77 NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, no. 157, Spring 2013 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ir.20040 Institutional Research in the Future: Challenges Within Higher Education and the Need for Excellence in Professional Practice Angel Calderon, Charles Mathies Introduction The upcoming challenge over the next 20 years for higher education insti- tutions (HEIs) globally is how to respond to an increasing variety of soci- etal needs but with fewer public resources and increased accountability demands. This challenge requires HEIs to confront many issues and make choices, many of which will necessitate institutional data from offices like institutional research (IR) to provide guidance (informed decision mak- ing) throughout the process. How will these changes impact IR and what will it mean for professionals in the field? What will IR work look like, and what skills will be needed? These are the questions we seek to address in this chapter, as IR will likely have a large part in how HEIs respond and react in a dynamic and challenging environment. The most likely scenario(s) of what higher education (HE) will be in the future evolve from the current developments and trends. While most of these developments have been present for years, three in particular stand out. The three developments are: (a) the continued massification of HE; (b) increasing ties of HE to economic development; and (c) continued evolution of HEIs into more complex organizations. All three will require The upcoming challenge for higher education institutions (HEIs) globally is how to respond to an increasing variety of societal needs but with fewer public resources and increased accountability demands. In this chapter we draw attention to the central role institutional research (IR) professionals play in positioning HEIs in a competitive and globalized environment, and the need for them to have a well-developed set of skills (both generic and specialized) to provide and inform the decision-making process. We conclude by posing some questions to consider for the practice of IR into the future. 5