Abstract

At a time of complex change in the provision of higher education by Institutes of Technology (IOTs)
in Ireland, this qualitative study provides significant insights into the factors which have
impact on academic creativity and innovation inside higher education institutions
(HEIs). Curriculum development processes were examined in four Irish IOTs and
one university, employing a constructivist grounded theory case study methodology.
Interviews were conducted to gather experiences of 20 Irish academics. Five rounds of data analysis
were processed with QSR NVivo software.

A creativity paradox was uncovered: contemporary Higher Education (HE) policies promote cultures
of creativity and innovation, yet, in practice, academics feel restricted in New Programme
Development and Validation (NPDV) by greater regulatory compliance and sector
rationalisation. However, despite increasingly complex HE controls, study findings show the
significant impact of leadership within the HEI, and that a climate for academic
creativity and innovation can exist, if the organisational climate conditions of effective
leadership; trust; transparency; managerial and innovation process support are in place.
Where present, these conditions have a positive impact on progress in the development of
creative new programmes of learning and on the wider climate for creativity and
innovation in the IOT. The in-depth interrogation of curriculum development and validation
processes in Irish HEIs is the first of two primary contributions to knowledge of this research.

Though state level regulatory compliance legacies represent a significant bureaucratic load on
the IOTs, the impetus for HEI regulatory policies in Ireland increasingly originates from
European Union (EU) HE agendas. Within the literature, there are criticisms of an EU creativity
and innovation agenda for HE which is not sufficiently broad based and is heavily focused on
servicing industry interests (Duff, 2011; MacLaren, 2012; Moutsios, 2013). Benefits of
this creativity agenda are acknowledged, but a counterbalanced, more holistic approach
to creativity development in HE, represented by the Humboldtian higher education ideal is
advocated.

A synthesis of findings led to the development of the three-level model for organisational
creativity and innovation in higher education, the second primary contribution to knowledge
of this research. The model illustrates the HEI climate factors, experienced by academics to have
impact on creativity and innovation in Irish HEIs. Factors emerged at three
levels: individual/team; organisational and meta-organisational. The findings of this study were
found to align at individual/team and organisational levels, with Amabile’s (1988) componential
model for organisational creativity and innovation.

The development of this three-level model is timely, given the change impetus in the
IOT sector towards the development of technological universities in Ireland, in addition to
the financial, technological and global competitiveness challenges currently facing the institutes.
The model will serve as a comprehensive tool, informing HEI senior management and policy
developers of the factors which must be addressed, to develop an authentic HE climate conducive to
creativity and innovation. To this end, HEI policymakers are encouraged to think creativity
first when considering implementation of new HE regulatory policies and practices. The findings
in this study will contribute to the ongoing policy discourse about the future of the IOTs during a
period of significant change in the sector.