DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AS A DRIVING FACTOR FOR ENHANCING THE UNIVERSITY EFFICIENCY

Abstract

The article seeks to search for new pathways to increase the performance efficiency of higher education institutions. In particular, it is argued that the key point in shaping a new role of universities in society, which assumes building a development strategy, is the idea of a "technological mode". The social innovation process paradigm is being realized through technological change accompanied by the emergence of products with new functional properties to meet new demands. The role of higher education institutions within a certain technological mode is not limited to traditional issues of workforce training for the economy, it should be also focused towards developing organizational and economic innovations to reduce the implementation cycle and building an innovation-driven management system in an organization. Modern universities not only maintain but also expand their role in the transition to the sixth technological mode of the economy, as they are viewed as the few institutional societal structures that are capable to build relevant competencies for a successive technological mode in the process of their educational, research and innovative activities. The paradigm to enhance the research potential of universities should rely upon a fundamentally new development strategy for higher education institutions which can ensure their active participation in the new technological mode on a regular, sustainable basis and thus realize the new role of universities in society. Insights into development strategies of domestic universities have revealed that on the whole they are quite typical consisting of following sections: general provisions, mission, strategic goal and objectives of university development, program activities and stages of their implementation, financial support for the program; expected outcomes and program implementation risks. The research findings on higher education practices in Ukraine demonstrate that they are based on competitive strategies which are viewed as a set of actions to meet the overall goals of HEIs with due regard to education and labour market demands. It is argued that a robust development strategy and its consistent implementation might become a driving factor to boost the efficiency of higher education institutions.