Third mission potential in higher education: measuring the regional focus of different types of HEIs

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are considered to be key actors in regional innovation systems. The traditional missions of HEIs comprise (1) the generation and accumulation of academic knowledge, and (2) the diffusion of knowledge via academic education. More recently, attention has also been drawn to the regional development role of HEI activities: their “third mission”. As studies have pointed out, the success of HEI’s knowledge transfer is geographically unevenly distributed, with some regions being able to profit from knowledge transfer more effectively than others. The research aim of this article is therefore to analyse an important factor of influence on the success of knowledge transfer: the ‘fit’ between HEI and region. A close correlation between HEI’s focus on education and research on the one hand and regional economic structure on the other hand might indicate a higher potential for the HEI’s regional engagement and third mission activities. An examination of the twofold structure of the higher education system in Germany reveals that universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) are generally considered to obtain a higher focus on vocational orientated education and applied research, whereas universities (Universitaten) have a higher focus on basic research. On this basis, one might expect structural differences between the types of HEIs in the HEI-region fit, concluding in differing potential for success in third mission activities. The following article confirms this assumption and suggests that universities of applied sciences fit in better with their surrounding region and hence have a higher potential to fulfil the tasks of the third mission regarding regional knowledge transfer via heads.