How to put theory into practice for HE research security - University World News
universityworldnews.com
The gap between theory and practice in higher education research security reveals a classic implementation problem — where well-designed frameworks collapse under real-world institutional pressures.
Theory-Practice GapPrincipal-Agent ProblemInstitutional TheoryRisk Governance

Theory Briefing
- Research security frameworks in higher education often look robust on paper but fail when institutions lack the capacity to enforce them.
- The article highlights how geopolitical tensions are forcing universities to operationalize abstract security theories into concrete policy actions.
- Bridging the theory-practice gap requires institutional actors to align incentives, resources, and governance — a textbook principal-agent challenge.