Building Castles in the

Air?The Pitfalls of Ignoring

Organizational Constraints in Research Development in

Philippine Higher Education Institutions

CHED : NHERA (1997)

First fully articulation of research as among the three primary functions of all HEIs

Research productivity as criteria for –

University statusCenter of excellenceAutonomous /

Deregulated status Institutional qualityOpening of graduate

programs

Research Development

Accrediting agencies Research part of

criteria for educational quality

Individual universities Research productivity

as part of criteria for promotions and/or permanency, professoriate

Incentives for research

Research Development

Interventions: New policies and programs

Capacity building activities

Research grants Journal accreditation Awards and other

incentives

Have we made progress since

1997?

Evidence: International Refereed PublicationsUsing one

strict indicator: publications in international refereed journals, the answer seems to be YES!

International Refereed Publications produced by HEIs (1994-2008)

699

1173

1737

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Pre-NHERA(1994-1998)

Early NHERA(1999-2003)

Late NHERA(2004-2008)

% of HEI Publications out of total Philippine publications(1994-2008)

Non-HEI53%

HEI47%

Non-HEI38%

HEI62%

Non-HEI26%

HEI74%

1994-19981999-2003

2004-2008

# of HEIs that produced International Refereed Publications (1994-2008)

5662

88

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pre-NHERA (1994-1998) Early NHERA (1999-2003) Late NHERA (2004-2008)

# of HEI faculty members with International Publications (1994-2008)

741

15501692

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Pre-NHERA1994-1998

Early NHERA1999-2003

Late NHERA2004-2008

But if we disaggregate

the data, we see that progress was uneven.

Survey of International Refereed Publications (1994-2008) the increase in the number of

HEIs producing international publications was found only in 6 out of the 16 geographic regions

the total number of HEIs involved in producing all international publications was only 88, which represents 4.27% of the 2060 HEIs in the Philippines

% Share of International Publications of Top 11 HEIs (1994-2008)

Top 11 HEIs84%

All the rest16%

Top 11 HEIs97%

All the rest3%

Top 11 HEIs94%

All the rest6%

Survey of International Refereed Publications (1994-2008)

increase in publications may be due mainly to the increased productivity of a small group of approximately 30 HEIs (not a widespread increase in productivity across the Philippine higher education system);

the increase in number of researchers or authors varied across the geographic regions, with six regions not showing any noticeable increase.

Research Development???

Growth in research productivity is very localized in specific regions and institutions

The overwhelming majority of regions and HEIs have largely been unaffected by research development thrusts and programs

Building castles in the air?Developing research in Philippine HEIs is severely constrained by

the structural/organizational features of most HEIs that do not (cannot) support development of substantial research processes

and outcomes.

Definition: Research processes

Research activities sustained over long periods of time directed at inquiring into questions and validating propositions, with the goal of generating knowledge that expands current boundaries human knowledge

Definition: Research outcomes various forms of

knowledge productions that are assessed by the relevant sector of the global scholarly community in terms of its competence and substance

publication in refereed journals, citation, patents and applications

Definition: Organizational Features

Elements or characteristics of these elements of the organizational structure of HEIs that define the parameters for the various processes that operate within the organization (organizational structure; of work; finance/budget model, etc.)

Definition: Organizational Features Organizational

features are also constrained by other forces in the larger environment of higher education institutions (policy, regulations, markets, quality assurance systems, etc.)

Organizational Features

Thus, we can consider both

Elements of the internal organizational structure of HEIs, and

Elements of the external environment of HEIs that constrain the internal organizational structure and operations of HEIs

What are these organization features

that may constrain research

development?Consider what makes the top HEIs produce?

The Top 11 HEIsUniversity 1994-

19981999-2003

2004-2008

Total

UP Diliman 216 368 555 1139

UP Los Baños 151 314 258 723

UP Manila 97 150 251 498

De La Salle University 44 98 246 388

University of Santo Tomas

28 48 130 206

Ateneo de Manila Univ 8 37 68 113

Central Luzon State Univ

9 21 42 72

Visayas State University

8 14 45 67

UP in the Visayas 8 19 35 62

University of San Carlos

2 26 32 60

MSU-Iligan Inst of Tech

14 7 31 52

Organizational features

Level of research activity existence of some viable

level of research activity and processes

higher ratio of faculty members with PhDs

we cannot start from zero BUT, most Philippines

HEIs are starting from zero

The Top 11 HEIsUniversity 1994-

19981999-2003

2004-2008

Total

UP Diliman 216 368 555 1139

UP Los Baños 151 314 258 723

UP Manila 97 150 251 498

De La Salle University 44 98 246 388

University of Santo Tomas

28 48 130 206

Ateneo de Manila Univ 8 37 68 113

Central Luzon State Univ

9 21 42 72

Visayas State University

8 14 45 67

UP in the Visayas 8 19 35 62

University of San Carlos

2 26 32 60

MSU-Iligan Inst of Tech

14 7 31 52

Organizational features

Work load of faculty members research requires devoting

substantial & sustained amounts of time to research activities

in most HEIs: 24 to 30 hours per week in the classroom, plus class preparation, marking papers, etc.

Faculty members job function is defined primarily in terms of the teaching function.

Organizational features

Work load of faculty members transitioning from pure

teaching to combined teaching and research functions is difficult to manage

incentives for faculty research not commensurate to difficulty in transition

Organizational features

Expectations that faculty members will

produce quality research does not

seem to be founded on a good

appreciation of the work conditions of faculty members.

University budget model

Most Philippine HEIs (private & public) need to maximize efficiency:

have as few faculty items handle as many full time student equivalents

faculty salaries contingent on being able to teach a number of paying students

freeing up faculty members from teaching requires getting money from other sources

University budget model

Private HEIs’ budgets depend on tuition

Supporting faculty time for research, funding actual research expenses, and providing incentives also need to be obtained from sources other than tuition

Public HEIs Faculty members also expected to

participate in income generating activities of the university

Fiscal realities of most HEIs require faculty members to be more active in non-research activities.

The organizational model of HEIs The mission & structure of most

HEIs are conceived in relation to the delivery of teaching services.

Leadership of HEIs address research development as an “add-on” to teaching.

Organizational elements of HEIs are designed to maximize efficiencies for teaching.

Research-related interventions are mostly ad hoc & auxiliary to teaching elements.

External Regulation of HEIs

Legal restrictions on how to increased revenues from tuition are used

CHED requirements that full time faculty members handle majority of mandated courses

CHED requirements related to work load of full time teaching staff

External Regulation: Minimal Standards

Organizational requirements for research : at least 2% of university budget for research

(varies depending on size of operations)existence of a research office and policies

Weak External Support for Research Development in HEIsSystem for research training is weakFaculty of HEIs do not have many

good and viable options for acquiring serviceable research skills

Most developed countries: Graduate education is the most effective approach for research training

Graduate Education in the Philippines

Large graduate education sector (w/annual graduates in the thousands)

High enrollment in non-research oriented disciplines (educational management; public administration)

Curriculum and instruction is not designed to develop high level research skills

Graduate faculty members are NOT researchers

Graduate Education in the Philippines Many student unable to

graduate / unable to complete thesis and dissertations

Most thesis/dissertations completed are “unpublishable”

PhD holders who are incapable of launching viable research programs

Current state of graduate education in the Philippine inadequate to support research training needs of HEIs

Post-Doctoral Research Training

Obtaining a PhD is not sufficient to establish productive research program

5 or more years of post-doctoral research is needed before a PhD holder can set a viable and sustainable research program

Most HEIs have no provisions for suchMost common alternative:Short-term capacity-building activitiesQuestionable efficacy??

External Sources of Research FundsTraditional external sources (in other

countries): Government

Well-defined priorities, limited funds Private (foundations, corporations,

development agencies) Priorities aligned with organizations’

missions and “self-interests” May not contribute to knowledge capital of

larger society May be augmented by strategic

partnerships

Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIs The process of research

development in HEIs is not a simple matter of defining targets on research and publications, funding research, and setting higher research-related standards

The process needs to be grounded on appropriately configured HEIs with capable faculty researchers operating in viable environments

Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIsIn addition to targets and

standards, the research development process should define the organization environment, research processes and mechanisms, and incentives that would support for faculty research

Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIs

HEIs should develop budget models and business models that are more appropriate for HEIs that do both teaching and research

Research faculty members should be given more time, space, and support sustained over long periods of time

Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIsInvest in high level research

training of faculty members?? Require higher standards

of existing graduate programs ??

Be selective in where faculty members are sent for graduate studies (consider foreign training)

Support post-doctoral research training

Building Castles in the Air…

If not:Most HEIs would NOT

be able to respond to challenges or research development

Most HEIs would NOT be able to absorb the research development interventions of CHED and other agencies

Building Castles in the Air…

We need to RETHINK the very nature of our universities and our faculty position, and consider major paradigm shifts in the process of research development in HEIs.

Building Castles in the Air?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING!

Allan B I BernardoDe La Salle University Philippines