This study provides an insight into the challenges faced in establishing a closer collaboration between educational research and its use in the policy-making process. It aims to identify the factors influencing transfer from research to policy-making and the policy-makers’ needs, expectations, and perception on the use of educational research. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of Romanian national and local institutions. Specific software was used to facilitate data management and coding. The results indicate that there is a disconnect between policy-makers’ expectations and the input they receive from the research community, as well as a lack of an institutional framework to facilitate communication and interaction between them. There are systemic blockages on both sides: politics and the cost of opportunity for decision-making, a high level of bureaucracy, limited resources and accessibility of results, a lack of financing and of institutionalized communication, as well as a lack of consultation and cooperation between the two parties. The results indicate a willingness on the policy-makers’ side to acknowledge the importance of using research to inform decisions and their role in facilitating this process. This implies that researchers have limited control over the subsequent stages and could indicate the early point in the research process when other actors should be involved in order to ensure the potential or actual impact of research on policy.
This paper aims to analyse the configuration of factors contributing to research uptake in education, with a particular focus on the Romanian context. One subsequent objective is to identify mechanisms for developing better synergies, not only between educational practice and research but also between these and educational policy. In doing so, the paper argues for shared responsibility among higher education institutions and policymakers for improving the educational system. The paper relies on results from a survey administered to a selected sample of civil servants in the Romanian central administration involved in the planning, evaluation and implementation of public policies in the field of education. Our results address the mechanisms of research uptake and utilisation by the central administration (communication and dissemination strategies, clarity, access and availability of research data, policymakers’ preferences for certain research topics) and the perceived relationship between researchers and policymakers (for example, the strength and nature of the relationship, or policymakers’ general involvement in research studies). The findings of our study pave the way for an in-depth analysis of organizational factors likely to affect research utilisation: research culture and engagement with researchers; the political and managerial context likely to promote research transfer; and the financial context needed to foster quality results.
Even though the higher education model of universities in Romania corresponds to a Humboldtian model based on harmonizing teaching and research activities, in recent years, under pressure from the knowledge-based economy, research activity has tended towards an increased role. Therefore, the role of universities across Romania is beginning to shift towards an entrepreneurial one. This paper seeks to identify the strategies that universities are currently developing to sustain the process of knowledge transfer. To achieve the above aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 university managers from research-intensive universities. The data was analysed using a coding system that was developed based on the theoretical framework. The results indicate a tendency among Romanian universities towards a linear model of tackling knowledge transfer, meaning that the primary focus is on establishing networks and partnerships between researchers and other categories of end users and on developing cross-domain research teams among researchers from the same university.
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