Abstract
Higher education institutions around the world have embarked on complex journeys of organizational change to facilitate the transition towards a more competent and educated society, especially one able to adapt to advanced and sustainable political, economic and sociotechnical paradigms. in this context, leading universities have adopted the Research-Based (rB) approach as a fundamental component of their strategies to bring closer together their main educational activities: teaching, learning and research. However, in spite of ample efforts, serious shortcomings at the implementation level are commonly reported. Especially revealing are the students’ limited self-reliance, confidence, and academic research and writing skills documented in the literature. This article examines and updates the concept of Research-Based maps and explores the multilevel regulatory framework that has conditioned the implementation and alignment of educational initiatives, including the institutional arrangements that are common in public universities in the European union, and in Estonia, as an example. it enhances the understanding of complex institutional and regulatory interactions in general, emphasizing the importance of reflexive and well justified normative determination.