research activities supported by the European Community (EC) and their mechanisms for support, model interinstitutional contracts, and the difficulties encountered by institutions, and comments on the vital continued EC participation by universities in research and…

New federal regulations concerning direct cost accounting for college and university research projects are explained. It is concluded that the new standard allows institutions to reduce the signatures required on cost transfers and use reasonable cost allocation methods to simplify distribution of direct costs when research is supported by…

The American Technological University's pursuit of external funding through grants and contracts is described, and recommendations for staffing, policy, and practice related to sponsored programs are made. (MSE)

Implications of public disclosure laws, both state and federal, for university research culture and practices are examined. Issues discussed include research documentation, funding, scientific norms, patent rights for federally funded inventions, the university-industry research relationship, academic freedom, and the Freedom of Information Act.…

Because of the schedules, preferences, and varied information needs of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (Texas), a system of computer and telecommunications technologies was developed to facilitate research and project planning. The system integrates cellular phones, voice mail, facsimile publishing, distributed document delivery, and…

Because liberal arts colleges provide valuable undergraduate education in science, mathematics, and engineering, decisions about enhancing their level of research activity must be made carefully, with a clear understanding of what it would entail, what it would cost, and how it could affect existing strengths and contributions. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 49 university and other research administrators investigated attitudes concerning research productivity and measures to assess it. Results are compared with those of an earlier survey of research scientists, including a rank-order comparison of the relative importance of a number of productivity measures. Implications for demonstrating…

Despite pressure from Congress and faculty, and a series of revisions in federal regulations, the average rate charged the government by universities for overhead for federally financed research appears remains high. Average rate for the top 100 research institutions is over 50%; most of the highest rates are at private institutions; all the…

Improved evaluation of higher education teaching and research is urged, citing need for quantitative and qualitative indicators of an institution's strategic capacity to adapt to external demands and for closer links between evaluation and institutional goals. Industry's strategic management methods and difficulties of evaluation in different…