The management and performance of research groups

In 2007, the Rathenau Institute conducted a survey among managers in the health research sector in the Netherlands. This enabled the following questions to be answered:

• What changes have taken place in the organization and management of academic research groups in recent years, and how have these changes affected performance?
• What are the differences – in terms of organization and management – between the 'excellent' academic research groups and their ´good' counterparts?
• What is the social and societal orientation of the research groups, and is there any relationship between scientific performance and social performance?

This project is a replication and expansion of a 2002 research project examining the organization, management and performance of research groups in (bio)medicine. (Van der Weijden, 2007 & Van der Weijden et al., 2008). The original project was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and VU University Amsterdam.

The project's final report was published in 2009 (Report no. 0913). In early 2010, the results were presented to various research and policy-making organizations. The Rathenau Institute's research into the management and performance of research groups is to be continued. In mid-2010, a further questionnaire-based survey (the third of its kind) will be held among research managers. We shall also commence a detailed study of leadership and its effect on research group performance.