ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Policies, Incentives, and Faculty Participation in the Sustainability of Public Higher Education in Panama
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universidad de Panama, Panama City, Panama
- 2Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia Tecnologia e Innovacion, Panama City, Panama
- 3Universidad Tecnologica de Panama, Panama City, Panama
- 4Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali, Colombia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This qualitative study analyzes determining factors in the achievement of scientific and academic research in Panama's public universities through methodological and data triangulation. The research explored academics'perceptions about the research ecosystem considering data from a national survey (ENACT; n = 565 responses analyzed), six semi-structured interviews, and an exploratory post-seminar perception poll completed by 117 academics. Findings indicate important advances in policies, incentives, and support structures for research. However, challenges persist: sustained budgetary limitations, complex bureaucratic processes, and cultural barriers that hinder the optimization of research potential. A perceptual gap was identified between university authorities and the academic community; while authorities emphasize normative and structural advances, academics express doubts about the continuity and effectiveness of these measures. The study also identified an imbalance between the growing international visibility of scientific production and its limited impact on local problems and public policy. Results suggest the need to implement strategies that combine: strengthening university governance with active academic participation, guaranteeing sustained funding through state-university-private sector articulation, diversifying incentives, and reducing bureaucratic barriers. It is recommended to enhance scientific communication and orient research agendas with the purpose of contributing to global knowledge while responding to national development priorities, consolidating university research as an engine of the country's socioeconomic and cultural development.
Keywords: faculty participation 2, higher education 4, research barriers 6, research culture 5, research public policies 1, scientific research 3
Received: 28 Aug 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Barsallo Alvarado, Mendoza, Caballero and Devia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Gabisel Barsallo Alvarado
Elisa Mendoza
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.