This paper makes a plea for the construction of a common agenda for higher education and science, technology and innovation (STI) policy research. The public higher education and research sector in all countries is currently in the grip of several challenges arising from increased accountability, internationalization and in some cases dwindling resources. Even as the sector is struggling to come to grips with these new developments, policy-makers the world over are being exhorted that their best route to sustainable economic development is investment in higher education and research. Scholars in STI policy and higher education research currently address these issues separately. This paper argues that a joint research effort from both these communities would push the research frontier further for each respective field and improve the evidence base for policy.