Research University Vision in the Leadership Context: Insights from Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

This study examines the strategy and vision of Bahir Dar University (BDU), Ethiopia, of becoming a research university and the path towards realizing this vision within the context of the university’s leadership. The purpose of the study is to expand understanding of a strategic research university's vision and a path to becoming a research university in the context of Ethiopia. The study employed Bolman and Deal’s well-known four-frame model in organisational research — a leadership perspective that emphasises the importance of viewing organisational issues via four separate frames or ‘lenses’ (structural, human resource, political, and symbolic) — rather than focusing on a single perspective. Effective leaders should tailor their approach to the situation at hand. The study utilised a qualitative case study design. The collected data included institutional strategy documents and unstructured interviews. The participants included four top and 12 middle-level academic leaders.

A research university is defined as an institution that places a strong emphasis on research as a fundamental part of its mission and encompasses research centres, problem-solving research, research- led teaching, and postgraduate programmes. It is characterized by academic staff with strong research backgrounds, adequate infrastructure for quality teaching, research, and community services, and good governance. The institutional strategies indicated that research university vision holds three-fold significance for BDU, in leveraging the university’s competitive advantages, enhancing research performance, and contributing to national socio-economic development in Ethiopia.

The study revealed that the interviewed BDU leaders’s perceptions are aligned with all four leadership frames, indicating the presence of multiframing. From the structural frame's perspective, leaders perceived clarity and focus on strategic themes such as the expansion of postgraduate programmes, the initiation of a mega research approach (theme-based and multidisciplinary research projects, involving researchers from many study disciplines, female staff members, postgraduate students, and stakeholders), and the establishment of standardized laboratories and research centres. However, the research also identified structural challenges such as lack of full autonomy, bureaucracy, and inadequate incentive packages. The leadership perceptions that resort under the political frame are the mobilization of resources through internationalization and partnerships, the equitable distribution of budgets and resources, negotiation, and programme accreditation. Inadequate infrastructure and a limited research budget were identified as the major political frame- related challenges. From the perspective of the symbolic frame, the leadership perceptions are enhancing the research culture by organising forums, conferences, seminars, and incentives for publishing, in addition to sharing the university’s vision with the university community and external stakeholders. A significant challenge related to the symbolic frame was a poor research culture.

Along with the aforementioned internal challenges, external challenges such as lack of attention paid to research universities by the Ministry of Education, limited autonomy, socio-political instability, a high graduate unemployment rate, local businesses’ lack of interest in and capability to form partnership, competition for limited resources, and a foreign currency shortage were identified.

The study concludes that a research university, prioritizing research as a core mission, should have faculty with strong research credentials, excellent facilities for teaching, research, and community service, and good governance. The research university vision is crucial for leveraging competitive advantages, contributing to socio-economic development, and enhancing national and global visibility. The challenges identified in this study highlight the need to revisit Bolman and Deal’s frame model so that internal and external challenges can be addressed comprehensively as part of the organisation’s development.

The study recommends that higher education leaders should strive to create globally comparable research universities, share the vision with stakeholders, and establish attractive incentives for developing such institutions. The progress and impact of these measures should be evaluated, and based on the findings, further actions should be taken and strategies developed—informed by the four-frame leadership model—to address internal challenges. Likewise, discussions with authorities regarding university autonomy are necessary for managing external challenges.