The nature and implications of the growing importance of research grants to Canadian universities and academics

Abstract

This paper analyzes a significant but virtually unexplored recent development within Canadian higher education, namely the growing importance of research grants to universities and academics. It addresses three main questions. First, the paper examines why and how research grants are becoming more important to Canadian universities and academics, focusing in particular on the role played by federal higher education policy. Next, it explores how the growing importance of research grants is transforming relations between and among the key players in Canadian higher education and academic research, including university administrators, academics, government, and the broader community. The paper's final section takes up some of the actual and potential implications of these changes and raises concerns about detrimental effects on Canada's universities and citizens. Prospects and possibilities for reform are also addressed.

The entrepreneurial university and academic discourses: The meta‐synthesis of Higher Education articles

“…With the interrelationship of academic capitalism and entrepreneurial university approaches, university managers largely develop investment strategies to establish the necessary facilities for academics’ entrepreneurial activities (Fetters et al, ; Uslu, ). These large investments, such as TTOs, research offices, multidisciplinary research hubs, techno‐cities and start‐up incubators, caused a change in the culture of publish or perish to provide or perish in universities (Polster, ). By means of infrastructural and superstructural investments for entrepreneurial activities, university managers particularly benefit from the growing networks of researchers in hard disciplines such as science and engineering to enhance the production of practical knowledge.…”

Job Satisfaction around the Academic World

“…The level of government funding per student for universities has decreased (Fisher et al 2005 ;Shanahan and Jones 2007 ), and there are increasing expectations for academic staff research productivity (Polster 2007 ) . Increases in student enrolment have far outpaced the growth in full-time academics appointments, leading to increasing student-academics ratios (CAUT 2010a ) .…”

Canadian University Academics’ Perceptions of Job Satisfaction: “…The Future Is Not What It Used to Be”

“…Increases in student enrolment have far outpaced the growth in full-time academics appointments, leading to increasing student-academics ratios (CAUT 2010a ) . The level of government funding per student for universities has decreased (Fisher et al 2005 ;Shanahan and Jones 2007 ), and there are increasing expectations for academic staff research productivity (Polster 2007 ) . These and other trends would provide a rationale for moderate or declining academics' satisfaction, and yet the fi ndings of this study suggest that while academics certainly have concerns about the future of the academic profession in Canada, they continue to report high levels of satisfaction with their work and career decisions.…”

“…Over the last 30 years, though particularly acute in the last 10, there has been a signi fi cant change in both the tenor and mechanisms of research policy and support in Canadian universities, characterised by a drive for the production of more marketable, applied research and an increased commitment to public-private partnerships (Fisher et al 2001 ;Wolfe 2005 ;Atkinson-Grosjean 2006 ;Metcalfe and Fenwick 2009 ) . This has occurred in conjunction with drastic decreases in the size of total federal transfers, both in cash and tax points, resulting in a 40% decrease between 1988 and 2005 (Fisher et al 2005 ) , and the increased dependence of institutions on sponsored research (Polster 2007 ) . This is supported by the CAP data, where 74.6% of respondents claimed that since their fi rst appointment, 'the pressure to raise external funds had increased', 72.1% reported 'high expectations to increase research productivity', and 60.7% believed that the production of 'useful results and application' are 'a threat to the quality of research' (Metcalfe et al 2011 ) .…”