The role of research in Higher Education and research assessment

This project aims to study the importance of the research function in understanding the wider dynamics of higher education.

This strand of research is a new project, part of the ESRC CGHE Transition Centre. It draws together multi-disciplinary scholarship and a strong comparative dimension, internationally and institutionally, in order to study the importance of the research function in understanding the wider dynamics of higher education.

Over three years, the team, led by Professor Alis Oancea and involving Dr James Robson and Dr Xin Xu (Oxford) and Dr Gemma Derrick (Lancaster), will conduct a comparative study of the weight given to research in academic life and evaluations, in relation to: individual careers, organisational environments, teaching and learning, sectoral policy, and relationships with other sectors, including publishing and industry. This will be complemented by a comparative international review of assessment systems for higher education-based research, considering critically their role in framing arguments about the public contributions and value of research in higher education.