J. Olson, H. Biseth, G. Ruiz (Eds.), Educational Internationalisation, 00–00. © 2015 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved. ANATOLY OLEKSIYENKO CHANGING UNIVERSITY POLICIES, STRUCTURES AND CULTURES Global Research Partnerships and Academic Experiences in Canada, China, Russia and the USA 1 INTRODUCTION The changing dynamics in the relationships among governments, markets and academic institutions at home unavoidably affect collaborations abroad (Marginson & Rhoades, 2002; Markusova et. al, 2004; Vest, 2007; Jones & Oleksiyenko, 2011). Conflicting flows of public and private interests across borders drive the need for a better understanding of the agency of academic collaboration and its roles and responsibilities in arranging governance, budget responsibilities, and cross-cultural learning (Altbach et. al, 2009; Jones & Oleksiyenko, 2011). The research on “glonacal agency” (Marginson & Rhoades, 2002; Marginson, 2004; Jones & Oleksiyenko, 2011) points to both convergences and divergences in the multi-stakeholder interests that evolve in the process of cross-border mobility in higher education. States, markets and academic oligarchies have limited control over “glonacal partnerships,” as stakeholder commitments and resources are being split across global, national and local planes of higher education (Oleksiyenko, 2012). There is a growing expectation that a “glonacal agency” will somehow be able to play an integrative, rather than a divisive role, reconciling the competing tensions. As a larger number of higher education stakeholders acquire power and aspire to enhanced control over university mandates, the multilayered convergence becomes tenuous. Partnership managers increasingly find it difficult to reconcile the competing values and expectations of resource providers and resource users at home and abroad (Jongbloed et. al, 2008; Jones & Oleksiyenko, 2011). Competition for resources increases across all the levels of the “glonacal agency” (Marginson, 2004) and collaboration is often disabled when cost-sharing mechanisms work at one level, but not at the other (Jones & Oleksiyenko, 2011). Synergy is difficult to achieve when there is a growing variability in the interpretation of costs, as parlayed by stakeholders favoring more power being –––––––––––––– 1 Pre-publication copy. Recommended citation: Oleksiyenko, A. (2015). Changing university policies, structures and cultures: Global Research Partnerships and Academic Experiences in Canada, China, Russia and the USA (pp. 7-24). In J. Olson, H. Biseth, and G. Ruiz (Eds.). Educational Internationalization; Academic Voice and Public Policy. Sense Publishers.