About the project
There is considerable public interest in how to facilitate high quality education and research. Yet, external policy initiatives in higher education often seem to lead to limited changes or unintended consequences. This is often explained by the enduring and specific characteristics of universities, as complex, bottom-heavy and so-called "loosely coupled" organisations. The latter is often taken as a way to describe university organisation as having various non-rational, unstructured and unplanned characteristics.
While this description of universities as "loosely coupled" is widespread in research on higher education, we have found that this description is often assumed rather than systematically and explicitly analysed. Thus, in this project we focus on questions such as: What is "coupling" to start with, how do coupling patterns look like, and how does it matter?
Approach
In our conceptual thinking, we employ theoretical perspectives from organisational studies, including organisational institutionalism and sensemaking processes. Methodologically, we employ data from a nationwide survey and extensive qualitative case analysis with interview, observation and document data.
One line of analysis is to focus on how new and temporary structural configurations operate within existing organisational structures. We specifically analyse Centres of Excellence in research (SFF) and education (SFU) as examples of such new structural configurations. Our second line of analysis focuses more broadly on coupling patterns within modern universities, that is, how formal organisation interacts with academic work processes by using various survey techniques.
Cooperation
The project is a collaboration between researchers from the Department of Education at University of Oslo (UiO), the Department of Political Science at University of Oslo, the Nordic Institute for Studies on Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), the Department of Government at University of Bergen (UiB) and the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University.
Financing
Research Council of Norway, Young Researcher Talent grant scheme.
Time frame
The time frame for the project is August 2021–April 2027. The project has been extended due to parental leaves.