Funding pressures put focus on short-term gain, says Go8

A funding environment that requires universities to be more responsive to the needs of businesses and society is pressuring them to produce short-term outcomes, the Group of Eight has said.

In a discussion paper on the role of research-intensive institutions, the group suggests that pressure to diversify funding sources places the emphasis on chasing intellectual property, and may prevent universities from making a more meaningful contribution.

“Unfortunately, the reasoning behind this focus on the immediate is simplistic, building on a narrative that does not recognise the complex ways in which innovation takes place or acknowledge the deeper and more profound contributions that universities are making,” the paper says. “Taken to its extreme, this approach could prevent universities from making their really significant, fundamental contributions to economic, social and cultural development or environmental sustainability; and ultimately lead to more fragile and less resilient societies. Universities are not simple tools of social engineering or drivers of economic growth, although their influence is essential for sustained social and economic development.”