Structures, mechanisms and consequences of Europeanization in research: how European funding affects universities

Abstract

European integration in research funding can be interpreted as a complex, conflict-ridden historical process containing paradigmatic shifts in cultural values and political goals. One of these transformations entails a change of objectives from promoting transnational cooperation of research institutions towards fostering the ‘scientific excellence’ of individual researchers. Institutionally, this is mirrored in the establishment of a genuinely supranational funding organization, the European Research Council (ERC). Led by a Mertonian sociological framework, the paper presents the results of an empirical study on the impact of the ERC’s funding upon public universities from the perspective of researcher’s vis-à-vis their institutions. Findings comprise conditions and contexts, action strategies and consequences of the Europeanization of universities, such as country- and discipline-specific pathways, the re-distribution of tasks and resources in market-based university competition, effects on researchers’ scientific careers and mobility, and the impact of funding on the disciplines and knowledge content.