Management of public–private R&D projects in Higher Education: key trends and issues

Abstract

Research and Development (R&D) project managers in Higher Education must deal with uncertainty, ambiguity, competition, accountability and different objectives for professors, scientists, firms, users and other stakeholders. Formal project management frameworks are commonly adapted to support this. However, the wide range of challenges related to R&D inhibits truly effective and efficient approaches. In this paper, the R&D project management literature is analysed, chief concepts are examined, and key areas to be considered by any management approach in Higher Education institutions are suggested. This will lead to more realistic management practices, focused on their added-value and on that of the particular project and not on the management framework/methodology per se. The particular case of collaborative private-public R&D projects funded by public funds is addressed in view of their increased importance as a key instrument for the implementation of public science policies.

Prioritizing Stakeholders in Collaborative Research and Innovation Projects Toward Sustainability

“…Stakeholder identification is a complex process that requires careful consideration of the project’s context and the diverse interests of various stakeholders. This complexity is particularly evident in collaborative R&I projects, where stakeholders possess unique characteristics and specificities (Santos, 2021). One of the challenges in stakeholder identification for collaborative R&I projects is navigating the differing interests of academics and industry (Fernandes & O’Sullivan, 2021).…”

“…This involvement of heterogeneous stakeholders can significantly increase the potential for conflicts (Moura & Teixeira, 2010) and sets dynamic relationships that require considerable trust and commitment among stakeholders to create reciprocal benefits over time (Fernandes & O’Sullivan, 2021). Moreover, project management methods employed in universities frequently fall behind those utilized in the private sector (Santos, 2021), leading to a disparity in project management maturity. Such characteristics strongly influence management approaches in this specific project type (Fernandes et al, 2023).…”

“…Moreover, there is little evidence to suggest that the level of importance (salience) of a stakeholder group is directly correlated with the amount of effort put into engaging with that group, especially when the group’s expectations are mutually exclusive (Boesso & Kumar, 2009a). This is particularly relevant in collaborative R&I projects due to their typical complex multi-actor setting and associated cultural gap between academics and companies (Santos, 2021).…”

The Profession of Research Management and Administration in Portugal

“…The existence of advanced academic qualifications and a professional network, even if informally organised and with voluntary membership (Lewis, 2014), the systematic performance of certain tasks as 'constant and relentless achievement' of self-hood (Fragkiadaki et al, 2013) and the delivery of specialised training actions (Eason et al, 2018), make the case for the existence of an actual RMA profession in Portugal. Moreover, the Portuguese RMA community has been contributing to the international recognition of the profession, from both empirical evidence (e.g., Vidal et al, 2015), and conceptual perspectives (e.g., Agostinho et al, 2018;Santos et al, 2021a), namely in the pre-award (e.g., Vidal et al, 2015), and post-award areas (e.g., Santos, 2021).…”

Higher Education Funding Policy and Research Productivity of Universities in Georgia

“…The organization of the funding system for research is an important policy direction to make a country's economy competitive based on knowledge and innovation development (Jongbloed & Lepori 2015). Governmental funding and policy play important roles in advancing knowledge to better the country's future and society (Santos 2021).…”