Towards The Strategic Cooperation Of “Two Worlds” -

This chapter addresses the issue of the relationships between universities and local governments by asking the research question: (how) can universities contribute to the design and implementation of public policies at the local level?. Within the Warsaw (Poland) case study we provide a comparison of the role of university stakeholders in the process of design and implementation of the current Warsaw Development Strategy (Warsaw 2030) and contrast this with their role in the historical process within the previous strategy (Warsaw 2020). We found substantial differences between the two strategy processes. In the Warsaw 2030 the evidence provided by academics guided the process of decision-making, while during the Warsaw 2020 it was used to cover the independent decision taken by policymakers while giving the illusion of their supportive role. The analysis of both processes also helped identify factors hindering the involvement of universities within the policy process, namely lack of the systemic solutions for cooperation, lack of incentives for academics to put special focus on activities not related to publication results, low understanding of the third mission among academic community, and limited trust between the representatives of the “two worlds”.