Recent Research: International Collaborations in S&T Research Are on the Rise, According to Report

International collaboration in science and technology (S&T) research has risen over the past 15 years from approximately 25 percent to over 35 percent, according to Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century — a new report from the Royal Society Science Policy Center. The special advisory group established by the Royal Society analyzed data that include research articles in international journals, citations in those articles, national rates of patent registration, number of researchers per nation, national expenditures on research and development (R&D) and the impacts of S&T research. Data was collected using several methods and sources including a call for evidence, data mining and face-to-face and telephone interviews.

The scientific world is "becoming increasingly interconnected, with international collaboration on the rise," according to the report. The growth of international collaboration in S&T research can be attributed to multiple reasons including communication technologies, cheap travel and the cost of research equipment. However, informal bottom-up connections between scientists might be the largest driver for the internationalization of collaboration, according to the report. The advisory group proposes that increased collaboration enhances the quality of scientific research, improves the efficiency and effectiveness of that research, and is increasingly necessary to solve budget constraints and research challenges. National strategies that facilitate these relationships should have a positive effect on not only the research conducted, but also the on the broader objectives for any national S&T strategy (e.g., economic prosperity, resolution of challenges).

According to the report, the global science field also is transitioning to a multipolar system due to the rise of the new scientific powerhouses (i.e., China, India and Brazil). Between 2002 and 2007, China, India and Brazil more than doubled their expenditure on R&D, leading to a seven percent increase in their contribution of world R&D spending from 17 percent to 24 percent. In turn, these countries have seen significant returns on their investments through increased authorship in international journals and significant increases in international patents held by domestic companies. Several other emerging S&T-focused economies in the Middle East, South-East Asia and North Africa also have been successful in publishing and translating research internationally. According to the report, many of these countries rapidly have increased the number of journal worthy articles over the last 15 years. These countries successes are not limited to the academic arena; they also have seen significant growth in the translation of their research. In 2009, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Israel were among the top among the top 10 overseas patent registrations at the U.S. Patent Office.

The traditional S&T superpowers (i.e., the U.S., Western Europe and Japan), however, still maintain their dominance due to large numbers of research articles, the lion's share of citations in journal articles and their high rates of patent registration. The U.S. alone accounts for approximately 20 percent of the world's authorship in journal articles. These countries will maintain a significant edge for the near future, but the rest of the world is gradually gaining on them.

The advisory groups concluded the report with five recommendations for a more creative, flexible and better-resourced mechanisms to coordinate, measure and evaluate international research. The five recommendations are:

• Support for international science should be maintained and strengthened;
• Internationally collaborative science should be encouraged, supported and facilitated;
• National and international strategies for science are required to address global challenges;
• International capacity building is crucial to ensure that the impacts of scientific research are shared globally; and,
• Better indicators are required in order to properly evaluate global science.

Adoption of these policies is necessary at both the national and international level to maximize their effectiveness in achieving the broad goals of the science community. View the interactive graphs or read the report...