Think Globally and Act Locally: National Taiwan University's Experience of Institutional Research

Previously, university management in Taiwan was often guided by common sense or decision-makers' intuition. However, because university governing bodies have become more democratic, policymaking need to be more evidence based. In 2015, with the promotion of the Ministry of Education, many universities established institutional research (IR) offices to support evidence-based policymaking. The mature U.S. IR model has long been considered a global standard. However, because each university has its own campus culture and governance style, the U.S. model must be adapted and modified to suit Taiwanese universities. The major objective of IR is to think globally and act locally by maintaining a global perspective, staying informed of local concerns, and working within regional constraints. By using the well-cited frameworks of three organizational intelligences and five IR faces, this paper examined and reflected on the processes and challenges of IR at National Taiwan University (NTU). NTU's experience may provide insights into future IR development in Taiwanese higher education.