Universities and Economic Development: Sub-Saharan Africa and the Nordic Countries

Peter MaassenMPhil HE, HEM 4100, unit 324 September 2010

Starting point:

Why are the Nordic universities (and economies) performing so well?

Why are the African universities (and economies) lagging behind?

Paper not about contributions to economic development per se, but about conditions under which universities operate

Higher Education and Development

OECD countries and emerging economies:

’knowledge economy’ development strategies and ideologies.

Strong political focus on the knowledge triangle, linking research,(higher) education and innovation.

Consequence:HE central in research excellence policies, as well as neweducation & training policies

Higher Education and Development Cooperation

Development cooperation from individual support to public global goods, especially security, environment, knowledge, food, and health care

Emphasis on health care, food, and recently security and environment. Missing link: KNOWLEDGE

What are the consequences of this for the university and its role in development in Sub-Saharan Africa?

“The university must become a primary tool for Africa’s development in the new century. Universities can help develop African expertise; they can enhance the analysis of African problems; strengthen domestic institutions; serve as a model environment for the practice of good governance, conflict resolution and respect for human rights, and enable African academics to play an active part in the global community of scholars”. (Kofi Annan, in Bloom et al, 2005)

Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA)

Aim:Building an expertise Network for

contributing to knowledge production and capacity building on Higher Education

in Africa

Initial project:

Analyse actual and intended investments of ‘Northern’ donors in HE projects in developing countries

Report:http://www.chet.org.za/papers/bilateral-country-investments-and-foundations-partnership-projects-support-higher-education-a

Three HERANA components:

1. Education and Training2. Advocacy 3. Research

1. Education and Training

Aim:

African experts on HE that are globally well-connected

Activity:Joint NOMA-funded Master programme in HE studies (UiO, UWC, Makerere University)

Intention:PhD level cooperation between UiO and UWC

2. Advocacy

Components:- University World News

(http://www.universityworldnews.com/index.php?page=Africa_Edition)

- Publications (http://www.chet.org.za/programmes/herana/ )

- Seminars- HERANA Gateway (http://www.herana-gateway.org/)

Funding: Partnership for HE in Africa (PHEA)

3. Research

Three HERANA Research Projects:

Higher Education and Democratic Development

Higher Education and Economic Development

Knowledge Use in Higher Education Policy-making

HERANA Research Project:

Higher Education and Economic Development

Two overall aimsMacro level: To explore the relationship between economic

development policy, and higher education policies

Meso/micro level: To understand the ways in which selected universities in Africa are responding to calls for a stronger

engagement with the socio- economic development of their country and surrounding regions.

Higher Education and Economic Development

Two alternative analytical frameworks:

Narrow economic growth approach

Broad interpretation of economic development approach, linked to access of citizens to basic public goods, such as health care, food, education, work/labour market (Based aot Amartya Sen’s work)

Methodology

Good case approach: OECD countries successfully linking HE and economic development (Finland, North Carolina, S. Korea)Interviews, document analysis and statistics

National economic policy and HE system development in 8 African countriesInterviews, document analysis (and statistics)

University responses in 8 African countries to call for stronger engagement in economic developmentInterviews, document analysis and institutional data

What the project is not doing

Studying the effects of individual development projectsReviewing the number of donor projectsExamining the overall contribution of each external donor

to university developmentAsserting that the primary role for HE is development

Actors and relationships which impact on the ‘pact’

National stakeholders(ministries, government, government agencies, employer organisations)

External agencies(foreign donors, academic

networks, research councils, industry)

Institutional stakeholders

THE PACTNotions of

developmentNotions of role and

value of higher education

THE PACTNotions of

developmentNotions of role and

value of higher education

Actors and relationships with impact on the pact

Four roles for higher education in development

Four visions on the role of HE in development:

• Traditional Development (TD): Higher education as producer of ‘national person power’ (mainly civil service)

• Institutional (I): The university as a self-governing institution• New Instrumental (NI): Higher education as a producer of skilled

professionals (particularly doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, agricultural specialists) and meeting and responding to ‘community’ needs

• Engine of Development (ED): The university as the electricity of development in the new knowledge economy

Institutionalisation and academic core / periphery

Extended Periphery

Lifelong learning, technology transfers,

contract/applied research, special

projects, etc.

Extended Periphery

Lifelong learning, technology transfers,

contract/applied research, special

projects, etc.Coupling (tight/loose)

Degree of institutionalisation of ‘third-mission’ of economic development

Academic core

Degree programmesBasic research

Academic core

Degree programmesBasic research

Institutionalisation and academic core/periphery

Nordic Region

1. Four main countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden2. Small Region in population: 25 million inhabitants; large in size3. Integrated Region: politically, economically (incl. labour market),

socially, culturally/scientifically (incl. HE & Research)4. Successful Region:

a) Combined GDP: 6-8th in the worldb) Leading major global rankings/indexes: Innovation; Globalisation; Social inclusion; Living conditions; Environmental sustainability, etc.c) Effective HE & Research systems: Participation rates; Research

output, Research impact; Rankings; FP7/ERC, NSF/NIH

Nordic Region

Nordic HEIs and their Performance

HEIs:7 (No) + 8 (DK) + 20 (Fi) + 16 (Swe) = 51 universities8 (DK) + 5 (Swe) + 28 (Swe) + 31 (Fi) + 23 (No) + 8 (No) = 102 colleges

“Shanghai ranking”:7 Nordic universities in top 100; (24 in top 500)

European Research Council (ERC), first three rounds:Nordic researchers: 80 Grants (= 9%) FP7 Cooperation:At least 1 Nordic partner in almost 50% of all selected projects

Research Production/Impact: all Nordic countries among most productive and highest impact countries

African case studies (HERANA project)

Botswana: University of Botswana Ghana: University of Ghana Kenya: University of Nairobi Mauritius: University of Mauritius Mozambique: Eduardo Mondlane University South Africa: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Tanzania: University of Dar es Salaam Uganda: Makerere University

Analytical framework:

Three inter-related factors

The nature of the pact between the universities, political authorities and society at large.

The nature, size and continuity of the university’s academic core.

The nature, management, size and institutionalisation of externally-funded projects at universities.

Pact between university and society

Definition:

A ‘pact’ can be defined as a fairly long-term cultural, socio-economic and political understanding and commitment between universities, political authorities and society at large of the identity or vision of universities, what is expected of universities, and what the rules and values of the universities are.

Indicators include:1. The nature of the national development framework. 2. Role of the Ministry of Education.3. Funding consistency

Pact: findings

Nordic countries

Overall: strong pact between university and society

Result: strongly institutionalised environment for the universities

Characteristics:

relatively high level of mutual trust; consistent high level of public

funding; growing strategic capacity of universities

Variety in national development strategies and role/nature of

Ministries responsible for universities

Pact: findings

African countries

Overall: weak pact between university and society

Result: weakly institutionalised environment for the universities

Characteristics:

low level of mutual trust; inconsistent and low level of public

funding; no strategic capacity of universities, weak Ministries of

Education

Variety in national development strategies

Indicators wrt strength of academic core 1. Ratio of undergraduate to postgraduate enrolments (2000 and 2007)2. Ratio of student enrolments across broad fields of study (SET, Arts & Humanities, Commerce) (2000 and 2007)3. Masters and doctoral level graduation rates 4. Ratio of academic staff to students (2000 and 2007)5. Percentage of academic staff with PhD degrees6. Research output in terms of staff publications (ISI)7. Institutional contribution to research funding as percentage of the total institutional budget (2000 and 2007)8. Proportion of funding from government agencies (e.g. research council or national commission) (2000 and 2007)

Academic core: findings In African universities: Undergraduate enrolment 80-90% of total enrolment. Postgraduate enrolment growing more rapidly than undergraduate. Overall enrolment growth in Science & Technology Postgraduate graduation rates very low Academic publication output almost negligible

In Nordic universities: Undergraduate enrolment 30-50% of total enrolment Postgraduate enrolment growing more rapidly than undergraduate. Relatively decline in Science & Technology enrolments Postgraduate graduation rates relatively high Academic publication output high

UniversityTotal number of articles (2007)

University of Botswana 126

University of Dar es Salaam 70

University of Nairobi 136

University of Ghana 101

University of Mauritius 26

Makerere University 233

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (SA) 94

University of Oslo 3,483

University of Helsinki 4,001

University of Copenhagen 3,894 (in 2005)

Number of articles in refereed academic journals (2007) for selected universities

Indicators wrt institutionalisation of externally funded projects

1. Sustainability2. Capacity building3. Relationship to academic core

Externally funded projects: findings

Nordic countries:Main external funder: national Research Council & EU/FP7Driven by academic excellence, and strategic, national priorities. Part of pact between university and society at large

Contributes to:Increased academic outputQuality of research (through competition)Capacity building in academic coreDevelopment of dynamic centres of excellence

Externally funded projects: findings

African countries:Main external funder: development aid (donor) agenciesDriven by poverty reduction and community developmentFunding based on development aid programme/agenda in home country

Contributes to:Decreased academic outputNegligence of researchLack of sustainability (projectization)Decreased capacity in academic coreKeeping ‘pockets of excellence’ in a niche

Conclusions

1. Pact African universities operate in a development vacuum with a weak Education Ministry with limited funds, and strong sector Ministries with no funds

Variety wrt Nordic universities: from operating in a strong explicit national development framework to operating in a development vacuum. Overall consistent high level of public funding.

Conclusions

2. Academic core African universities are dynamic: e.g. growth in postgraduate enrolment; growth in S&T students.Lagging behind in postgraduate enrolment and graduation; and especially in research output.

Nordic universities dynamic: e.g. growth in postgraduate graduation rates and academic output

Conclusions

3. External funders Development agencies have a negative impact on African universities in the sense that they reduce the capacity of African universities to (further) develop their academic core.

No link between investments of developing agencies in African universities and the foundations under the pact between universities and society in their home country

The end