New approaches for the strategic management of R&D and innovation in universities

The challenges imposed by the globalization of the economy and the need to respond to societal demands in economic crisis are pushing public universities to redefine their institutional strategies. The joint definition of education, research and innovation strategies in the framework of the "knowledge triangle" is constrained by the fragmentation of internal governance schemes and the excessive homogenization of objectives, instruments and evaluation procedures. Unfortunately, the diversity of Universities is not being well supported by public administrations; its consequence is a limited support in the definition of institutional strategies. The article describes the desirable context to define an integrated strategy in the framework of ERA and EHEA and the modernization process of European Universities promoted by the EU. Within this context, policies for attracting researchers, infrastructures, or alliances with other entities should be integrated and supported through the specific internal rules and procedures which are necessary. To do that, it is necessary a different governance structure to allocate resources by combining bottom-up actions defined by individual faculty members and top-down actions promoted by the University. Finally, the case of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) is presented.The institutional strategies to redefine its priorities in some areas like Biomedical Technology are described to explain the consequences on the structure, human resources and governance. Explicitly, the role played by the Scientific and Technological Park and the Program of Campus of Excellence in the framework of the BioTech-UPM Initiative is presented.