Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

The organization and financing of research 785
c. Being able to enter into consortia arrangements with other organizations in
their own and other countries - for rarely wil all the resources required be
found within the boundaries of one organization.
14. Institutes with some Type c properties exist in all countries where the
social sciences are at all developed. They are being asked for in countries where
they are not (such as Equador). Yet nowhere are they fully developed. Some of
the social science sections of the Academies of Sciences in Eastern Europe
would appear to constitute one of the most advanced versions. They express a
C-B combination, which may be an innovation of wide import. Rand-type
centres in the us constitute another innovation, with a C-A combination.
Organizations such as INSEE and INED in France are centred on c but include B
as well as A. They have been learning how to manage this range. The main
institutes in India and some of those in Latin America are similar in form. An
independent Type c institute in Britain, such as the Tavistock, finds itself pulled
too far in the A direction. This is not simply for financial reasons. lt is fre-
quently difficult to know beforehand how far Type A projects may develop Type
c properties more critical for the advance of social science than conventional
projects which start as Type c activities. University institutes are apt to be
pulled too far in the B direction. An incompatibility exists between the research/
teaching and the research/application mix unless teaching can he integrated
into on-going programmes. Commitment to long-range, high risk, scientific
missions and complying with regulations surrounding degrees do not harmonize
unless special provisions are instituted.
15. Yet when it comes to adding to a basic academic competence effective
training not only in research operations but in taking responsibility in the field,
a large number of research workers in their immediate post-doctoral years and
a proportion of those also in pre-doctoral programmes need to pursue their
studies in centres of this type (especially CI and cz). A minimum number of
such centres is necessary for developing a country’s social science capability.
16. Customarily, Type c institutes undertake a mixture of contract and grant-
aided work supported by a variety of public and private sources. To be effec-
tive, they require financial stability. They need a measure of basic support over
and above that provided by ordinary research grants or contract fees. Because
of their innovative character and their responsibility for advanced training they
incur high costs. They pose awkward problems to grant-giving bodies. Private
universities can nourish them from their internal funds. Research councils and
foundations are apt, at times mistakenly, to stop short of providing institutional
support. Recognition of the need to provide such support is growing.3’
17. To use their ‘requisite variety’, Type c institutes need to be of consider-
able, though not necessarily vast, size. A research staff of thirty-five would
appear to constitute a balanced number for a small institute. Another critical
point is reached with a staff level of sixty to seventy. This enables a number of
project teams of varying sizes and complexions simultaneously to pursue a
range of problems each of which has bearings on the others. Under such condi-
tions sufficient resources are available to concentrate forces on critical issues ;
to re-deploy as new avenues open up without undoing ongoing work; and to