IHERD - OECD Programme on Innovation, Higher Education and Research for Development

IHERD (Innovation, Research and Higher Education for Development) is a recently launched four-year OECD programme supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The main objective is to increase strategic and coherent investments in innovation, higher education and research relevant to development on a global level.

Advisory Committee and Secretariat of IHERD

The programme spans two Divisions within OECD: the Country Studies and Outlook (CSO) Division in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI) and the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) in the Education Directorate (EDU). The work of IHERD is supported by an International Advisory Committee, of which Professor Maria Slowey from DCU is a member.

‘The primary objective of the IHERD programme is to increase the policy relevance of research and to promote evidence-based policy making in higher education, research and innovation for development. This will be achieved through stimulating a shift in the research agenda by reviewing existing research, by commissioning new research and by fostering links with leading researchers and research institutions in the IHERD field.’ (OECD Programme on Innovation, Higher Education and Research for Development, 2011).

‘Has the state really retreated from direct regulatory interventions in higher education in exchange for ‘steering from a distance’- or is the emperor only changing his clothes?’

This was the central question posed on 3 October by Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) of OECD in his lecture Governing Higher Education: the limits of public regulation and institutional autonomy in a connected world. This event was the sixth in a lecture series hosted by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA). The welcome address and introduction was given by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and the lecture was followed by discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, with inputs from Tom Boland, Chief Executive of the HEA, Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa and participants drawn from the policy community, researchers and higher education leaders.

Working out the balance between state regulation and institutional autonomy is an important topic internationally for universities and other higher education institutions. The debate is particularly lively just now when higher education is going through a period of major reforms (including the Bologna Process, EU’s Lisbon Agenda, EU2020, and the EC’s modernisation policy). It can be argued that, on one hand, universities are social institutions supported to a significant extent by public funds and therefore, should be accountable. But on the other hand, universities have a number of distinctive missions which require a high degree of autonomy from the state. Speaking of the general trends in the state policy developments internationally, Professor Van Damme drew attention to a series of new policy instruments-output funding, quality assurance, accreditation and accountability- are more likely to increase state regulatory intervention in higher education research and innovation policies. This is primarily evidenced by initiation of reforms on performance-oriented funding, increased competition and introduction of accreditation processes.

Dr Pat Phelan, Associate Registrar, University of Limerick posing a question to (R to L) Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) of OECD, Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, Tom Boland, Chief Executive of the HEA and Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa

Elaborating on the notion of a ‘distant state’ Prof. Dirk Van Damme stressed that ‘public policy rationales for state intervention and regulation have become very powerful in an age where higher education has moved to the centre of gravity in modern knowledge societies’. These rationales are indeed very well known - ‘massification’ of higher education, the notion of contribution of research and innovation to countries’ economic growth and the role of higher education in social progress.

Why have public policies in higher education remained so strong and interventionist? The reasons in his view are that higher education remains a public policy field precisely because the stakes are so high ‘that no government is willing to allow universities to depart from public policy objectives which are seen as crucial for a nation’s future prosperity and progress. Effective and equitable systems of knowledge production, knowledge transfer and knowledge distribution are key to societies’ progress’. But also, Professor Van Damme continued, it is essential that universities continue to use the opportunity for autonomy in effective and productive ways. He further identified some of the areas where institutional autonomy could be more strongly exercised: academic staff policies, human resource, research priority setting and programme and curriculum development. Highlighting the profound consequences of state regulation on higher education research agenda, government and leadership, Dirk Van Damme spoke of the need to increase an institutional ‘connectedness’, to develop strong strategic leadership and vision and developed the concept of ‘network governance ‘.

Professor Van Damme is currently Head of CERI (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation) in the Directorate for Education at the OECD in Paris, where he is also responsible for the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). He holds a PhD degree in educational sciences from Ghent University and has been professor of educational sciences in the same university (since 1995). He has been professionally involved in educational policy development in a range of senior roles at European and national levels including, deputy director of the cabinet of the Flemish Minister of Education.

SAGE/EERA early research career award for Dr Ekaterina Kozina, a HERC postdoctoral researcher

The EERA (European Educational Research Association) comprises more than 20 national and regional Educational Research Associations from all parts of Europe. Each year EERA awards a small number of scholarships to support talented new researchers to attend the annual European Conference on Educational Research (ECER).

This year, SAGE Publishing supported one of these competitive scholarships. Following a three-stage selection process, the SAGE-funded Conference Bursary was awarded to Dr. Ekaterina Kozina, a postdoctoral researcher in the Higher Education Research Centre, Office of the Vice-President for Learning Innovation, Dublin City University.

The winner was honoured in the Opening Ceremony of the Annual Conference on Educational Research Early Researchers’ Conference on 12 September in Freie Universität, Berlin at which Ekaterina presented her paper: “Towards a Sociology of Teacher Socialisation: National Study into First Year Professional Experiences of Primary Teachers”.

EERA was founded in 1994 with the purposes of:

• encouraging collaboration amongst educational researchers in Europe,
• promoting communication between educational researchers and international governmental organisations such as the EU, Council of Europe, OECD and UNESCO,
• disseminating the findings of educational research and highlighting their contribution to policy and practice.

Colloquium on Lifelong Learners in Higher Education, University of Western Cape, 1-2 September

Increasing numbers of students have to seek employment opportunities in order to support themselves; they are enrolled either as ‘full-time’ or ‘part-time’ students, attending classes in the cracks of their work, community and family lives. They may attend in the day-time, after-hours, or in block periods. They are juggling multiple responsibilities of home, work and studies. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are often not equipped to support them adequately. The purpose of the colloquium was to understand the issues of working, ‘non-traditional’ students more deeply and raise questions about ways in which HEIs, both locally and internationally, are responding to their needs in order to promote and support lifelong learners.

Professor Brian O'Connell, Rector, University of Western Cape, Professor Maria Slowey, DCU, and Dr George Openjuru, Dean, School of Distance and Lifelong Learning at the launch of a Colloquium on 'Lifelong Learners in Higher Education', University of Western Cape, 1-2 September.

This colloquium brought together researchers, policy makers, employers and practitioners over two days on 1 and 2 September 2011 and was hosted by Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division of Lifelong Learning in the University of Western Cape (UWC). The first day took the form of an extended lunch time public lecture by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development from Dublin City University, Ireland, who situated the issues in wider international contexts in her paper Lifelong Learners in Higher Education: International Trends.

The second day focused on one critical aspect of the topic, that is,  Lifelong Learners and part-time studies in Higher Education. This included experiences from students, institutional case studies, debates, and discussions both from South Africa and further afield. The two case studies were of Makerere University, Uganda, which was led by Dr George Openjuru, Dean, School of Distance and Lifelong Learning, and UWC, which was led by Jos Koetsier, DLL and Ms Sally Witbooi, Library and Information Systems, UWC. Rapporteurs from various sectors, included Ms Lynne du Toit, CEO, Juta (Publishing) and Co. Ltd, Mr Mark Espin, Student and Lecturer, Dr Mark Abrahams, UWC with a final summing up by Brian Williams, Chair of the Council of UWC.

This colloquium also served to promote collaboration between Dublin City University and the University of Western Cape in South Africa and to enhance existing research links between Professor Maria Slowey, Higher Education Research and Development, DCU and Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Professor Walters will visit DCU to participate as an expert panellist in the forthcoming HERC seminar on 3 October at the Helix in DCU. The main speaker for this event is Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of CERI who will present a lecture entitled 'Governing higher education: the limits of public regulation and institutional autonomy in a connected world'. For more information on this event please visit our seminar page.

Date for your diary - 3rd October 2011

The next event in the seminar series HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHALLENGING TIMES: QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONED will take place on Monday 3rd October, 2011 in the Helix at DCU.

Professor Dirk Van Damme will give a presentation followed by a panel discussion and audience questions. Professor Dirk Van Damme is head of CERI (Centre for Education Research and Innovation ) at OECD . We will post the time, lecture title, abstract and panellist names as these become available.

Reform of higher education in the Atlantic Isles: ‘like watching a slow motion car crash’?

On 16 May, Professor Sir Peter Scott, Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London delivered a lecture Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles: Similarities and Differences. This event was the fifth in a lecture series hosted by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA). The welcome address was given by the President of DCU Professor Brian MacCraith. The event was chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, with participants and expert panellists Dr Mary Canning, Deputy-Chair of the HEA, Professor Mike Grenfell, Chair (1905) of Education and Head of School, Trinity College Dublin, and Professor Richard O’Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU and current Chair of the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.

Professor Richard O'Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU, Dr Mary Canning, Deputy Chair, HEA, Professor Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London, Professor Mike Grenfell, Head of School of Education, TCD, Professor Maria Slowey, Director, Higher Education Research and Development, DCU

Peter Scott set the scene for the comparative perspective by outlining the structure of the higher education systems in Ireland and the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Of particular interest is the fact that all five recently launched major policy reform initiatives: National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (Republic of Ireland, 2011), Building a Smarter Future: Towards a Sustainable Scottish Solution for the Future of Higher Education (Scotland, 2010), Review of Higher Education in Wales (Wales, 2009), Consultation Document on the Development of a Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland, 2011), Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education (Browne Report) (England, 2010) and New Coalition Government’s Proposals (England, 2010).

The almost simultaneous publication of these important reports raises a number of key questions. “To what extent do the commonalities (past and present) of these five higher education systems limit the scope for different solutions to similar problems? Are these different solutions best explained in terms of national or structural differences? Are these general lessons about processes of HE reform can be applied more widely?”

Peter Scott identified drivers of change and reform of higher education at three different levels. First, the generic drivers, which apply across all five systems, including, in particular those associated with the ‘massification’ of higher education. Second, important mid-range/regional drivers, which are common to all five systems, such as language and similar higher education governance structures. Third, specific drivers, which are distinctive to each system, including differences in scale and wider political cultures.

Internationalisation was one of nine themes identified in the talk. International engagement was particularly highlighted in the Irish National Strategy (Hunt Report) document and Peter Scott emphasised key points to keep in mind are the maintenance of quality of teaching and learning experience and appropriate supports for international students.

Speaking of the general lessons about processes of higher education reforms that can be applied more widely, Peter Scott highlighted that, as always, a combination of deep structural factors in each of the countries and regions set the context for development and change in higher education systems. Concluding his presentation, Peter Scott stressed the importance of comparative studies of higher education for both policy and practice.

Sir Peter Scott, is Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London. Prior to that Professor Sir Peter Scott was Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University from January 1998 to December 2010, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, and Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement. He has published extensively in the field of higher education.

Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles

Professor Sir Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London

Monday 16 May 2011
12.00 to 14.00 (Tea & coffee served from 11.30)
The Helix, DCU

The main speaker for this event is Sir Peter Scott , Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London. Professor Sir Peter Scott was Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University from January 1998 to December 2010. Previously he was Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Education at the University of Leeds. He was also the Director of the Centre for Policy Studies in Education and Chair of UALL (Universities Association for Lifelong Learning). From 1976 to 1992 he was Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement. Before that he was a reporter and then a leader writer for The Times. In January 2011 Professor Sir Peter Scott joined the Institute of Education as Professor of Higher Education Studies.
Professor Scott will present a lecture entitled 'Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles'. The lecture will be introduced by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and followed by an open discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research, DCU, with participants and expert panellists Professor Mike Grenfell, Chair (1905) of Education and Head of School, Trinity College Dublin, Dr. Mary Canning, previously of the World Bank Higher Education Division and Professor Richard O'Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU and current Chair of the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.

Please feel free to forward this flyer to interested colleagues. There is no fee for attendance, but booking is required as places are limited to facilitate discussion. A light lunch will be provided. RSVP to: HERC@dcu.ie.