The core task of universities is to conduct research and provide research-based education of high international quality. The University Act of 2003 further emphasised that universities must actively disseminate and exchange knowledge and competencies through collaboration with public and private companies. At the same time, universities must support and challenge society's cultural values and contribute to a free, informed and critical public debate.
The university sector is complex and extensive. Each year, the eight Danish universities manage DKK 30 billion, employ 33.500 staff, enrol 150.500 students and collaborate with a wide range of national and international companies and research institutions. The sector's governance and funding structure must therefore balance many considerations in the short and long term.
In the project Universities for the future, DFiR has examined the sector's current governance and financing structure and makes recommendations on how the governance and financing structure can be strengthened going forward. DFiR assesses that the University Act of 2003 has been a success in terms of strengthening the universities' relations with the outside world, but that during the same period, significant challenges have arisen in relation to the internal governance and management of the universities. This applies to the universities' democratic culture and freedom of research. DFiR believes that part of the solution to this challenge is to increase the university management's focus on employee involvement, co-determination, security and freedom of research, and to ensure the universities real autonomy and financial robustness.
DFiR's summary, conclusions and recommendations based on the work with the project in 2022 and 2023 are summarised in the report "Universities for the future: Twenty years of the University Act".
Background analyses
Questionnaire surveys - researchers and heads of department
Based on a literature study and stakeholder interviews, DFiR has developed and conducted two surveys. The first was sent to 11,069 researchers, including assistant professors and researchers, associate professors and senior researchers, professors, clinical associate professors and clinical professors at all 8 universities in Denmark in mid-December 2022. Contact information for the individual employees was provided by each university. The survey was closed at the beginning of February 2023, and (including partial responses), the response rate was 35 percent. In the questionnaire, researchers were asked about their involvement in and barriers to university and department management decisions, their perception of research freedom and limitations, their research funding and time use, and the extent of and barriers to their knowledge exchange activities. The analyses in the main report only include weighted responses from assistant professors, associate professors and professors who are affiliated with a department at one of Denmark's eight universities.
The second survey was conducted in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. It included 146 heads of department at all 8 universities in Denmark. Contact information for each employee was provided by each university. The questionnaire was sent out at the end of December 2022 and closed at the beginning of February 2023. The response rate was 80 per cent, including partial responses. The heads of department were asked about their background, motivation for applying for the position and career considerations, their focus as leaders and approach to employee involvement, limitations in their strategic and financial room for manoeuvre, and their handling of external competitive research funding. The unweighted results for all respondents and questions, as well as the exact wording of the questions, can be found in the background report "Universities for the future - survey results".
- Read the background report: Universities for the future - survey results (only accessible in Danish)
Stakeholder interviews
During 2022, DFiR carried out 21 stakeholder interviews with representatives from 1) members of the Danish Parliament, 2) external board members, 3) rectors, 4) heads of department, 5) academic staff and their interest groups, 6) private and public research funding bodies, and 7) relevant parties from the private sector. The conversations covered several topics, including global future challenges for the sector, universities as cultural institutions, good governance and research funding principles, external collaboration with private and public companies and organisations, and competition and collaboration across the university sector. Selected quotes from the interviews have been compiled into a book.
Conference on Universities for the future
DFiR's annual conference on 2 November 2022 was titled Universities for the Future. The conference addressed the sector's future global challenges, employee involvement within the existing governance and funding structure, the university as a cultural institution and researchers' engagement in public debate and knowledge exchange with the business community. It was recognised that the University Act in itself is not a barrier to good governance and that good governance is already practised in many places. However, the law does not contain strong mechanisms that oblige management and the board to ensure employee involvement and co-determination.
DFiR briefs
In relation to the project, DFiR has published two briefs. They are both in Danish.