This 2022 DIT platform policy brief examines why engaged scholarship, research and education that involves stakeholders to tackle societal challenges, struggles to take root at Erasmus University Rotterdam, despite the university’s “positive societal impact” mission. Based on 32 interviews with EUR researchers and support staff, the brief identifies obstacles at three levels.
At the individual level, scholars lack certain skills (like stakeholder engagement) and face inherent risks, such as depending on stakeholder cooperation or facing publication constraints.
At the EUR level, obstacles include insufficient time for engagement work, lack of appreciation and reward in career evaluations, weak career prospects tied to traditional metrics, insufficient support from deans and the executive board, and support services (HR, IT, communications) not designed for engaged scholarship’s needs.
At the broader academic system level, international competition, reliance on quantitative metrics like H-index scores, and rigid disciplinary norms all undervalue engagement work, even affecting scholars’ prospects at other universities.
The brief closes with four policy recommendations for EUR decisionmakers: build a shared, ongoing understanding of the university’s societal role, create supportive spaces and communities for engaged scholars, rethink rigid job profiles and career paths, and critically question how “impact” and “engagement” get measured, cautioning against reducing them to box-ticking exercises.
