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Key Problems in Organizing and Structuring University Research in Vietnam: The Lack of an Effective Research “Behaviour Formalization” System

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Abstract

Structure and organization seems to be at the root of many of the questions raised about institutional behaviour; however, with respect to research on university capacity building, few studies have examined research organizational problems, particularly in developing countries. This study investigates academic reactions to the structure and organization of research at four leading Vietnamese universities. Through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 55 participants, the study finds that the four case-study Vietnamese universities have accomplished a number of the more visible tasks of research management such as creating research and research management positions; deciding primary organizational units for research delivery; creating a research office; and creating research oversight committees. However, they seem to neglect the other less visible tasks of organizing and structuring research such as developing rules for research integrity; developing a mechanism for evaluating the quality of research outcomes; preparing researchers and research managers for the necessary skills and knowledge; and deciding vertical and horizontal decentralization. The study concludes that even though research has been formally structured and organized, the management of research has not yet been professionalized. The key problem in organizing and structuring research is the lack of an effective system for research behaviour formalization. A more effective system for better formalizing research behaviours should be developed so that Vietnamese universities can integrate more successfully into the global research.

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Notes

  1. The key characteristic of this policy is the transition from a centralized planned economy heavily based on imports to a market-oriented one.

  2. In the US, for example, these full-time research positions may be classified into Research Assistant Professor (Associate Research Scientist or Assistant Researcher); Research Associate Professor (Research Associate or Research Scientist); Research Professor (Senior Research Associate or Senior Research Scientist).

  3. Recently, some governments have developed national, research-quality frameworks that serve a number of purposes but, most importantly, they provide consistent and comprehensive approaches to assessing the quality and impact of research activities in universities, particularly publicly funded research, e.g., the British Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and its successor the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the Australian Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), the New Zealand Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF), and the South African National Research Foundation’s researcher rating system.

  4. Each university was expected to specify the University Regulations’ general national-level regulation at an institutional level. However, regarding the research office’s role, only two of the four universities issued the so-called ‘Quy chế hoạt động khoa học và công nghệ’ (Regulations for Operating Science and Technology Activities).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Mail H23, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia

    Huong Thi Lan Nguyen

  2. Melbourne CSHE, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Vincent Lynn Meek

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Nguyen, H.T.L., Meek, V.L. Key Problems in Organizing and Structuring University Research in Vietnam: The Lack of an Effective Research “Behaviour Formalization” System. Minerva 54, 45–73 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-016-9289-6

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