Ivory Towers and Islands of Excellence Business Schools and UK Research Funding Policy

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1 Ivory Towers and Islands of Excellence Business Schools and UK Research Funding Policy Extended Abstract Submitted to: RIBM Doctoral Symposium th -31 st March 2011 Research Institute for Business and Management Manchester Metropolitan University Business School Aytoun Street Aytoun Building Manchester M1 3GH Tel: +44(0)

2 Ivory Towers and Islands of Excellence Business Schools and UK Research Funding Policy Abstract In the UK, 6% of higher education institutions account for 45% of economic and social research council grants, and all of these are pre-1992 universities (ESRC, 2010, p. 73). From 2011, all economic and social doctoral training will be undertaken by institutions incorporated before UK research council funding strategy is to reward both academic excellence and impact, and post-1992 university business schools do demonstrate research excellence, and in many cases engage much more with business than pre-1992 institutions (Brown et al, 1996 in AIM, 2006, p. 9). So why are they being pushed out of the funding race? This research project aims to introduce the concept of post-1992 university business schools as a discrete topic, with specific characteristics in relation to research funding councils, in particular the ESRC. It aims to eventually contribute to development of strategy with which post-1992 university Islands of Excellence (Jump, 2010) can fund their research. Key words: research funding, research council, new university, business school, impact 1. Introduction to the research In the UK, 6% of higher education institutions account for 45% of economic and social research council grants, and all of these are pre-1992 universities (ESRC, 2010, p. 73). From 2011 all economic and social doctoral training will be undertaken by institutions incorporated before Such policy changes as the recent doctoral training restrictions, and calls for everscarcer funds to be corralled into research intensive institutions by The Russell Group (Russell Group, 2010), suggest that post-1992 universities are being pushed out of the research council funding race. UK research councils research funding overarching strategy is defined as Excellence with Impact (ESRC, 2010). Post-1992 universities have grown out of polytechnics, and their business schools do demonstrate excellence in research (RAE, 2008) and close relationships with businesses (Brown et al, 1996 in AIM, 2006, p. 9). Their impact is significant, which, according to research council principles, should lead to success. Yet the aperture continues to grow between pre- and post-1992 universities in research funding council success. This is the focus of this study, and Business Schools in particular provide a lens through which to examine post-1992 institutions relationship with the ESRC; as a discipline which has itself sought academic legitimacy, and which is so connected with the economic world outside academia. 2

3 2. Literature Review a. Research Funding Councils During the ESRC committed 134 million in research grants, at a success rate of 16% success. (ESRC, 2010, p. 15). Management and Business Studies possesses the 3 rd lowest success rate for funding success in , while being the 2 nd highest rate of application (after Psychology) (ESRC, 2010, p. 47). There is a paucity of literature on the missions and direction of research funding councils in the UK. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation s World Social Science Report 2010 reviews the global field of social science from its supranational position, and concludes that in Europe, research funding councils are under-researched: The separation which [research councils] bring about between researchperforming institutions and research-funding agencies introduces a certain distance between research practice and research steering. How this distance affects the research process is a question that is still in need of thorough answers (UNESCO, 2010, p.83). The UK research funding strategy of Excellence with Impact (ESRC, 2010), fuses two seemingly diametrically opposed tenets; 1) The Haldane Principle dictates that, in research funding decisions, research councils should be guardians of the independence of science (Denham in Edgerton, 2009, Parliament, 2010, Beddingfield and French, 2010). This places university research beyond economic and social responsibility, promoting the Ivory Tower (Lam, 2009). 2) UK government and EU priorities urge the economic and social impact of research as an overarching strategic priority, which connects universities to the real world of justification of their place in UK society. The recent downturn has only made accountability to the public purse a bigger issue (Cable, 2010). b. Post-1992 Universities Post-1992 university research is not conceptually defined in the findings from this initial literature review (Williams, 2010). The growing body of literature surrounding the idea of the Entrepreneurial University is one area in which post-1992 universities are conceptually defined. This concept comprises funding being created through other means, based on the US model, and the corporate education market (Prince, 2000, 2002, 2003). This in itself is telling; post-1992 universities have often followed their polytechnic/ teaching institution roots in delivering management education and professional qualifications, rather than emphasis on research into business and management. c. Post-1992 University Business School Research There is not a large body of literature specifically dealing with research in post-1992 university business schools (Williams, 2010 pp ), and furthermore distinctions are often implicit, such as delineating between elite and non elite (ibid.) business school research. Post-1992 university business schools are often seen as having more direct relevance to the real world of industry (Brown et al, 1996 in AIM, 2006, p. 9). 3

4 Yet business school research has long been denigrated for an esoteric academic focus, rather than addressing the needs of those whom it studies (Callaghan, 1976, Bennis and O Toole, 2005, Pfeffer and Fong, 2002). The Advanced Institute of Management Research report confirms, in a broad review of Business Schools in the UK, that different types of research were valued differently... Work focused on meeting practical needs was given a higher prominence in new universities than in the old, while the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake was given more credence in the old universities than in the new. (AIM 2006, p. 9) Surely, this notion of new university business schools and the direction in which they should travel is aligned with Bennis and O Toole et al s conception of the new direction for business school education as being practice-focused. 3. Research Aim and Objectives This project aims to develop a field of enquiry into new university business school research, and its relationship with research council funding, to determine if it possesses unique characteristics, and if this field can lead to increased funding success or new strategies for post-1992 business schools. Specific objectives in order to achieve this aim are: a. To collect ESRC success and failure representative applications on a sample of a new university business schools research applications to the ESRC since 1992 b. To compare this data with the general trend of ESRC funding application success, to determine if the trajectory of new university business school grant application is distinct from other universities c. To develop a case study of ESRC success and failure, and experiences and attitudes of a post-1992 university business school d. To develop a case study of ESRC success and failure, and experiences and attitudes of a pre-1992 university business school e. To compare the two, and develop knowledge of characteristics of each f. To point to further research, in order to develop new strategies for post business school research funding 4. Methodological Stance and Research Methods The Case Study approach (Yin, 2003) will direct this initial research phase, in order to examine the experience of one post-1992 university business school, along with statistics on its research funding success. A case study of a pre-1992 institution will follow during the larger research project, to garner comparative data. This initial study will involve a two stage-process: 1 To set the context, secondary data analysis of baseline ESRC responsive success and failure applications submitted by the case study business school, with particular focus on 1) impact and 2) academic excellence, will be undertaken, with permission of the applicants and business school faculty. 2 The body of the research will be qualitative and broadly ethnographic, with participant observation and semi-structured interviews. 4

5 The researcher, in their current position of bid writer in a post-1992 university business school, which is a recognised research island of excellence (RAE, 2008), possesses a non-academic participant observational perspective, which it is hoped will prove fruitful for this research area. From this perspective it seems prudent that a broadly ethnographic study of this business school, driven by access and prior knowledge, will yield the richest data, particularly as the researcher already has relationships with interviewees. The sample is theoretical, and is directed by the research area and questions. Interviewees will be from a range of those in the business school engaged with research council funding (Figure 1). There are ethical issues associated with sampling, data collection and analysis with which to be dealt in the course of research, particularly in participant observation. All participants will be approached to gauge willingness to participate, and institutional ethical approval will be gained prior to data collection. All transcripts of interview data will be available to participants, and coding and analysis will be transparent to participants and the institution. Several participants have already been approached in order to gauge and mitigate risk of unwillingness to participate. All interviewees approached have consented to take part in the project. Interviewee PhD student PhD student Research active faculty member Research active faculty member Faculty Head of Research Institutional Head of Research Figure 1 - Sample Engagement with ESRC funding ESRC funded Applied but not ESRC funded ESRC funded Applied - but not ESRC funded Oversees ESRC applications Oversees ESRC applications 5. Contribution to Knowledge This exploratory research aims to develop a hypothesis surrounding post-1992 business schools relationship with the ESRC, on which to launch further examination. As existing literature lacks a theoretical or conceptual framework, the eventual aim of the research is to work towards development of, or use of existing, theory, with which to examine the field of new university business schools. Grounded theory may thus be a pertinent research approach, dependent on initial results. This study will be a pilot project into developing a field of enquiry into new university business school research, and the initial part of a larger enquiry into the relationship between this field and UK research councils. It is hoped that the wider study will be of use to post-1992 university business schools in developing research strategy, and to policymakers in future research policy, particularly as we face an age of university funding severity. 6. Work Plan Timeline Action 5

6 Month 1 Month 2 Month 1-5 Month 3-6 Month 7-11 Month12 Approach interview participants to confirm willingness to participate Gain access to and collate ESRC funding applications and feedback with a mixture of successes and failures Using qualitative coding, analyse feedback data in terms of 1) Impact 2) Academic Excellence Participant observation of case study business school, focusing on engagement with ESRC responsive grants Interviews with theoretically sampled participants (Figure 1) to determine the experiences of successes and failures, and perceived reasons, from faculty members Coding and analysis of these data findings to produce a case study picture Presentation of findings through MRes dissertation. 7. Reference List Advanced Institute of Management Research. (2006) UK Business Schools: Historical Contexts and Future Scenarios. London: AIM. Adams, J. and Gurney, K. (2010) Funding Selectivity, concentration and excellence how good is the UK s research? [Online] [Accessed 1 st December 2010] how-good-is-the-uk's-research.html Beddingfield, J. and French, J. (2010) Letter to Professor Adrian Smith [Online] [Accessed 15 th November 2010] Bennis, W.G. and O Toole, J. (2005) How Business Schools Lost Their Way. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, no. 5, pp Brown, R. B. McCartney, S. and Clowes, J. (1996) Do they mean business? An investigation of the purpose of the new university business schools in Britain in Amdam, R.P. (ed.), Management Education and Competitiveness: Europe, Japan and the United States. London: Routledge. pp Cable, V. (2010) Science, Research and Innovation Speech 8 th September. [Online] [Accessed 4 th October 2010] Demeritt, D. (2010) Harnessing science and securing societal impacts from publicly funded research: reflections on UK science policy. Environment and Planning A, Vol. 42, no. 3, pp Edgerton, D. (2009) The Haldane Principle and other invented traditions in science policy. History and Policy. Vol. 88 [Accessed 20 th September 2010] 6

7 Economic and Social Research Council. (2011) Doctoral Training Centres. [Online] [Accessed 15 th February 2011] Economic and Social Research Council. (2010) Social Science Excellence with Impact: The Economic and Social Research Council Annual Report and Accounts for 2009/2010. London: Economic and Social Research Council. European Parliament. (2000) Lisbon European Council, 23 and 24 March 2000, Presidency Conclusions Report. [Online] [Accessed December 14th 2010] r1.en0.htm Etzkowitz, H. (2010) Entrepreneurial universities for the UK: a 'Stanford University' at Bamburgh Castle? Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp Jump, P. (2010) Islands of Excellence should not drain funding steams. Times Higher Education Supplement. [Online] 5 th August. [Accessed 16 th September]. Kelly, A. and Morris, H. (2009) The future(s) of business school research and how to prepare for it. Paper presented at: The London Metropolitan University Business School Research Conference. London, 2 nd July. Lam, A From ivory tower traditionalists to entrepreneurial scientists? Academic scientists in fuzzy university-industry boundaries. Social Studies of Science, Vol. 40, no. 2, pp Parliament. (2009) The Haldane Principle; Putting Science and Engineering at the Heart of Government Policy - Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee [Online] [Accessed 4th October 2010] Pfeffer, J. and Fong, C. T. (2004). The Business School Business : Some Lessons from the US Experience. Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 41, no. 8, pp Prince, C. (2002) Developments in the market for client-based management education. Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 26, no.7, pp Prince, C. and Stewart, J. (2000) The dynamics of the corporate education market and the role of business schools. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 19 no.3, pp Prince, C. and Watling, D. (2003) University business schools 2 business: the changing dynamics of the corporate education market. Strategic Change Vol. 12 no.4, pp

8 RCUK. (2007) Increasing the economic impact of the Research Councils Report. Swindon: Research Councils UK. Research Assessment Exercise. (2009) Results of 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. [Online] [Accessed 1 st November 2010] Russell Group. (2010) The concentration of research funding in the UK: driving excellence and competing globally. [Online] [Accessed 1st December 2010] UNESCO. (2010) World Social Science Report Paris: UNESCO. Williams, P.O. (2010) The History of UK Business and Management Education. London: Emerald. Woollard, D. Zhang, M. Jones, O. (2007) Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Insights from a new university business school. Paper presented at: Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference Glasgow, 7 th -9 th November. Yin, R. (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 3 rd ed., Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. 8