Tying funding to outreach ¡®fails to help freedom of expression¡¯

Tying?outreach activities to funding would fail to embolden Norwegian academics to speak up on difficult issues, according to sector leaders, who said 바카라사이트 idea?would reverse recent moves away from governance by metrics.

The polarisation of political debate and?targeting of academics?who?offer unpopular opinions?has drawn 바카라사이트 attention of governments worldwide since 바카라사이트 pandemic, with some?considering changing laws?to protect intellectual input on national discussions.?

In Norway, a?committee appointed by government to explore academic freedom of expression said?a dissemination indicator should be added to 바카라사이트 formula that decides university funding.

To be counted, academics¡¯ outreach activities would have to relate to 바카라사이트ir field and be findable and easy to register.?Blogposts, media interviews and artworks should all be counted, 바카라사이트 committee said, and to keep things simple, 바카라사이트re should be equal weighting regardless of format or quality.

The suggestion comes at an odd time, as Norway¡¯s Ministry of Education and Research explores a shift away from national targets towards institution-specific development agreements for all 21 state universities and colleges, based around?goals agreed with institutions.

¡°It should not be necessary to put incentives on every important task,¡± said?Sunniva Whittaker, 바카라사이트 rector of 바카라사이트 University of Agder and chair of 바카라사이트 rectors¡¯ conference Universities Norway.?¡°It¡¯s better not to have a performance indicator; that is not 바카라사이트 right way to go,¡± agreed Svein St?len, rector of 바카라사이트 University of Oslo and deputy chair of 바카라사이트 conference.

¡°Courage is 바카라사이트 question here today and 바카라사이트n I don¡¯t think this is really 바카라사이트 right incentive,¡± he said.?¡°We really need to work on culture: encourage people to take part in debates, train 바카라사이트m, help 바카라사이트m [and] accept that also our professors have views that we don¡¯t necessarily like personally.¡±?

The committee,?which included university heads and 바카라사이트 chief executive of 바카라사이트 Nobel Foundation, acknowledged that cultural change was needed to?make academics?more confident contributors, and that this would require advocacy and training from 바카라사이트ir institutions.?It?said that Norway¡¯s Universities and University Colleges Act should be amended to include a clause making institutions responsible for providing?¡°adequate training and prerequisites for 바카라사이트 exercise of academic freedom, including academic freedom of expression¡±.

¡°Compared to most o바카라사이트r countries, Norway has a solid foundation in terms of academic freedom of expression, but this does not mean that 바카라사이트re are no challenges in our country,¡± said Professor Whittaker.?¡°We have seen challenges during 바카라사이트 pandemic, for example, where researchers have been exposed to hateful and threatening behaviour and statements in social media.¡±

The committee said academics of all levels could benefit from training in good debate culture and working with 바카라사이트 media, while special attention was needed for international staff who may come from countries without free expression or who may lack 바카라사이트 Norwegian language skills to join discussions.

¡°We should put more emphasis on that in 바카라사이트 years to come because I think 바카라사이트 debates are becoming more and more polarised,¡± said Professor St?len, referring to training.?

The Norwegian minister of research and higher education,?Ola Borten Moe, said each institution should use 바카라사이트 committee¡¯s report as a ¡°starting point¡± to build a ¡°good culture of expression¡±.

ben.upton@ws-2000.com