How to Cite
Abstract
The subject of the article are bridge organisations (also alled buffer bodies, mediatory institutions) and their special form, so-called research councils, also called foundations, agencies, etc. The term bridge body is applied to formally constituted organisations situated between government institutions (e.g. the minister of higher education or minister of science) and organisations operating in a given sphere (e.g. colleges and universities or research organisations), which allocate government funds for basic and strategic research (i.e. means that are not channelled directly to universities) and which give a role to the research community in the allocation of funds. The author describes the characteristics of bridge bodies and research councils, the roles they perform and the differences between these institutions. Two basic theoretical approaches are discussed that elucidate the relations of research councils with the government on the one hand and with the academic community on the other (the research council as the parliament of science and the council as agent-principal). The final section of the paper discusses current tendencies of changes concerning the place and significance of research councils in the world and against the background of the role of the Committee for Scientific Research in Poland.
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