The function of the research-related activities of universities in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is examined. Additionally, the extent to which the universities are affected by the demands placed upon them, and implications of the situation for the future well-being of the scientific enterprise in OECD countries are addressed. The kinds of pressures acting on the university systems of member countries include: fluctuations in student enrollments; slow-down in the growth of financial resources and a change in the balance between the sources of research funds; government pressure for what is considered to be socially relevant research; and the effects of changing social values (democratization, employment protection, and the growth of bureaucratization of university research). Responses to these constraints include: new modes of distributing resources, separation of teaching and research, stratification of institutions and staff, and recruitment and mobility. It is suggested that in many member countries, national science policy bodies, or research funding bodies, continue to formulate priorities that have no reference to what scientists regard as worthy of study. Policy implications of trends toward separating research from teaching and of funding research to a certain proportion of the total number of universities are considered. Additional concerns include: flexibility of research performance, enrollments in postgraduate degree programs, availability of equipment for research, and performance of applied versus basic research. (SW)