Identifying Innovation Leverage in the University of Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia has been looking for a way to improve its current policy applied for higher education institutions, which puts more weight on increasing publications in order to be able to survive in the future. They need to change their practices and behaviors in order to prepare for these future scenarios. One way to do it is by studying directly about the practices done at universities which become sources of innovation. This study is aimed at identifying the sources of innovation variables that have the highest leverage on research social innovation production. The study used a postpositivism paradigm by collecting 117 questionnaires and interviewing 24 informants from the University of Indonesia (UI). A system dynamic was used for simulation through Vensin PLE. The highest leverage to increase the number of publications, but not the patents and social innovations, came from a production loop consisting of UI research grants and rewards. However, the research rewards and grants cannot improve creativity and the innovation ecosystem. The University reward structure which put more weight on research publication output and ignore innovation ecosystem degrades the production of patent, social innovation as well as the teaching quality. Therefore, to set the priority of research publicity in the university the management of the university should not ignore the teaching and innovation practices.