What is your contribution to the funder’s strategy?
| Pages | 146-153 |
| Date | 11 June 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-10-2017-0112 |
| Published date | 11 June 2018 |
| Author | Simone Fuehles-Ubach |
What is your contribution to the
funder’s strategy?
Simone Fuehles-Ubach
Technische Hochschule, Koln, Germany
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe the different positions and roles that German research
libraries may have in their funding organizations: center or periphery, making a change with respect to the
overall strategy or having just a strategy of their own; having strong communication links to the top
management or just to their users.
Design/methodology/approach –Since 2008, the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame
Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK)) in Germany deals with all questions of research funding, science and
research policy strategies and the science system which jointly affect the Federal Government and the Länder.
For the big four German national research societies (Max-Planck, Helmhold, Fraunhofer, Leibnitz), the GWK
formulated a set of performance indicators that are used to compare the different societies in a monitoring
report published every year. Interestingly, there are several aspects affecting the libraries and their services
and products, but the performance of the libraries (approximately 200) is not clearly mentioned.
Findings –An exemplary matrix is developed that can be adapted by all research libraries to show to which
extent the research library is able to support and influence the level of different performance indicators and
thereby to contribute to the overall goal of the organization. A graduated traffic light system is used to
highlight which contributions in which areas can be expected from the research library.
Research limitations/implications –Research libraries are usually quite different from each other and
there are not many tools to compare their contributions and to show their performance to the management
level. In this paper, a method to show the influence and impact in the German research context is used, which
may not be applicable to other countries with other research structures.
Practical implications –The paper identifies the importance of playing an essential role in the fulfillment
of the overall strategic goals of the funding organization, especially for research libraries as there are usually
special metrics to compare the big scientific research organizations in Germany.
Social implications –It is shown that there are simple ways to derive strategic goals and key figures and
translate them into a benchmark and even use existing reports and systems.
Originality/value –The value of research libraries has usually been seen as supporting the research
process for the users in the best possible way. As more competition arises between different research
institutions or societies, the role of the library with respect to the contribution to the stakeholder’s strategy
opens up another perspective.
Keywords Performance indicators, Management, Research libraries, Library strategy,
Corporate objectives, Funding organization
Paper type Research paper
Which role a library plays when it comes to a critical reflection of the overarching goals of
an institution? Are they center or periphery? From which criteria can we derive this?
Looking at long-term plans and actions, the strategy of an institution comes in very quickly.
The word “strategy”originates from the military context and meant the art of leadership of
armed forces during the war (Raps, 2009). Today, the word strategy is used in very different
settings and often relating to economics or finance, although it emerged only in the 1960s as
a field of study and practice in business administration (Kiechel, 2010). In these days,
strategy was defined by “the determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and
the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out
Library Management
Vol. 39 No. 3/4, 2018
pp. 146-153
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-10-2017-0112
Received 18 October 2017
Revised 28 November 2017
Accepted 1 December 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
This paper forms part of a special section: “Communicating value and leadership: from strategic to
micro assessment”: papers from the 12th International Conference on Performance Measurement in
Libraries, July 31-August 2, 2017, Oxford, UK. Guest Edited by Professor Judith Broady-Preston
(Aberystwyth University) and Dr Frankie Wilson (Bodleian Library).
146
LM
39,3/4
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting