Can academics be more involved in influencing policy decisions? A case study of the University of Mauritius
Authors: Mr Hemant Kassean and Ms Mridula Gungaphul Senior Lecturers, University of Mauritius Contact:
h.kassean@uom.ac.mu
H
ealthy engagement between academics and policymakers is essential to the provision of informed, evidence-based, world-class policymaking. Literature in this area is very scarce as our search has revealed that this topic has not been researched widely. Some of the barriers as to why research is not used in policy-making include failure to produce clear outcomes without caveats; reluctance of researchers to go one step further and identify policy implications which most researchers do not see as their role and an inability to communicate findings in short, non-jargonised briefings which are meaningful to the policy-makers who are mostly non- specialists. The preliminary findings of this 3 phased study are expected to add value to some of the major pieces of research work undertaken by academic staff of the University by recognising their efforts for producing work with the potential for conversion into local policies.
Over the past few years, there have been some powerful debates over how universities should actively seek to inform the policy process and that academic work can and must be rendered more accessible to the general public. Healthy engagement between academics and policymakers is essential to the provision of informed, evidence-based, world- class policymaking according to the Annual Report and Accounts (2008/9). Hanushek (2005:18) further elaborates that policy analysis can be used as a basis for “framing and interpretation of research necessary to the development of good policy” where government and the media by themselves will
58 Management Today | January 2012
m.gungaphul@
uom.ac.mu
not suffice. “Part of generating useful policy information,” Hanushek says, “clearly involves relating what we have to say to the interests and perspectives of users”. This purpose of this paper is to report on an ongoing study of how academic staff can be more involved in influencing policy decisions.
While it is a major challenge for HEIs around the world to become research-intensive institutions, the majority would desire to intensify their research activity because it is seen as a sine qua non of higher education. Governments will also have to make choices, using policies and financial instruments to help shape institutional mission, priorities and HE systems. O’Brien (2011) argues that academics need to communicate with civil servants, who can lack expert knowledge. That way they can influence government policy. Academics are increasingly being pressed to provide evidence of impact from their research on the world outside academia. And universities will have to provide evidence of impact as part of the new Research Excellence Framework (REF). But there is confusion about the different definitions of impact that exist amongst funding bodies and research councils, and also about methods of measuring impact. It is the higher education sector’s opportunity to shout about what it contributes to society.
Government departments can also look to academic research as a means to address the increasingly fragmented nature of policymaking between several government departments. In these situations, academic research can act
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