Bridging the gap between academic and policy-oriented activities in higher education institutions

Abstract

There are three different types of activities performed in higher education institutions that, taken together, form the components of a trilemma in higher education. These include traditional academic activities (research and teaching), along with those that aim to transfer knowledge beyond academic research (policy-/industry-oriented activities). I argue that there are potential synergies across these three components that can be exploited to resolve this trilemma. This is illustrated in an augmented research value chain that introduces teaching and policy-/industry-oriented activities as phases that complement the research process. The interaction of the different phases in the research process contributes to the generation of new knowledge, increasing the value-added of the organization. This proposal relies on an application in an organizational unit specializing in international trade within an Australian university. Australia provides an interesting case study because research-intensive Australian universities are no longer evaluated purely in terms of their research quality, but also in terms of their transfer of knowledge and contributions beyond academic research. In this context, I conceptualize how to resolve the trilemma, and increase the feasibility of bridging the gap between academic and policy-/industry-oriented activities in higher education institutions.