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This article studies the tensions between universities' accountability and autonomy in response to the demands of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education institutions.

Demonstrating the tension between accountability and autonomy, the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education are studied via a survey with selected representative Finnish universities. The response rate was an exceptionally high 94%. In addition to the statistical analysis of the survey, open-ended questions were also analyzed to give a more in-depth understanding of the findings. The study uses paradox theory and institutional complexity as its theoretical lenses.

The empirical analysis of this study shows a considerable gap between the experienced impact and the experienced relevance of the steering mechanisms in higher education. The authors’ further analysis of the open-ended data shows that indicator-based funding allocation has undermined the perceived university autonomy. The authors highlight the paradoxical tensions of university autonomy and higher education institutions' steering mechanisms' requirement for accountability. Finding an acceptable balance between accountability and institutional autonomy plays an important role in designing higher education policies.

The authors found that even if a steering mechanism is experienced as impactful, it is not necessarily considered relevant. One of the key aspects in understanding the reasons behind this mismatch is related to university autonomy. Most impactful steering mechanisms become considered less relevant because they also endanger institutional autonomy. In this sense, it could be expected that steering mechanisms should better balance accountability and autonomy.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of different R&D funding inputs – including funding for basic research, applied research, and development – on different innovation outcomes (e.g. inventions, patents, licenses, and start-ups).

The study borrowed the resource dependence theory perspective by focusing on the proportion of funding secured from various external sources that fund university R&D, and assessed its effect on the nature and outcomes of the university research activity.

Results indicated that greater funding of basic research was associated with more inventions and patents; greater funding of applied research was associated with more licenses; and greater funding for development activities was associated with more university start-ups.

The contributions of this study are two folded: first, it added to the debate that more R&D investment is indeed associated with more innovation outcomes; and second, it is important to differentiate the R&D funding inputs as they are related to different innovation outcomes.

This study analyzed the effects of the visibility and evaluation of universities in news media coverage on the development of their private and public third-party funds.

The paper uses the concept of media reputation to investigate the effects of news media coverage on the outcome of funding decisions by firm managers and scientific experts. Extensive news media data from 2011 to 2017, collected with manual content analysis, were combined with economic data on Swiss universities.

The results show that a more positive evaluation in the news media leads to the positive development of private, but not public, third-party funding. Surprisingly, visibility in the news media has a negative effect on private third-party funding.

The effects of media reputation are dependent on the stakeholders under review. However, this study's design does not yield evidence on direct causal effects. Further studies could, therefore, use surveys to analyze the decision-making processes of individuals regarding their relative dependency on news media consumption.

This study demonstrates that positive evaluation in the news media represents an asset for universities when striving for more private third-party funding. Public relations (PR) activities aimed at the news media, therefore, can help universities attract additional funding.

The paper shows that in a digitized media environment, the news media still represent an important source for information about scientific organizations.

The study was the first to analyze the effects of media reputation on the third-party funding of universities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the academic side of university–firm linkages, reporting the results of research (called the “BR Survey”, a primary database) conducted in Brazil with leaders of research groups that interacted with firms. The authors analysed the answers from 662 research groups (from both universities and research institutes) to investigate whether the intensity of private funds affects the results of the interactions. The main intent is to answer the following question: Is there a difference between funding sources and the type of results achieved by research groups when interacting with firms?

To verify the impact of some variables on the perception of the main results of university–firm interactions, highlighting the impact of funding sources, the authors present a Logit Model defined with binary dependent variables. The null value is categorized as a “scientific result” (new scientific discoveries and research projects; publications, theses and dissertations; human resources’ and students’ education) and the value 1 is classified as an “innovative/technological result” (new products, artefacts and processes; improvement of industrial products and processes; patents, software, design and spin-off firms).

The authors found that the modes of interaction (relationship types) and some knowledge transfer channels, besides the number of interactions with firms, have statistically significant coefficients, so their values present different impacts on the results of the interaction. The results suggest that the Brazilian innovation policy towards a more active and entrepreneurial role of universities is fostering innovative/technological results from university–firm interactions.

The originality of the study lies on the results found that given the fact that private funding sources do not affect the conventional mission of Brazilian universities – teaching and research – university research groups should be even more incentivized to search for private funds to carry out their research. This may be a solution to the public fund scarcity and may help in reducing the historical distance between universities and firms in Brazil.

The purpose of this paper is to look at adequacy or inadequacy of budgets for University of Malawi Libraries (UML) from financial years 2004 to 2009.

A case study design was used to collect quantitative data. University budget estimate from 2003/2004 to 2009/2010 financial years were used.

The results of the study show that of five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, four (80 per cent) of their college libraries are inadequately funded below 6 per cent. The average funding as a percentage of the total college funding for the five UML in the six‐year financial period from 2004 to 2010 are as follows: Bunda College Library 2.7 per cent; Chancellor College Library 3.72 per cent; College of Medicine Library 3.52 per cent; Kamuzu College of Nursing Library 6.27 per cent; and the Polytechnic Library 3.43 per cent. Only Kamuzu College of Nursing Library received a minimum average of 6 per cent of the total college funding.

The study recommends that college librarians should lobby for increased budgets for UML. College librarians should also consider income‐generating activities as a means to supplement funding through government subvention.

There is very little researched information on inadequacy or adequacy of budgeting and funding on UML. This research adds some information on UML budgeting and financing.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the outcomes of the financial optimization process launched by the recent reforms in the Russian higher education sector and its impact on access to higher education, its quality and competitiveness within the sector. The study of the economic performance of higher educational institutions includes complex analysis of financial and educational components of their structural dynamics and their impact on their development strategy.

The methods used in the study of the segmentation of the higher education sector involve a combination of theoretical developments in economics and the modeling of the economic behavior of universities on the market for educational services, procedures for the evaluation of transaction costs in the markets with asymmetric information and recent conceptions of the interrelation of factors affecting quality and accessibility of higher education.

In this paper, the economic potential of Russian universities is considered, making use of a segmentation of the higher education sector, based on sampling of state and municipal higher education institutions from different industry groups, depending on their development strategy under changing social and economic conditions. The research data for 2006‐2009 help to define five clusters of the higher educational establishments with different approaches towards public funding and different strategies.

Based on the research data, the paper evaluates the current situation in the Russian higher education sector and some skewed structures of the reforms and outlines some policy implications.

In the context of the Australian Government’s attempts to impose budget austerity measures on publicly funded universities in its higher education sector, the purpose of this paper is to assess the sector’s financial health.

The multi-dimensional study is based on seven years of government financial data from all 39 publicly funded Australian universities, supplemented by information from universities’ annual reports. Using a financial health model that reflects vulnerability, viability and resilience, the authors examine sector data using a suite of metrics. The authors analyse differences between those universities in the Top 10 and Bottom 10 by revenue, as a window into the financial health of the sector at large.

While mostly financially viable, the sector shows signs of financial vulnerability, particularly in the areas of expense control and financial sustainability. Possibly in response to an uncertain funding environment, universities are managing long-term liquidity by growing reserves. Debt represents largely untapped potential for universities, while differences between the Top 10 and Bottom 10 universities were most evident in the area of revenue diversity, a strong predictor of financial viability.

Focussing on a specific set of financial metrics limits the scope of the study, but highlights further research possibilities. These include more detailed statistical analysis of data, financial case studies of individual universities and the implications of revenue diversification on academic standards.

The paper contributes to higher education literature, providing empirical evidence of universities’ finances. It highlights the importance of universities’ financial resilience in an uncertain funding environment.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which academic staff members in tertiary institutions in Nigeria access research grants, and to bring to light the factors that hinder their effort to accessing research grants.

An online questionnaire was designed using the SurveyMonkey software to collect the qualitative data from academic staff in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The study revealed that only a few number of academic staff members in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria have received research grants. The study also revealed that a large number of research works carried out by academic staff are funded by themselves from the meager salary they receive. It also emerged that Tertiary Education Trust Fund is the highest funding body that academic staff have received research grants from. Different research funding agencies/organizations both local and international that support studies in Nigeria were also mentioned to create awareness for others to utilize. Politics in the selection of research proposals, inadequate publicity/advertisement for research grants applications and lack of knowledge about funding agencies/organizations were identified as the most mentioned hindrances to accessing research grants in Nigeria.

A limitation of this study is the low response rate obtained, considering the number of tertiary institutions in Nigeria which does not permit generalization. The low response rate suggests that responding to an online questionnaire is not high on the agenda of academic staff members in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, and this is a major challenge for researchers undertaking evidence-based research considering the number of institutions.

The findings will provide academic staff with important data and insight into the various local and international research funding agencies/organizations that support research in Nigeria.

Academic staff members receiving research grants will enable them find a solution to societal problems through evidence-based research. The findings of this study will inform other academic staff of the various research funding agencies/organizations that support research in Nigeria. This will create awareness for them to access such grants.

The work is an original research work conducted by the researchers. The findings will add to the body of knowledge on the area of research funding in Nigeria.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the participation in commercially- and socially-oriented Academics' Societal Engagement (ASE) activities, partnership choices, and funding preferences of academics working in public and private universities from Chile and Turkey. Chile represents a private-dominant higher education system (HES), while Turkey is public-dominant. This article presents the results of an international survey, the Academic Profession in Knowledge-based Society (APIKS), applied to academics from over 20 countries, including Chile and Turkey.

Through a quantitative analysis the authors analyse how the dominant institutional type influences ASE activities, partnership choices, and funding preferences.

Results from the analysis show that being part of a public or private university does not solely explain the activity type that academics engage with. Moreover, the rate of Chilean academics participating in ASE activities is more than twice that of Turkish academics regardless of the public-private distinction.

Further research about the academic life and ASE activities using a qualitative approach can complement this study. Applying further in-depth interviews to obtain more information from external partners can provide different perspectives and help to better understand the ASE activities. Additional analysis could compare external activities by higher education institution (HEI) type regarding vocational/technical centres since the Chilean and Turkish private HEIs included in this study received a mix of public-private funds and are considered not-for-profit, so extending this research to include for-profit private HEIs may be worthwhile for additional comparison.

More support and funding for the development of commercially-oriented ASE activities is recommended for Chile and Turkey's HES. In Turkey, a law-update in 2017 facilitates the establishment of technology transfer offices (TTOs) as companies within universities (Author, 2019). Though it is too early to know its effects, a positive contribution is anticipated. Centred Chile's private dominant HES, it would be appropriate for this type of system to also create different support structures to incentivise socially-oriented external activities and partnership opportunities. As done in other universities, the establishment of a community engagement office may provide professional guidance for partnership creations. Regardless of a country's HE public/private dominance, diverse sources of funding and support mechanisms can also be created to strengthen organisational and financial autonomy facilitating academics' participation in ASE activities. For example, universities can develop institutional policies to support academic establishment, lead or join in administration of non-governmental organisations, or form institutional media to deliver academics' viewpoints of social issues to the larger and non-academic audience. University managers should also empower the connection between academics and industry and business sector through different organisational structures such as Research Office, Science Park Incubators, Career Centre, while guiding and financially supporting academics' research commercialisation by their TTO experience and sources.

The literature has studied the public-private higher education distinction in vast aspects, however, no empirical studies have explored it concerning ASE. Chile and Turkey propose interesting cases since they represent opposite ends considering the public-private predominance of higher education systems. Turkey exhibits a heavy public predominance, whereas Chile has a significantly strong private system.

Teaching and unit evaluations surveys are used to assess the quality of teaching and the quality of the unit of study. An analysis of teaching and unit evaluation survey practices in Australian universities suggests significant changes. One key change discussed in the paper is the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of surveys with the results used to assess and reward academic staff performance. The change in the direction is largely driven by the introduction of performance‐based funding as part of quality assurance arrangements. The paper aims to outline the current trends and changes and the implications in the future such as increased scrutiny of teaching and intrusion to academic autonomy.

The paper is based on the analysis of current teaching and unit evaluation practices across the Australian university sector. The paper presents the case of an Australian university that has introduced performance‐based reward using various measures to assess and reward academic staff such as the outcome of student satisfaction surveys. The analysis of external quality audit findings related to teacher and unit evaluations is also presented.

The findings suggest a shift in trend from the use of voluntary to mandatory tools to assess and reward quality teaching. The case of an Australian university outlined in the paper and the approach taken by seven other universities is largely driven by performance‐based funding. One of the key concerns for many in higher education is the intrusion of academic autonomy with increased focus on outcomes and less emphasis on resources needed to produce excellence in learning and teaching and research. The increased reliance on student happiness as a measure of educational quality raises the questions on whether high student satisfaction would strengthen academic rigour and student attainment of learning outcomes and generic skills which are seen as key factors in graduate exit standards.

The renewal of quality assurance and performance‐based funding using student satisfaction as a measure of educational quality will result in increased use of student voice to assess learning and teaching outcomes. Such direction will increase the accountability on academics to improve student experience and the measures will be used to assess academic staff performance.

The paper outlines the trends and changes in the teacher and unit evaluations in Australian universities and its implications in the future. The paper also provides a case of an Australian university that has recently made teacher and unit evaluations compulsory with the results used in academic staff annual performance review and linking reward with performance outcomes.