Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century

"The scientific world is becoming more interconnected, with international collaboration on the rise. Over a third of all articles published in international journals are internationally collaborative, up from a quarter 15 years ago."

This Royal Society report surveys the global scientific landscape, noting the shift to an increasingly multi-polar world underpinned by the rise of new scientific powers such as China, India, and Brazil, as well as the emergence of scientific nations in the Middle East, South-East Asia, and North Africa. The over 7 million researchers around the world, reading and publishing in approximately 25,000 separate scientific journals per year, collaborate with each other using information and communication technology (ICT) and other means to connect. They are motivated to seek new knowledge to advance their field or to tackle specific problems. Through a few selected case studies, "Knowledge, Networks and Nations" aims to identify the opportunities and benefits of international collaboration, to consider how they can best be realised, and to initiate a debate on how international scientific collaboration can be harnessed to tackle global problems such as climate change, food security, and infectious diseases more effectively.

"From Singapore to South Africa, new researchers and research communities are reshaping the landscape for science and innovation, so long dominated by the USA [United States], Japan and Europe....The recognition of the role that science can play in driving economic development, and in addressing local and global issues of sustainability, has led to increased research activity and the application of scientific method and results within less developed countries." Part 1 of the report maps and investigates where and how science is being carried out around the world and the ways in which this picture is changing.

Part 2 reveals the shifting patterns of international collaboration. "International science is largely conducted through bottom-up, informal connections, as scientists become more mobile and as large and often complex data are shared at the click of a button. But top-down, solutions-oriented initiatives are also helping to shape the research landscape, as scientists organise themselves, or are being organised, to tackle shared concerns....The connections of people, through formal and informal channels, diaspora communities, virtual global networks and professional communities of shared interests are important drivers of international collaboration. These networks span the globe. Motivated by the bottom-up exchange of scientific insight, knowledge and skills, they are changing the focus of science from the national to the global level. Yet little is understood about the dynamics of networking and the mobility of scientists, how these affect global science and how best to harness these networks to catalyse international collaboration. Collaboration brings significant benefits, both measurable (such as increased citation impact and access to new markets), and less easily quantifiable outputs, such as broadening research horizons."

Part 3 of this report features 5 case studies that explore the role of international scientific collaboration in addressing a range of interconnected issues that threaten sustainability: climate change, water, food and energy security, population change, and loss of biodiversity. Global challenges are being addressed via a number of different organisational mechanisms: through intergovernmental or international bodies, through national systems, and by private individuals and corporations. According to the report, a wide range of approaches will be required to foster these partnerships, including: using financial incentives appropriately, incorporating non-traditional forms of knowledge, and working with the social sciences and wider disciplines.

"Knowledge, Networks and Nations" concludes with a set of 5 recommendations:

1. Support for international science should be maintained and strengthened - for example, "[c]ommitments to multinational research efforts and infrastructures should not be seen as easy targets for cuts during a period of economic turbulence. To cut subscriptions to joint research endeavours, without due diligence and assessment, is a false economy. By disengaging from these efforts, countries run the risk of isolating their national science and losing relevance, quality and impact."
2. Internationally collaborative science should be encouraged, supported, and facilitated - for example, "[n]ational research policies should be flexible and adaptive in order to ensure that international collaboration between talented scientists is not stifled by bureaucracy."
3. National and international strategies for science are required to address global challenges - for example, "[i]n devising responses to global challenges, governments worldwide need to rely on robust evidence-based policy making, and bring excellent scientists into the policy advisory process."
4. International capacity building is crucial to ensure that the impacts of scientific research are shared globally - for example, "[r]esearchers and funders should commit to building scientific capacity in less developed countries to help improve their ability to conduct, access, verify and use the best science, and to ensure that they can contribute to global scientific debates and develop local solutions to global problems."
5. Better indicators are required in order to properly evaluate global science - for example, "[t]here is a specific lack of data on the flow and migration of talented scientists and their diaspora networks. UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization], OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and others should investigate ways of capturing this information as a priority, which would enable policy makers to better understand, nurture and oversee global science for the benefit of society as a whole."