Robotic Bureaucracy: Administrative Burden and Red Tape in University Research

This Viewpoint essay examines university research administration and the use of software systems that automate university research grants and contract administration, including the automatic sending of emails for reporting and compliance purposes. These systems are described as “robotic bureaucracy....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public administration review 2020-01, Vol.80 (1), p.157-162
Main Authors: Bozeman, Barry, Youtie, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrators
Bureaucracy
Cognitive-behavioral factors
Colleges & universities
Compliance
Email
Grants
Public administration
Regulation
Robotics
Software
Telecommunications
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Description
Summary:This Viewpoint essay examines university research administration and the use of software systems that automate university research grants and contract administration, including the automatic sending of emails for reporting and compliance purposes. These systems are described as “robotic bureaucracy.” The rise of regulations and their contribution to administrative burden on university research have led university administrators to increasingly rely on robotic bureaucracy to handle compliance. This article draws on the administrative burden, behavioral public administration, and electronic communications and management literatures, which are increasingly focused on the psychological and cognitive bases of behavior. These literatures suggest that the assumptions behind robotic bureaucracy ignore the extent to which these systems shift the burden of compliance from administrators to researchers.
ISSN:0033-3352
1540-6210
DOI:10.1111/puar.13105