Finn Hansson

Science parks as knowledge organizations – the “ba” in action?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the failure of science parks to become a central actor in the knowledge economy and, with the help of new organizational theory, to propose new solutions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews a number of recent studies of science parks and their effect on innovation and economic growth, measured by revenue or survival rate of new firms, but demonstrating no positive result of the parks. The paper then introduces modern organization theory, specializing in analyzing the processes of creating, managing, organizing, and transferring knowledge distributed through a number of networks and other volatile organizations in order to investigate the set‐up of science parks in the knowledge economy.Findings – Using Nonakas concept of ba as a metaphor for the new tradition in organizational theory, the paper finds very few – if any – signs of these new ways of organizing in traditional science parks. The paper argues that principl...

The Agora and the Role of Research Evaluation

The evaluation of research is an activity undergoing change. The traditional peer review system with its focus on scientific content and methodology has long been the backbone of research evaluation, but over the last three decades other criteria and considerations have also been integrated into the evaluation of science. This article investigates how recent societal developments - epitomized by the concept of the agora - influence research evaluations and how we perceive them. Are they still grounded in a scientific rationale, or are they more to be understood as a result of a social rationale?

Measuring research performance during a changing relationship between science and society

This article analyses the emergence of problem-oriented, so-called Mode 2 research as a supplement to disciplinary-oriented Mode 1 research. Developments in research are compared with research policy developments, focusing on the use of performance indicator tools from new public management. Two examples from Denmark and the UK describe how this thinking has gained ground in the overall management of the allocation of basic funds for university research. Based on the analysis of examples and research policy developments, the article argues that existing indicators are lagging behind and need to be updated as they do not adequately reflect the politically desired Mode 2 features of the public research system. Consequently, there is a need to develop and implement new Mode 2 indicators for measuring and managing public research. In conclusion, the article suggests possible new indicators of Mode 2-oriented research. These indicators need to be further developed and can be seen as an agenda for further research. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Organizational use of evaluations: Governance and control in research evaluation

Todays organizations perform evaluations in order to demonstrate their trustworthiness to the outside world and in order to produce information for use by management. In the planning and application of specific evaluations, different participants or stakeholders very often have different or conflicting agendas. In recent years, the use of evaluations in organizations has grown rapidly and we have witnessed the rise of a new bureaucratic instrument in the realm of knowledge production: the internal evaluation. Such evaluations produce a set of data as part of the evaluation process, and the long-term impact of the use of these data on organizational activities is not normally given serious consideration when the use of evaluations in organizations is discussed. These evaluations have become a major factor in the management of organizations, but the academic literature on evaluation very rarely discusses the impact of this instrument of governance on the behaviour and activity of members of the organization.

Modernize the public sector through innovation? A challenge for the role of applied social science and evaluation

The New Public Management drive to innovate in the public sector has become less influential and new initiatives to drive innovation are now sought. There are well-known challenges when using social science research to inform innovation in the public sector. In order to address these challenges, this article presents the case of an evaluation of the Program on Research for Innovation and Renewal in the Public Sector (abbreviated FIFOS) under the Research Council of Norway. The evaluation described a number of problems in implementing new innovative knowledge, not only because of the organization of projects but also because of the still-common linear thinking in the application of new knowledge, especially in relation to innovation. A discussion and critique is presented and a different approach to the implementation of innovations based on ideas from organizational learning is proposed. Such an alternative strategy for producing and organizing the use of social science research to inform innovation in the public sector demands the rethinking of relevant evaluation models. In order to evaluate such a new approach, the article advocates new formative evaluation strategies, where learning and dialogue are the focus.

Dialogue in or with the peer review? Evaluating research organizations in order to promote organizational learning

Evaluation or assessment of scientific work in universities and other research organizations has traditionally been organized around the peer review system with its almost jury-like functionality. This approach traditionally looked only at the output or the product of scientific work and was for many years, and to some extent is still, acknowledged as uniquely suited to the evaluation of something like scientific work. Today, however, the system is being questioned. A growing reliance on quantitative indicators in science policy, the changing relationship between science and society, and the emergence of theories of knowledge-based organizations have occasioned a rethinking of the peer review process. As a contribution to these discussions, this article presents a case study that can be read as an argument for a more dynamic and interactive model of peer review in the evaluation of research organizations. After presenting the case, it discusses the strengths and weaknesses of this suggested model. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Evaluation Traditions in Denmark: Critical Comments and Perspectives

Evaluation research developed slowly in Denmark, partly due to special political conditions in the development of the Danish welfare state. In the last 10 years evaluation has been growing rapidly, especially in the area of public services. This article presents four major traditions in Danish evaluation research today; survey-based evaluations, theory-developing evaluations, action research-based evaluations and internal evaluations. The picture of Danish evaluation research is still rather dominated by survey- based evaluations relying on otherwise much criticized positivistic quantitative methods and without the use of theory in evaluations. Even if other traditions exist the international discussions of theory and methods in evaluation research have not yet found their way into Danish evaluation discussions to any substantial degree. The positive political interest in Denmark in the use of evaluations—and especially the growth in internal evaluations—accentuates the problem of evaluation research being able to overcome its link with positivistic methodologies and subsequently integrate newer traditions in social science theory and methodology in order to produce useful knowledge.

Creating Space for Research: The Charismatic Entrepreneur as Research Director

The paper discusses research leadership in public universities in a time of transformation. It focuses on the role of entrepreneurial strategies in creating space for research under conditions that increasingly depend on balancing managerial control in the university against openness to other knowledge organizations, arenas and networks. Here the generation of resources is becoming more important than ever, and a creative entrepreneurial strategy is a way to produce new knowledge centres. By analysing two new research groups in social science institutions in Denmark, we show how dilemmas, uncertainty and complex relations to other managerial systems in the universities can be decisive. Entrepreneurial network organizing offers a new platform for innovation in the university. We find that the charismatic traits of the research director have an important impact on the strength of this platform.