Mergers between governmental research institutes and Universities in the Danish HE sector

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the mergers in the Danish Higher<br/>Education (HE)-sector with a particular emphasis on the 2007<br/>mergers involving universities and Government Research Institutes<br/>(GRIs). Furthermore, it follows the post-merger processes up to<br/>2014/2015 at two Danish universities and examines the<br/>consequences of the changes seen from the perspective of the<br/>key stakeholders, the university managements and the employees.<br/>It is shown that the two cases differ in important respects, but<br/>also that the three groups of actors within each case have<br/>different views of both the processes and the outcomes. Finally, it<br/>is shown that it makes a significant difference whether a federal<br/>or a unitary structure is implemented after the merger, although<br/>each solution has both strengths and weaknesses.<br/>