Book Description

'. . . my opinion is that this book not only presents a wide and complete report of an extensive research effort, but also opens new directions for future research advancements in this field, that is very relevant both from theoretical considerations and policy-making implications.' Education Economics 'This book is the first work that brings together comprehensive evidence on research and education activities conducted in European universities. The volume is both timely (current discussion on the European Research Area is based on very poor quality comparative evidence) and important for scholars, practitioners, policymakers and students. It provides a critical assessment of the availability and use of inputoutput data and indicators to measure and map European higher education systems. At a time when universities are being asked to play an increasing number of roles, this book represents a foundation on which scholars and policymakers can start to develop the harmonised statistical infrastructure needed to evaluate, assess and support European universities in their changing roles.' Aldo Geuna, University of Sussex, UK Although the role of universities in the knowledge society is increasingly significant, there remains a severe lack of systematic quantitative evidence at the micro-level, with virtually all policy discussion based on country level statistics or case studies. This book redresses the balance by examining original data from universities in six European countries Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The authors provide micro-based evidence on the evolution of the strategic profile of universities in terms of scientific research, contract research, education and the third mission. The result is a highly innovative book that combines detailed national case studies and comparative institutional analyses with state-of-the-art quantitative techniques. Applying for the first time new generations of nonparametric efficiency measures on a large scale, Universities and Strategic Knowledge Creation will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in higher education, economics of science and technology, and innovation studies. It will also appeal to policymakers and administrators in governments, ministries and universities.