The balance of demands and resources: How Vietnamese scholars navigate the complexities of local knowledge production

Universities across the globe constantly urge their academics to engage in research activities. The government in Vietnam and the country’s universities have recently encouraged academics to conduct of original research. However, the impact and effectiveness of the central government’s policies on Vietnamese researchers has not been fully examined. Given the influence of research policies and employment conditions on researchers’ productivity, this study investigated the way Vietnamese social science researchers positioned themselves in relation to these research policies and how they negotiated ways in which to conduct research within research institutes and universities. Using positioning concepts as an analytical tool, this study explored the discursive identities of ten Vietnamese scholars as revealed from semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate how, despite limited income, resources, and support from their institutions, mid- and early-career researchers negotiated to be productive in research while senior researchers found ways in which to make their research more influential and beneficial in relation to the policy-making processes. A better understanding of how Vietnamese scholars are positioned by policy demands and how they searched out scarce resources provides a useful perspective for governments and institutions from Vietnam, as well as other developing countries seeking to support their research scholars.