Professional support staff at higher education institutions in Sweden: roles and success factors for the job

Ryttberg, Malin; Geschwind, Lars

doi:10.1080/13583883.2017.1322631

Cited by 39 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This is more important than whether the support is centralised or decentralised. Another assumption is indications in previous research of the professional support staffs´consciousness about having to tread carefully in the shaping of the support to gain legitimacy in relation to academics (Ryttberg 2020;Ryttberg and Geschwind 2017). This study contributes to the organisational analysis of HEIs by asking the professional support staff themselves how a well-functioning support may be organised.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Their presence has increased in terms of both number and speciality, so that they now represent tasks and activities ranging from basic secretarial work and maintenance services to highly skilled tasks in, for example, internationalisation, business liaison and research support. This development may in part be explained by the missions and societal expectations placed on HEIs today (Bossu et al 2018;Graham 2012;Ryttberg and Geschwind 2017;Stage and Aagaard 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Ryttberg

Geschwind

2021

Tert Educ Manag

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Centralisation is a recurrent theme when the organisational structure of contemporary higher education institutions is on the agenda. This may be in large part because of the unsolicited effects of decentralised organisational structures. The aim of this study is to explore how professional support staff at higher education institutions perceive the organisational structure of support and the rationales for this organising. An analytical framework based on the dichotomy of centralisation/decentralisation was applied in 18 interviews with professional support staff at one Dutch university and one Norwegian university. A common theme in the findings was the consciousness among the professional support staff that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the organising of efficient and effective support. The issue of centralisation and standardisation was clearly on the agenda, but their focus was on the elements of a well-functioning support structure, not the specific organisational solution. The study also highlights the objection to the trend towards centralisation, and that some organisational changes may be too short sighted to be sustainable. From the perspective of the professional support staff, it can be concluded that organisational structure is a continuous balancing act based on dialogue between the academic and support staff.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Ryttberg

Geschwind

2021

Tert Educ Manag

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“…Forskning visar att olika professioner inom högskolevärlden tenderar att överlappa varandra och att gränserna mellan dem är suddiga. Det börjar bildas ett nytt område "a 'third space'" där akademiska och andra professioner blandas utan skarpa gränser (Ryttberg & Geschwind 2017;Whitchurch 2008).…”

Section: Bakgrund: Tid Och Lojalitet I Det Nya Arbetslivetunclassified

Tidslojalitet

Öborn¹,

Axelsson²,

Arvidson³

2020

SoFo

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Exploring time loyalty. The interweaving of time and loyalty in faculty administrator’s work strategies This article has an exploring and theorizing approach and aims to explore the function of the notion of time together with the concept of loyalty. The notion of acceleration of time and the new ”flexible” working life has created a duality where bureaucratic and administrative systems exist side by side with a more flexible organization, within which people can organize and plan their work themselves. That creates unregulated spaces, where administrators have to navigate and manage conflicting loyalties and uncertain responsibilities, creating further uncertainty, putting questions about one’s use of time and loyalties in focus. We explore this development by using the concept time loyalty and use that connection to analyze interviews with administrative staff within a university. This article concludes that there are ongoing negotiations regarding what to do, for whom, and when as well as legitimizing actions to justify fail responses to loyalty claims.

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“…Different national usages of 'management' and 'administration' have also caused confusion (Szekeres, 2004). What in Canada is likely to be termed a 'research administrator' may be called 'strategic research support' in Sweden (Ryttberg & Geschwind, 2017), a 'research development officer' in Australia (Berman & Pitman, 2010, p. 165), or an 'income capture officer' in the UK (Cox & Verbaan, 2016, p. 321).…”

Section: Research Administration and The Sociology Of Professionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The work of university research administrators: Praxis and professionalization

Acker

McGinn

Campisi

2019

JPHE

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As part of a project on the social production of social science research, 19 research administrators (RAs) in five Canadian universities were interviewed about work, careers, and professionalization. While rarely featured in the higher education literature, RAs have become an important source of assistance to academics, who are increasingly expected to obtain and manage external research funding. RAs perform multiple roles, notably assisting with the complexities of grant-hunting as well as managing ethical clearance, knowledge mobilization, and related activities. Aspects normally associated with professionalization include organizations that control entry, higher degrees in the field, and clear career paths, all of which are somewhat compromised in the case of RAs. Nevertheless, most of the participants regard research administration as a profession, and we argue that it is more important to focus on the sensemaking and identity formation of these mostly female staff than to apply abstract criteria. Although their efforts do little to challenge a culture of performativity in the academy, and indeed may be regarded as supporting it, the RAs have defined for themselves a praxis dedicated to easing the burdens of the academics, helping one another, and contributing to the greater good of the university and the research enterprise.

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Professional support staff at higher education institutions in Sweden: roles and success factors for the job

Cited by 39 publications

References 22 publications

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Tidslojalitet

The work of university research administrators: Praxis and professionalization

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