Incentivising engagement in a “publish or perish” culture
Despite growing recognition of the importance of university engagement and impact, the incentives that shape academic behaviour remain largely unchanged. It is a sad reality that universities still operate in a global system that rewards research publications, far more than teaching, collaboration or impact on the local community. As a result, academics may feel discouraged from dedicating time and effort to external engagement, knowing it may not advance their careers.
This misalignment was a recurring theme at the 2025 UIIN Conference. If we want more impact, speakers argued, we must incentivise those who are doing the impacting.
De-risking engagement
One idea for incentivising engagement that was brought up by delegates was the “Right to Return” – an institutional policy that allows academics who leave to pursue spin-outs to return to their university position if the venture fails. It’s a bold move that de-risks entrepreneurial experimentation and encourages academics to explore innovation and valorisation without being concerned about their job security. Delegates noted that this institutional support could help shift the culture from “publish or perish” to “explore and engage”.
Another structural incentive, mentioned by company 3M, is “15% time”, where employees can use 15% of their time at work to explore projects outside of their job description. This initiative originated with Richard Drew, who, upon noticing difficulties customers had with painting two-tone cars, informally experimented with company resources and independently created masking tape, now a celebrated 3M product. The 15% policy encourages both individual creativity and collaboration across teams, as employees are free to help colleagues without formal permission. While difficult to measure, the policy is widely credited for seeding many of 3M’s innovations, and its cultural value continues to be affirmed by leadership.
Everyday recognition changes behaviour
Culture is built in the small things: a shared coffee machine, a celebration of failure, a newsletter that actually reaches people. Incentives don’t have to be grand; in fact, even small, embedded rituals can light the fires of a strong engagement culture. Examples mentioned across the conference included:
- Institutional innovation awards.
- Shared equipment.
- Newsletters highlighting impactful work.
- Public celebrations of engagement achievements (e.g., storytelling events and showcases such as the Research Creations Showcase at Western Sydney University).
- Peer-recognition mechanisms within departments.
Even when a university’s focus (and funding) leans heavily toward rankings, these kinds of small, low-cost gestures are still within reach, and they can go a long way in building an engagement culture.
Tailored support for different career stages
Incentives should also be tailored by career stage and role; what works for a PhD student may not work for a mid-career researcher or a department head. Support for staff in creating an engagement culture should include:
- Mentorship (including reverse mentorship, and peer mentorship).
- Modular and personalised training.
- Safe environments to test new ideas (pitching, co-creation sessions).
- Coaching and emotional support, especially for the identity shift that occurs when moving from academic to academic entrepreneur.
Rethinking promotion and progression
Traditional academic promotion and hiring criteria place an overwhelming emphasis on research output and publication over other responsibilities. Incentivising engagement, therefore calls for a revision of this criteria. Examples like Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) show that reform is possible.
TU/e’s framework supports diverse career pathways that value contributions across education, research and societal impact. Instead of requiring extensive publication lists, their academics are asked to share five significant accomplishments, encouraging a more holistic view of academic achievements. On top of this, the university offers specialised training opportunities to further support its academics’ career development in areas like challenge-based learning and partnership development.
Developing metrics for the impact on student learning, ecosystem and community contribution and institutional reputation are also key to this transformation. At present, it is far easier to measure grant income, citations and publications. And because these outputs are visible and quantifiable, they end up being the ones, over and over, that get recognised and rewarded. This is the case externally, through global university rankings, and thus within the institutions themselves as well.[1]
By practically valuing engagement activities, universities can encourage their academics to participate in these activities, without sacrificing their career advancement opportunities, and in fact, be rewarded for their efforts.
The elephant in the room: global rankings
As discussed, such incentivisation at individual universities is an uphill battle when global ranking frameworks draw so heavily on research publication data, often undermining the importance of engagement at the global scale.
Engagement, community contribution, and societal impact are rarely taken into account with these metrics, with the notable exception of THE’s Impact Rankings, launched in 2019, which focuses on universities’ efforts and performance in addressing global challenges and advancing progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2023 Utrecht University (UU) made the decision to step away from rankings altogether[2], advocating for a different approach to recognising and rewarding academic work. The university expressed that the rankings put too much emphasis on placement and competition, whilst they want to focus their commitments on collaboration and open science.
We need to reward the work that matters, not just what’s traditionally measured.
We therefore for call upon global ranking systems to evolve; to broaden their metrics to reflect the full scope of academic value creation, not only research output, but societal engagement, teaching innovation, and collaborative impact. If rankings continue to ignore these dimensions, they risk distorting institutional priorities and undervaluing the important work which underpins the relevance of universities in the 21st century.
Despite the difficulties, trailblazing universities such as TU/e and UU are finding ways to reward their staff and push forward engagement and impact, setting a strong example for the global academic community.
If we want impact, we must reward it
Throughout the conference, there was a strong message: impact and engagement are not afterthoughts or add-ons to academic work – they are central to the university’s mission. Without appropriate incentives, many academics feel that they don’t have the time, space or recognition to engage in these activities. This mismatch should be addressed structurally at the institutional level through recognition in promotional criteria, protected time for engagement activities, training and support and visible recognition.
Incentives are not just shiny carrots to encourage academics to refocus their efforts; they are safety nets that signal institutional belief in engagement and academic entrepreneurship, encouraging academics to explore.
References
[1] Finding Equilibrium: Two Economists on Higher Ed’s Future (2024). Incentives and the Skills Gap: Motivating Faculty and Universities to Do Better.
[2] Utrecht University (2023). Why UU is missing in the THE ranking.
Ready for more?
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has pioneered an innovative approach that celebrates diverse academic profiles and fosters a more inclusive professional growth environment for educators. In our article, The recognition and rewards framework at Eindhoven University of Technology, you can learn more about their framework and how it provides a coherent structure supporting diverse career paths that value quality contributions across education, research, and societal impact.
This article is part of a series of hot topics from the UIIN Conference. Stay tuned for articles on innovative approaches to student entrepreneurship, the power of storytelling and the deepening regional role of universities.
Tasha Day (author) is a Project Officer at UIIN, where she undertakes research activities and creates content on a wide variety of topics including entrepreneurship education, sustainability and research valorisation.
