Forskning i forandring: En analyse og fortolkning af forskningspolitikkens indflydelse på den offentlige forskning

The subject of this dissertation is the changes taking place in Danish research policy and the associated consequences for public research. The changes date back at least to the founding of the Polytechnic College in 1829 implying a focussing of public research on utilization. Over the years this focus has been sharpened as illustrated by the political initiatives of the last few years. The most salient example being the university reform of 2003 requiring university boards to have an external majority and chairman. Other examples are the laws of 1999 and 2004 which, respectively, made it possible for public research institutions to patent research results and found companies exploiting research results as well.

To examine this trend I pose the main question: How do the research policy changes affect the character of public research? Ideally the answer to this question, by contributing new knowledge to the issue, can qualify the discussions of the public and its representatives concerning research policy. To do so, the main question is organised into three more specified questions:

1. What is the background for the changing research policy?
2. How is the research policy changing?
3. How is public research changing?


In answering the first question, theoretical arguments for separating research and politics as well as theories about historical developments affecting research policy are examined (chapters three and four). The second question is addressed by analysing the existing research on research policy initiatives (chapter six). The third question is examined by analyzing publicly available statistics on research (chapter seven).The answering of these questions is guided primarily by the theories of Sheila Slaughter et al. (1999; 2004) and Michael Gibbons et al. (2004; 2007) respectively, to assess whether or not their expectations of specific changes in national research policies and public research are applicable in the case of Denmark. The theories are presented in chapter five. In chapter two the methodical choices and the choice of critical rationalism as theory of science is explained.

The conclusion presents an answer to the question of whether or not the theories of Slaughter et al. and Gibbons et al. can be applied to Danish research policy and whether these theories can be

substantiated in predicting commercial public research. Furthermore, the situation of academic freedom in public research institutions is also considered.

Ending the dissertation, the societal consequences of these changes are put into perspective and a compromise concerning the management of the universities is put forward.