Public communication of research universities ‘arms race’ for visibility or science substance?

This book analyses communication of university research institutes, with a focus on science communication. Advancing the ‘decentralisation hypothesis’, it asserts that communication structures are increasingly built also at ‘subordinate unit’ levels of research universities. The book presents a cross-country systematic comparison of institutes’ communication activities showing ongoing transformations in their communication capabilities and practices. It considers a potential ‘arms race’ in activities, professionalisation, motivations, and evaluation. Based on empirical evidence from an international study carried out in various countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the book examines the possibilities for civic science communication in this new context.