The dispersion of research performance within and between universities as a potential indicator of the competitive intensity in higher education systems

Abstract

Higher education systems in competitive environments generally present top universities, that are able to attract top scientists, top students and public and private financing, with notable socio-economic benefits in their region. The same does not hold true for non-competitive systems. In this study we will measure the dispersion of research performance within and between universities in the Italian university system, typically non-competitive. We will also investigate the level of correlation that occurs between performance in research and its dispersion in universities. The findings may represent a first benchmark for similar studies in other nations. Furthermore, they lead to policy indications, questioning the effectiveness of selective funding of universities based on national research assessment exercises. The field of observation is composed of all Italian universities active in the hard sciences. Research performance will be evaluated using a bibliometric approach, through publications indexed in the Web of Science between 2004 and 2008.

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• Allocative efficiency in public research funding:can bibliometrics help?
• National-scale research performance assessment at the individual level

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• The ratio of top scientists to the academic staff as an indicator of the competitive strength of universities
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• A methodology to measure the effectiveness of academic recruitment and turnover
• Variability of research performance across disciplines within universities in non-competitive higher education systems
• From rankings to funnel plots: the question of accounting for uncertainty when measuring university research performance
• The spin-off of elite universities in non-competitive, undifferentiated higher education systems: an empirical simulation in Italy
• Funnel plots for visualizing uncertainty in the research performance of institutions